Five Reasons to Stage Your Home Before You List It

As a professional home stager, I frequently receive calls
from agents and homeowners who are frustrated because their listing has not
sold. They believe that since the listing isn’t getting showings or offers, it
is now time to bring in a Stager. This is typical because they have made the
common error of thinking of the value staging expertise is only necessary when
a home hasn’t sold. In other words, the attitude is, “Let’s try to sell it
first and if that doesn’t happen, then we will seek the services of a Stager
who can help us.”

Below I offer five reasons why using professional home
staging services before listing is wiser and will impact a sale more
positively than waiting until the listing has been on the market a while with
few showings, no offers, or poor feedback.

1.      You have a greater chance to sell a home in
the first 30 days. Make it count!

The first 30-days on the market are
critical. Agents are looking at new listings daily and if a buyer has been
waiting for a home like yours to come on the market, their agent is eagerly
stalking the new listing “hot sheet” to those present prospective properties to
them. You will have the most number of showings as a new listing. However, after
a home has been on the market for several weeks, the listing begins to stale
and the longer it sits on the market, the less interested buyers become and
fewer showings occur. The mentality is that if no contract is made in a short
period of time, the home is flawed, overpriced, or has other issues that are
keeping it from selling.

2.      Price reductions can be avoided.

A price adjustment may be suggested
by your agent after a home hasn’t had offers for 30-60 days. Staging prepares a
home for its best presentation on the market. Unless a home is grossly
overpriced, staging generally allows the home to reflect its competitive list
price by enhancing the features and details of a home and detracting from any
negative issues. If a Stager is brought in following a price reduction, you’ve
already lost the opportunity you would have had to sell at the beginning price
point.

3.      Online photography is critical to getting
buyers in the door.

With the modern technological age,
buyers are shopping online first. Pinterest®, Instagram®, and other social
media sites have augmented the value of photography to inspire us toward
purchasing products and services. Therefore, the photos posted of your home
online will likely be seen by hundreds if not thousands of prospective buyers. The
photography of your home is essential to be inspired that this could be the
home they want to purchase so that they will want to view your property in
person. When you take chances on posting photos of home that has not had the
benefit of a Stager’s input, you may have prospective buyers crossing your home
off their list simply because the photos didn’t wow them.

4.      Professional Stagers know more than you do
about your home’s marketability.

Professional stagers are trained,
experienced, and are experts in real estate readiness and marketability. Their
advice can bring to your attention many factors which could impact the sale of
your home. Moreover, their goal and mission is to help you overcome issues that
you may be overlooking or undervaluing because you have a personal, emotional
connection to the home. Just as you want your real estate agent to be properly
trained, experienced and knowledgeable about the real estate transaction, a
certified home staging professional provides very specific expertise that is
objective and valuable in how the home will present to prospective buyers.

5.      Your best competition has likely used a
professional home stager.

Because staging has been proven to
increase the opportunity for a quicker sale at a higher price, many successful real
estate professionals have made staging a critical piece of their listing process.
The most favorable properties on the market are typically homes where a
professional Stager has been a part of the listing process. To stand tall against
your home’s competition, you too must understand that Staging is no longer an
option when listing a home.

If you are considering listing your home, the value of
Staging before the home goes on the market cannot be overstated. Whether the
home is occupied or vacant, a Professional Stager can assist you in maximizing
offer price and minimizing time on market. Don’t make the mistake of waiting
until the home hasn’t sold to understand that staging is your best tool for a
home’s potential sale.