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As a professional home stager, one of the most frustrating experiences is when a seller decides not to stage, but instead takes a price reduction. Price reductions do nothing {positive} to the perception of the home. Home staging on the other hand, can dramatically change the way a buyer perceives a home value.

Home staging changes buyer perception

Professional home staging by Home Matters, LLC can help create a completely different emotional impact in a home. Often homes that are stagnating on the market will sell quickly after staging. Homes that will likely sell relatively quickly usually sell for more after professional staging. National reports show as much as 10% more.

I had 20 showings on this home and only one very low offer. The floor plan was very unique and the feedback was always the same. “Very nice home but the floor plan will not work for our family.” After staging with Home Matters, within 5 days we had a bidding war! The home sold ABOVE LIST PRICE and I looked like a hero to my clients! The furniture and decor was warm and inviting, and made you want to stay. I can’t say enough good things about this company. Thank you Home Matters!”

Gaye Bex
F.C. Tucker Co.

Price reductions don’t convey a positive impact to buyers

While there is truth in the fact that a home will sell at the right price, the question really should be, “Is this in the best interest of my seller.” If a small investment in home staging can bring high rewards and a return on their investment, then why is a price reduction a good idea. Consider markdowns in any other retail industry. Do mark down items really have a better perception to buyers than full price items? Are the buyers who shop clearance racks more picky or less picky than those who shop full price when the items hit the floor?

Create a return on investment for your customer, not a clearance product

Just as Gaye Bex said in her testimonial, home staging can make you look like a hero to your customer. So are you ready for another price reduction? How about multiple offers instead? Try home staging with Home Matters.

When potential home buyers are searching on MLS, Realtor.com, or one of the many other online real estate sites, they will go through all of the photos of the home before they glance at a description. Since a photo says a thousand words, homes can easily be eliminated online when the wrong ones are used. Before your home is listed it is important to have it properly prepared and photographed so that buyers will want to know more, and book an appointment to see your home.

Home Staging can answer common questions for buyers

Since the home’s first impression is going to be online, it makes sense that photographs need to clearly depict the features and benefits of the home. They should answer common concerns like, how big are the rooms, whether or not the buyer’s furniture will fit in the space, and whether the home has been recently updated. All of these questions should be easily answered in seconds, before they click onto the next photo.

This is a perfectly normal room. But you’ll notice that we can’t really tell much about it. It’s a simple vanilla box. How interesting is it? Does it make you want to see more? Do you know how much furniture will comfortably fit here? Where does your eye go when you look at it? (I’ll bet the answer is to the hole of the fireplace…. is that really the most important feature of the room?)

The truth is that vanilla boxes don’t sell very well. Well staged homes do.

Home Staging creates perceived value to buyers

Because buyers can more easily imagine how they will utilize a space when it is properly staged, they are more likely to view the property. They are also more likely to make an offer. After all, buying a home, after you’ve narrowed down basic parameters, like price, number of bedrooms, baths, and school zones, comes down to emotion. Helping connect buyers to the property adds a perceived value, and with it, faster and higher offers. Don’t believe it, check out our current home staging statistics.

There aren’t that many home staging objections out there that we haven’t heard before. There are a few that are more common than others. “Everyone loves my house. I don’t need to stage.” is one of the most common. It is only natural for sellers to feel that their home is perfect, or near perfect. They have probably done a lot of work making it just for them. The colors on the wall, fixtures, and finishes may even have all been picked out by them or specifically for them. It is hard for them to understand why someone else won’t love it just as much. This is especially true when their friends and family have gushed many time, “Your home is so beautiful!”

Everyone loves my house. I don’t need home staging.

Friends and family probably care a great deal about the homeowner. They know them well, and probably even like or love them. Since our homes are typically a reflection of our personalities, likes, and dislikes, it makes perfect sense for them to come into the home of someone they care about, see the imprint of them in the decor, and instantly feel a connection.

It is less that everyone loves the home and the decorating and more that they are saying, “This house is a representation of you, and I love it!”

Think of someone who you care about who you may have made this statement to. Now imagine yourself moving into their home. Would you change anything? Could your furniture and belongings move right in with the way the home is in it’s current state? 

Home staging is for the buyer, not for the home seller

While no one wants to spend more money on something they are getting ready to sell, sometimes it’s money well spent. If you were selling a car, you would probably clean it and get it detailed. It would have a nice coat of wax, and probably not bald tires. You may even pick up some touch up paint and minimize some of the little dings and scratches. Selling a home is only different in that generally speaking a car has a depreciating value where a home as appreciating value. You’ll nearly always lose money on a car, but a home is an investment.

Let’s go back to the original objection of the home seller, that their friends and family love their home, therefore it doesn’t need to be staged. If the psychology is understood that everyone loves the home because it is a reflection of the owner, then it should also be reasonable to understand that the seller may (and probably won’t) have the same personality. Their furniture may not fit into this home at all. The home itself, however, may be a perfect fit. It may have the right number of bedrooms, baths, square footage, be in the right neighborhood, and have a layout perfect for the buyer’s family. Unless the home looks and feels like it will be a fit for their life, however, they will not buy it. 

No matter how common the objection, this is a subject that many home sellers seem to have a difficult time with. A home is personal. It’s where you spend your life. As soon as the seller lists the home, it becomes a marketable product. It is no longer a home, but rather a house that needs to be properly merchandised to attract as many buyers as possible to generate the highest possible price. Home staging accomplishes just that.