The benefits of staging a home have been widely discussed. The accomplished stager, among other things, generally has a mission to:
- Neutralize
- Pare down
- De-Clutter
- Re-purpose, re-position or remove furniture
- Add accent pieces where necessary
In-house tracking at Al Filippone Associates has shown that our staged properties in Fairfield County, Ct. sell for two to three percent more and in thirty days less time on average than those homes that weren’t staged.
Buyer Experience
I recall an experience that I had working with buyers early on in my career. The parameters regarding their needs were very specific. Consequently there wasn’t a lot of inventory to show them. I viewed that as a good thing. I knew that they were highly motivated and I thought that if a home that fit their criteria came on the market, they would make an offer quickly.
One day we were driving to a home, and as we passed another one that was for sale they both asked rather simultaneously, “What about that one?” I immediately replied, “It really doesn’t have much of what you want. It doesn’t have the fourth bedroom that you’re looking for. There’s no family room, which you’ve said is a must. There’s two bathrooms rather two and a half and it’s only a half acre as opposed to the minimum one acre that you gave as a requirement.” I paused briefly and then continued, “By all means though, if you want to see it I certainly can make that happen.”
Curb Appeal
They wrote a full price offer the next day. It was all about the curb appeal. The house contained very little of their criteria. I learned first hand, from that experience, the enormous role that emotion plays in the purchase of a home. Buyers usually decide if they can visualize themselves in a home within the first fifteen seconds of driving up to it. They buy on emotion first, and then justify with rational later.
Staging
That experience crystallizes the essence of staging. Considering that buying decisions are often made from the outside, staging the exterior is just as important as staging the interior. A significant but hidden benefit of staging.
Have you experienced the benefits of staging?
What information do you provide to your clients to help them understand the ways in which staging gives them a distinct advantage?
What common yet critical mistakes have you observed?
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