Staging is one of the best investments, and the upshot is tangible and straightforward:
- You will incite the best first impression.
- Your property will sell faster.
- You will maximize your selling price, ensuring the best Return On Investment (ROI).
Think of it as loaning out some money and receiving it back with interest in a short time! According to the National Association of Realtors (NARS), for every $100 invested in staging, the potential return is $400.
A considerable number of sellers that I have encountered have shared certain assumptions about staging:
- It is too expensive.
- It’s just decorating or filling a house with “pretty” furniture.
- It takes too much time.
- It is not worth paying for it.
As a stager and based on my experience and direct knowledge of the benefits of staging, I would like to explain why these assumptions are worth reconsidering. Staging is Marketing! Your property becomes a product like any other product. When it comes to staging a property, you are trying to sell your home, and you want to do it quickly! Your home becomes a potential purchase for every buyer that walks through your door, and it is about showing the potential of your space to attract buyers to achieve an optimum sale. The stagers do all the work, and in many cases, it could take as little as a day, depending on the size and scope of the project; larger spaces require more time and effort, but in all cases, stagers work very efficiently and have the best insight to showcase the property in a way that appeals to buyers’ emotions. Avoid falling into the trap of false assumptions, and overall, avoid falling into what I call “the Top 5 mistakes” for not staging your property!
1st – YOU’RE LEAVING $$$ ON THE TABLE!
If you do not stage, you risk maximizing your profit and putting big bucks into your pocket! Having a well-staged home will make your property look functional, aesthetically pleasing, inviting, and will sell faster. It will turn your home into someone’s dream home, making the buying process quick; a well-staged home will peak the emotional experience for the buyer, helping them envision themselves living in your property and arousing the desire to buy the property. It will justify your asking price and may also get you over asking.
The latest 2018 Home Staging Resource (HSR) study showed that 85% of staged homes sold between 6% to 25% more than their un-staged neighbours, and a survey conducted recently by Home Gain, with more than 2000 realtors, found that investing in staging can generate up to 556% returns. So, rest assured that your house will sell much quicker and for top dollar, if you hire a certified home stager.
2nd– MORE DAYS ON THE MARKET!
If sellers don’t stage their properties, they are putting their investment at risk of sitting on the market. This means fewer potential buyers are willing to visit the property, few or none interested in buying the property, and few interested in buying it for less than the asking price. To sell your home faster, it must stand out from your competition. A survey by Coldwell Banker Real Estate Corp. found that staged homes spend half the time on the market than non-staged homes. In addition, a recent study from the Real Estate Staging Association (RESA) stated that professionally-staged homes spend 72% less time on the market.
With every extra day that your property spends on the market, questions begin to arise. Buyers start to wonder why the property has not been sold: Does the property have structural damage? Is the house old or not well maintained? Is the asking price too high? Are the sellers hiding something? Etc. Don’t take the risk of putting these messages in your potential buyers’ minds. When it comes to selling, you never get a second chance to make the best first impression. Remember, when you’re out on the market, you’re HOT, and you don’t want to lose momentum.
3rd– BIG PRICE REDUCTIONS!
The risk of a price reduction is far more than the price of staging. Having a well-staged property will attract more potential buyers willing to pay the asking price or bid over asking. If you don’t stage, you are lost in the crowd and risk lowering the listing price to get some activity. The National Association of Realtors survey found that the longer a property stays on the market, the further its price drops. Homes that remained on the market for 13-24 weeks sold approximately 6.4% less than the originally listed price, while those that stayed on the market for 4-6 weeks sold for 5% less than the originally listed price. Although it’s clear that staging yields considerable returns, most sellers don’t understand or perceive the vast benefits that staging offers during the selling process.
4th – NOT MAXIMIZING YOUR PROPERTY’S STRENGTHS and minimizing its weaknesses!
When you hire a Certified Stager, you’re increasing your chance for a more profitable and faster sale. Only 10% of home buyers can envision the potential of an un-staged home. We bring out the home’s potential and increase the property’s value. The objective is to maximize a property’s strengths and minimize and disguise its flaws, giving it the best first impression to incite an emotional connection with potential buyers. According to NARS, almost a third of Buyers will overlook property faults when a home is professionally staged. Most buyers also have great difficulty getting past the seller’s decor and visualizing the property’s potential. The way we live in our home is not how we market our home. As stagers, we understand the importance of furniture placement, creating good traffic flow, colour theory, de-cluttering and de-personalizing. We identify and highlight the focal points, and we provide solutions!
( Above picture received offers on second day!)
5th– NOT OUTSHINING YOUR COMPETITION, (it’s a competitive market)
As a seller, there is much competition, and you can bet that potential buyers have already seen other properties and are willing to visit more. Stagers understand the psychology of buyers. If you want to stand out from your competition, you need to make your property look stunning, or you need to lower your price. Let’s face the hard facts: No seller is willing or will want to reduce the price of their property, which makes staging the ideal solution for securing a more attractive sale price! So if you are selling your property, staging is the best way to ensure a better return! Real Estate is a time-restricted market; you don’t want your property to linger on the market, you want to be hot, and you want to stand out!
These are just the top 5 pitfalls for not staging. Understanding the benefits of staging will help you better understand the added value that staging brings to the sale of a property to maximize your ROI as a seller. Including a stager as part of your selling strategy will yield quick results and much faster benefits. Your home is your biggest asset, so why not do what you can to increase your investment? Your chances of having a more significant number of potential buyers willing to accept the list price or bid over asking will be more powerful, and the likelihood of closing the deal right away is much higher!
Milagro Interiors is located in Mississauga, Ontario; we serve the GTA and online globally with virtual consultations. During this worldwide Pandemic crisis of Covid-19, we have adapted to meet our clients’ needs by offering online staging and home styling services. Please contact us and let us work together. You can reach us by phone at 416.897.0339 or email at [email protected]. Visit our website at www.milagrointeriors.ca and see all the services we have to offer.
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