5 Benefits to Having a Stager on Your Team

5 Benefits to Having a Stager on Your Team

RECBL - Real Estate News

The following information is provided by the Center for REALTOR(R) Development, with assistance from Lauren Hampton and the Podfly editorial team.

In episode 7 of the Center for REALTOR(R) Development Podcast, Monica Neubauer has a great conversation about home staging with Helen Bartlett of Kansas City Home Stagers.

Bartlett is a national award-winning home stager and home stylist who’s been staging homes in the metro Kanas City area in both Kansas and Missouri since 2011.

She has been recognized by Houzz with multiple service awards and "Influencer" and "Recommended" badges on her professional profile. Bartlett has also been named as one of the "Top 200 Influencers in the Home Design Industry for 2017," and recently co-authored a book, "Home Staging: The Power That Sells Real Estate."

As a REALTOR(R), having a stager as part of your team can be beneficial for both you and the seller. You will be appealing as an agent if staging is something you can offer your seller, and the stager can also help to share their best advice for the sellers, and that can help preserve the relationship between seller and REALTOR(R). Home stagers are on the same team as the real estate agent, because it’s about making a successful transaction for the REALTOR(R) and the homeowners. Below are five ways that having a stager on your extended client team can be a huge bonus:

1. A stager can provide a general staging consultation. Everyone selling their home should at least have a stager consultation. Something as brief as an hour-long consultation could lead to value in the thousands of dollars and runs at a reasonable rate. For REALTORS(R), you can make a consultation part of your business model, especially if you don’t particularly have an eye for decorating.

2. A stager can help you "edit" current furnishings. When a professional stager comes into a house that’s occupied and needs attention, one of the easier ways to highlight a home is to "edit" existing pieces of the house and de-clutter the house of things that can make the space feel outdated. Painting and updating the light fixtures are two of the least expensive ways to make a home seem relevant. These types of updates can make a home feel move-in ready, and when a home feels move-in ready for a buyer, they are willing to pay more.

3. A stager can help prospective buyers connect emotionally with a property. Home staging is more than just decorating. The difference between the two is a house versus a lifestyle. Staging allows the buyer to focus on the house and their emotional and psychological connection to it. It is especially important to stage a vacant house because when there’s nothing else to look at, the buyer may start to focus on the negative things. Once a buyer is connected to a house, they are willing to pay more for it, and a staged house may sell more quickly.

4. A stager can help you sell the property more quickly. Home staging is preparing your house to go on the market so that it sells quickly and gets the highest dollar by appealing to the most number of people. Some examples of staging are painting, cleaning, making repairs, or updating your home. The goal is to create a warm and welcoming house that will capture a buyer’s attention. Buyers want to see how they can live in that house.

5. A stager can help the seller sell their property for more. Staging usually costs anywhere from 0.5 percent to 3 percent of the list price, depending on where you are in the country. Typically, a staged home will net anywhere from 7 percent to 10 percent more than an un-staged home, which will likely more than cover the staging cost. The home will also likely sell more quickly, which will save you money on holding costs. Every home can benefit from some level of staging. Though it is a sellers market in many places in the country right now, with a little bit of staging, you can get multiple offers, or even over asking price.

Sometimes it can be hard for a homeowner to have a home stager come into their home and tell them the things they should change. Remind your clients that it’s important to keep an open mind, because, in the long run, it’s a service that will help them, and everyone else involved in the transaction. Everyone benefits from successful staging- the seller benefits from a quick sale at top dollar; the buyer benefits because they’re excited about making the space work for their lifestyle; and the real estate agent benefits from the referral business that could come from the successful transaction.

For much more about staging, check out the complete recording of episode 7 (as well as all the others that have been recorded up to now) at the podcast web site at CRDpodcast.com. The links at the top of the page will lead you to the different audio marketplaces where you can subscribe to the podcast: iTunes, Android, Stitcher, TuneIn, GooglePlay-whichever of these you prefer to use for your podcast consumption.

Our monthly podcast focuses on education in the real estate industry. It addresses formal education programs (such as those from NAR) and informal sources of industry knowledge (such as peers and mentors). It’s intended audiences include REALTORS(R), real estate professionals, allied professions (such as appraisers and lenders), educators, education providers, and consumers. To listen or subscribe, visit www.crdpodcast.com.

For more information about our online courses and products for REALTORS(R) and real estate professionals, please visit onlinelearning.realtor.

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Staging the Most Important Rooms in Your Listing

Staging the Most Important Rooms in Your Listing

RECBL - Real Estate News

Staging every room in a for-sale listing may sound ideal; however, it may be a daunting task to both the seller and the listing agent.

If your seller can’t afford to invest in staging the entire home, it’s OK to scale down-after all, it’s better to do a good job on a few rooms than to do nothing at all.

When deciding which rooms to cut and which to keep, remember that not every room is created equally and that half the battle is de-cluttering.

Why Stage?
Because it’s primarily individuals rather than companies who buy homes, it’s important to appeal to the largest number and widest range of buyers possible. Even the most basic DIY staging (like having your client pack up their extensive porcelain doll collection or take down their numerous hunting trophies) can help buyers without those specific interests envision themselves in the home.

When buyers picture themselves in the home, they’re willing to pay more. NARs 2017 Profile of Home Staging reported that 29 percent of sellers agents reported a 1 to 5 percent increase in offer amount compared to similar homes. A further 21 percent reported a 6 to 10 percent increase in their offer amount. Staging also decreases the amount of time a listing will spend on the market. Photos of a nicely staged home make people more willing to walk through a property they found online.

What to Stage?
You don’t have to stage every room in a house to get good results. For example, it’s far more important to stage the living room than the laundry room. Here are the most popular rooms to stage, according to the 2017 Profile of Home Staging, as well as some ideas of what you can do in each:

Living Room
Remove the oversized couch and other bulky furniture and substitute smaller, narrower options. This will make the whole room feel larger. Also, remove all personal photos and enough books, movies and knickknacks to give the shelves extra room, emphasizing how the home offers plenty of "room to grow."

Kitchen
Pack up all the small appliances and do-dads cluttering up the counter, from the coffee pot to the can opener. Clear off the top of the fridge and get rid of all coupons, magnets, personal bulletins, etc. Once all the useful but non-decorative clutter is gone, consider adding a fruit bowl or flowers to add some color to the kitchen. It’s also important to de-clutter inside the cabinets to make them seem more spacious when interested buyers start poking around.

Master Bedroom
Again, start by de-cluttering. The only things on the floor should be furniture and maybe a rug. Most bedrooms don’t need much more than the bed, dresser, end tables, and a mirror. Make sure the surfaces of the furniture are cleared of all personal items. Remove any laundry baskets, TVs, and items visible under the bed. Dress the end tables up with a nice decorative lamp and make sure the bed is neatly and attractively made. If the master bedroom is particularly large, you can also add a comfy sitting area.

Dining Room
Dress the table up with a nice centerpiece and some simple but attractive place settings, but don’t make the table feel cluttered. If the table sits six, lay out four places. If it sits four, lay out two. This will ensure the table looks spacious and inviting. Remove any extra chairs that are gathered around the room, and make sure there is plenty of light, as well.

Bathroom
If you want the bathroom to appeal to buyers, make sure it is spotless. Everything from the tub to the walls should look fresh and clean. You should also remove any medications from the bathroom and put out fresh rugs and towels. Adding a few decorative candles or jars to the shelves will help create a more spa-like environment, as well.

Outside
The first thing a buyer sees when they visit your listing is the outside. Make sure the lawn is freshly mown, the bushes are trimmed, the driveway is clear of leaves and weeds, the windows are clean, and you have an inviting threshold.

Child’s Bedroom
Start by packing up anything that will identify who the child in the room is, such as school memorabilia, sports jerseys, trophies or photos. Most of the toys and all electronics devices should go, as well. Try to emphasize the child’s bedroom as a creative space. A desk or table can help with this. Keep the center of the room clear to emphasize plenty of play space, and use a gender-neutral color scheme to help buyers imagine their children in the room.

Once your client's home is staged, it's your turn to step up to the plate and get it sold. Homes.com makes it easy to find interested buyers and sellers with Featured Agent ads, which display your listings at the top of Homes.com, just one click away from popular Google searches.

For more information, please visit connect.homes.com.

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