As a real estate agent or broker, you know that selling a home is much more than decluttering. A staged home is a home that potential buyers can imagine living in. You know home staging works. But what you might not know is that home staging is no longer optional. If you want to become and remain competitive in your market, you need to stage your listings.
Here, we’ll lay out a few reasons why.
The Statistics Speak for Themselves
You can’t argue with the numbers. Although home staging has been around for over a decade, many sellers and brokerages have yet to realize that home staging seizes the competitive edge over unstaged homes. There's a reason builders spend hundreds of thousands of dollars to stage their model homes! Market studies show that staged homes get a minimum of 5% increase on the resale value of the home. On a million-dollar listing, that's $50,000! Staged homes don't just sell for more, they sell 16 to 23% faster than homes that aren't staged.
Being a full-service agent means that you're taking every opportunity available to sell your client's home for the highest price. Staging increases the perceived value of the home at a cost being only a fraction of the return. That translates into a higher commission for the agent and increased profit for the seller - win, win!
Let The House Do the Talking
In every sale, the buyer needs to see themselves living in the home. In a staged home, the “stage” is set, and the buyer cannot help but picture their life there as soon as they step into the home. Alternatively, leading the buyer into an empty room is leaving the storytelling up to them. As a sales professional, you know that’s a mistake.
Empty Rooms Don’t Tell a Story
Buyers are used to walking into empty homes when they shop for a new house. That’s part of the reason home staging works so well; it captures the imagination of the buyer with a story of a life that they desire. An empty room does not speak. It is silent, dormant, and cold.
By working with a professional home stager, you take control of that unspoken narrative.
Business Leaders Know Outsourcing Works
As a business owner, you know your core processes require your close attention. In today’s data-rich business world, outsourcing and its advantages are clearer than ever. By working with home staging professionals, you can focus on what you do best; knowing that your homes will be set-up according to best practices, ready to be viewed by eager buyers.
Best of all, agents are set-up to do what they do best- sell. They won’t have to worry about distracting potential buyers from out-of date furnishings and can instead focus on closing the sale.
At the end of the day, you simply can't afford not to work with professional home staging experts… because if you don’t, your competition will.