I got a listing that had been on the market for 6 months with another realtor. It only had one showing (and no offer) that entire 6 months! Although the owner personally liked her first realtor very much she realized that that realtor “wasn’t doing something right”.
The homeowners called and asked me to give them a listing presentation. I told them the many ways that I was going to market their home. They were kind of stunned at first, because their previous realtor had not done most of those things that had I just proposed to do to market their home.
Long story short, the homeowners gave me the listing – and I got to work! Besides doing the usual tasks of putting the information in the MLS and on various websites, one of the first and most important things I did was STAGE THE HOME.
Staging is much more than just super-cleaning and decluttering the home. It’s turning someone’s home back into a house – a house that a potential buyer can envision as their future house and home. It’s depersonalizing the house and then turning it into a “model home” - adding attractive color elements and features into each room, so that each room photographs attractively and shows beautifully!
I went room by room and made notes about what pictures, curtains, bedspreads, furniture should stay and go. Some rooms just needed a few minor changes. Other rooms need more of a boost.
Even though I had discussed staging with the homeowners during the listing presentation, the woman of the house was a bit taken aback by some of the things I was going to change/upgrade at first. When she saw the finished result, she was pleasantly amazed, but also made the comment that “it doesn’t feel like my house anymore”. I said, “Exactly”! You want that potential buyer to come in here and envision THEIR home, not yours anymore. It’s all part of the process of moving on into your new home too – you’ve got to “let go” of this soon-to-be old one.
My homeowners were slightly skeptical at first, but they had to admit that the pictures of their staged home that were now in the MLS and on other websites were far superior than what had been on there before their home was staged..
Well, the home had 11 showings in the first 21 days. The homeowners got an offer on the 21st day and a signed contract by the 23rd day. There were two other very interested parties in the home, who decided to ‘wait in the wings’ rather than get into a bidding war. They were disappointed when they heard that a contract agreement was reached. The house closed about three weeks later.
The homeowners were thrilled and could see – up close and personal – the good results a quality, in-depth home staging can produce.
