Many real estate professionals are venturing into the world of staging.  They are discovering that sellers in a competitive market are looking for every advantage to ensure they achieve both the highest possible price and the fewest days on the market.  Sellers are becoming more aware of the need for staging in the selling process and are looking to their agent for information and direction.  As a result every real estate professional should be able to give a seller advice as to how to show off a home's best features.

There are many advantages to adding staging to your marketing mix.  Not the least of which are an increased number of listings that will sell faster and generate more dollars for the client.  One of the key ways of getting there is by effectively positioning yourself and your product in your market. 

Adding staging to your skill set is a great tool to assist you in accomplishing both of these objectives.  Being able to offer staging as a value added service for your clients is an excellent way of “positioning” yourself ahead of the competition.  Sellers are looking for the agent that can show them how to overcome their two greatest fears: 1) Not getting the highest price and 2) Taking forever to sell.

By being able to answer their questions regarding what is involved in staging and helping them to develop a staging plan you have already given them a huge reason to list with you.  And the more you exercise that skill set the greater your reputation will grow along with your referral network.  Nothing generates referrals faster than success and selling your clients home at a favorable price in a short period of time is just the success they are looking for.

With training in the art of staging comes the ability to view the client’s home through the eyes of the potential buyer.  You will be able to assist the seller in “positioning” their home to reflect what the buyer truly wants to see.  You will be able to point out the strengths that need to be stressed and the weak points that need to be addressed.  As a stager you will be able to set your client’s home above the competing properties by positioning it to target the right buyers.

Experts All Agree!  Staged Homes Sell Faster And For A Higher Price!
According to a recent USA Today article, a major residential brokerage company looked at nearly 2,800 properties in eight different cities and found that staged houses sold in almost half the time the non-staged houses did.  They also found that sellers got substantially more money for a staged home.

This is further backed up by a 2003 HomeGain survey of 2,000 real estate agents nationwide that found moderately priced home improvements made before the sale, ranging from $80-$2,800, ended up producing the highest return on investment at the time of the sale when compared to other home improvement projects. 

Once you start offering staging as a service, imagine all the referrals you’ll start getting from clients!
As the real estate market gets more and more competitive, every real estate professional will have to offer staging as a service in order win.