December 21, 2007
3 Reasons Why You Should NOT Stage Your Listings
Not all staging is created equal and not everyone is into staging like I do. Often times I see sellers or agents are really into the idea of staging and its potential on equity gains, etc., but they do things that hinder the results of staging. Here is my opinions why you shouldn’t stager your listing:
*Reaon #1: If you are going to half-ass it on the marketing. Just because you stage the house doesn’t mean it is going to automatically sell. Most people think that, but that’s not the case.
Staging is about 1) MARKETING, it’s about packaging a product. The home styling part is only the PACKAGING, to lure consumers to buy the product, like iPod has its beautiful design & colors. But if there are no buzz nor marketing for the iPod, they won’t sell like hot cakes like they do now. Staging is also about 2) getting traffic to the doors. Time after time I see listings on MLS with poor or no photos while the home is advertised as staged. Well, what’s the point if you are not going to show a great photo showing off your great listing?
Think as a buyer, if you are surfing the web for listings online to go this weekend to see it in person, which following property would you pick?
a) b)
*Reason #2: If you are not going to believe in the staging. There are a lot of skeptics out there about staging. A lot of people do feel that it’s a market fad. I have experiences dealing with agents who do not believe in staging and won’t deal with stagers as a fact. While the sellers are excited about it and staged the home, the agents don’t care for it and don’t market the home as staged, which can help bring in the traffic at open houses. Or, because the sellers don’t fundamentally believe in staging, they don’t upkeep the staged affects of the home. So the sellers invest in the staging, but they don’t maintain the staging for the open houses — leaving the home dirty, cluttered, etc.
I do think staging is here to stay. It can make a tremendous differences when the home is staged, just like someone being groomed and pampered to ready for a hot date. Our society is getting more impatient, no one is going to waste time and effort again to come back to see a listing when it was not staged in the first time.
*Reason #3: If your home is in a rough neighborhood or you know there will be an increased chance of your listing being broken into if you stage your home. Home invasion crimes of staged homes are on the rise. I was interviewed by San Mateo County Times in May this year about increased staged home burglary in affluent areas because of the high values of staging home accessories & furnishings. (Click to read the article: Periodic Crimes Occur In Affluent Peninsula Areas) An agent client of mine also commented once in a conversation that in rougher neighborhoods where vacant homes are likely to be broken into, he would just left them vacant, un-staged, because he knew staging will encourage people to break into homes.
What do you think? Do you think staging is for everyone? I would love to hear your thoughts! Feel free to comment below.
Cheers,
Cindy
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