3 Reasons Why Realtors Should Include a Home Staging Consultation

Will pink door and trim sell a house?

Repainted garage door and trim.

Hello Mr./Ms. Realtor.  Welcome to my blog!

Have you been worrying about losing clients or wondering why, after all these years, your listings are taking much longer to sell?  It may be that your tried and true methods no longer work in today’s market… and I have the fix for you!  It’s called the ‘homeowner consultation’ which involves the seller, a home staging expert, and could include you as well.  A consultation usually lasts two hours, involves room-by-room critiquing, and leaves the homeowner with a clear understanding of what things need doing, what things could be done, and what things are not that critical, in getting the home ready for the market.

The consultation will open the homeowner’s eyes, to view their own home as potential buyers would.  When you are too close to your ‘stuff’, are comfortable with the way things are, you are forgetting that the buyer is seeing your place for the very first time and doesn’t know or care how you live in it.  What they care about is how they will be occupying the space.  The homeowner’s personal style is a distraction to the buyer and people today are very visual, meaning that they need to see how things could be… not the way they are.

A home stager has the know-how for what look sells and what look doesn’t.  A home stager is the realtor’s best friend.  How much financial involvement the real estate agent commits to is strictly up to them.  It could be just the consultation, part of the staging, or all of the staging.  The realtor who pays for it all is deemed to be knowledgable, confident, and serious about getting top dollar for their listing.  Not only that, but the realtor will come across as knowing what the market is demanding by bringing in a home staging expert.

And the 3 reasons why all realtors should include a home staging consultation are:

1. A higher selling price for the homeowner
2. A larger commission for the realtor
3. A much quicker sale

Remember… the quicker the sale, the faster the REA can move on to his/her next listing.  It’s a win-win for all involved!

Are you a real estate agent based in (or have an upcoming listing in) the eastern part of Toronto or GTA?  Have you wondered about using home staging as a marketing tool?  Drop us a line, send us an email, let’s meet and discuss.

Here are some links to help:
https://www.groovychickdesign.com/contact which includes home staging statistics
Like us on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/GroovyChickRedesignHomeStaging
Connect with me on: https://www.alignable.com/ajax-on/groovy-chick-redesign-and-home-staging or https://www.linkedin.com/in/catherine-menard-9a9b5935/

F.Y.I.  The above house sat on the spring market for weeks with little or no interest.  Any idea why?  Answer: Most people just couldn’t get past the strong pink colour in the first photo.  After a consultation, new paint colours, some styling, and updated photos, it SOLD!

Talk soon,
Catherine Menard

 

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A Fairy Tale Story…

We all know the story of Cinderella, but have you ever considered the similarity of this fairy tale to the process of selling a house? No? Well then, let’s begin…

Here is Prince Charming or the home buyer. He was in search of a bride and decided to throw a ‘ball’ to meet all of the eligible maidens in the land.

These eligible ‘maidens’ would be our homes for sale on the market.

 

 

 

This is Cinderella in her everyday attire. She wished that she could go to the ball like her two step-sisters, but couldn’t as she didn’t have anything nice to wear.

Consider the ‘Ball’ as the real estate market.

 

 

 

 

At the ball, Prince Charming met maiden after maiden and was not attracted to any one of them. He was looking for the WOW-factor (as is any home buyer). The prince was becoming disinterested… when suddenly, at the top of the staircase, he spotted this beautiful young lady…

With the help of her Fairy Godmother (home stager) Cinderella was transformed into a stunning beauty. All eyes were upon her!

Other maidens, who had dressed themselves in their very best, paled in comparison to Cinderella (the staged home). The maidens and Cinderella’s two step-sisters were jealous after realizing that the prince (the buyer) was no longer looking at them (homes on the market).

 

Unfortunately, Cinderella had to leave the ball early, before the ‘staging’ spell wore off and she returned to wearing her old rags. She would be mortified to have the prince see her in them (…see where I’m going with this?). When the prince found a glass slipper on the staircase, he went out in search of the girl who had left the shoe behind. He made his way from house to house trying the shoe on maidens’ feet. None could fit the tiny shoe. This is like the home buyer looking at listing after listing, searching for their perfect home. When he finally arrived at Cinderella’s cottage, her two step-sisters tried and tried to squeeze into the shoe with no success.

While there, Prince Charming hadn’t even noticed Cinderella in her everyday clothes (the condition of a house before it goes to market and should never be listed as is). When Cinderella asked if she could try on the glass slipper, he didn’t recognize her until…

…the shoe fit and Cinderella was transformed back into the gorgeous young lady at the ball. The prince, typically, was aroused, or emotionally attached to the beauty at the ball (real estate market). And the story ends with Cinderella and Prince Charming getting married and living happily ever after.

This my friends is exactly what happens when listing a home for sale. Buyers will search online and look for attractive houses based on the photos of listings. If they don’t feel emotionally connected to or intrigued by a home’s pictures, they will ignore it and move on to the next one, then the next one, and so on. Please, don’t let this happen to you!

Let Groovy Chick Redesign and Home Staging be YOUR Fairy Godmother!

I love this analogy for home staging and I hope that you do too. Please leave a comment.