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.
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