IF YOU ARE CONSIDERING HOME STAGING you may have noticed there are a number of websites; blog posts; and on and off line articles which give the definition, the description, and the details of what home staging is. Most are well thought out. Nearly all use many of the same words. Scores of these sites and articles tell what home staging does for a piece of property in terms of the preparation which takes place in order to make a home more appealing to the largest audience of potential home buyers.
I recently talked about the When and Why of Home Staging.Today we are going to look at what Home Staging is from the points of view of the numerous parties involved in the process. The 5 categories are Real Estate Agents and Brokers; Home Sellers; Home Buyers; Family and Friends of Home Sellers; and Home Stagers.
1. MANY REAL ESTATE AGENTS AND BROKERS have discovered the additional marketing tool which is Home Staging. Along with the numerous other things on the checklist of these real estate professionals when marketing a property is the call to a trusted and respected home stager. Among the agents and brokers who consistently use or recommend the services of a home stager many have taken training to become more acquainted with the processes and systems connected with home staging. Some agents and brokers have simply seen the excellent results brought on by home staging and know how important this part of the marketing effort has become. Bottom line. What Home Staging is to a real estate agent or broker; simply another way to help get a property sold! To this end some suggest home staging to their clients, some offer it as a part of their marketing package, and some insist on home staging as a prerequisite to placing a house on the market.
2. A LARGE NUMBER OF HOME SELLERS have recently discovered the merit of home staging. While some have discovered the benefits first hand others have seen the outcome either through TV viewing (for instance watching shows like Designed to Sell) or because of the results of family, friends or neighbors. To home Sellers the methods surrounding having a house staged are less important than the results. Yet what home sellers are realizing is that more than just having clean, well flowing spaces and décor designed to accentuate the best features of their house home stagers take much of the burden of this difficult transition phase from the home owner. A fine example of this type of service is well told in my friend (a fellow Arizonan) Calie Waterhouse's heartwarming story, Take 2 Aspirin & Call a Home Stager in the Morning, of helping her client. While at the end of the process a home seller will see the art of home staging they will have also discovered many aspects of the science associated with the practice. What Home Staging means to Home Sellers is that a course of action has been taken to help them be better prepared to sell the property from both a personal as well as a business standpoint.
3. HOME BUYERS ARE ALSO AFFECTED by the inherent properties of Home Staging. Just as there are some who shop only for the mismatched; dented; scratched; torn or broken furniture pieces, appliances, clothing, jewelry and other items, there are also property hunters who want only the fixer-uppers within the real estate world. They will most likely not want to review the homes which have been staged. They want only what they consider bargains. They are willing to put in the time and labor in order to improve the property and they are insistent that the real estate be priced at the lowest end of the spectrum. (Many of these buyers call in a home stager when they later become home sellers.) The vast majority of shoppers do not fall into the above mentioned category; otherwise there would be more flea-markets than malls. Most home buyers want the move-in, live-in capability associated with the home of their dreams. Just as the owners of fashion and department stores discovered some time ago that people enjoy the ability to see how clothing and other items will look when used together or placed in various ways, (Witness the mannequins, back wall displays, furniture groupings, and end caps used in the retail world.) it is understood that the majority of home shoppers want to see how furniture can be placed, or which lighting will be most effective and dramatic, what part art will have in the home of their dreams. Home buyers appreciate the evidence of a home prepared to show them the capabilities they have to move into the lifestyle to which they aspire. What Home Staging means to a Home Buyer is the inspiration to move in and live in their new home.
4.FOR THE FAMILY AND FRIENDS OF HOME SELLERS at times Home Staging means they have a chance to try their hand at the business. Occasionally that is OK. But most often this can lead to less than stellar results. Just as the vast majority of people won't be able to repair a car engine by watching a few TV programs about mechanical issues most people (even those with an eye for décor) don't know all the ins and outs of preparing a property for sale. As a real life example of the good intentioned but less than optimal try at staging a home for a relative look at this story, So You Think U Can Stage, by Phyllis Pafumi. But there are ways in which friends and family can play a role in the staging of a home. Some offer to pet or baby sit during the crucial home showings. Others are able to help in the cleaning or pre-packing period of preparing a property for sale. What Home Staging means to most family and friends of home Sellers is an opportunity to be of assistance in ways they know best while allowing the professional home stager opportunity to do his or her job.
5. WHAT HOME STAGING MEANS TO HOME STAGERS can be described in the following way. Home Staging is a very physically, mentally and emotionally demanding profession which allows the Stager to use the training, the inherent décor gifting and the multiple skill sets learned and practiced over time to help Real Estate Professionals and Home Sellers gain a marketing edge over the competition while keeping the investment low. Excellent Home Stagers are typically entrepreneurs who understand the big picture concerning the marketing of a property. They know how to prepare a physical property in order to create a sensory asset for both the home seller and the future home buyer. 
Great Home Stagers know that Home Staging is more than turning dark and dated homes into fresh and inviting spaces; it is about creating an ambiance which tantalizes home buyers with the message, "This is the home of your desires."
The savvy Real Estate Professionals and wise Home Sellers in Northern Arizona know that finding a top notch Home Stager is the first step to getting that property sold!
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In Northern Arizona the place to go for home staging is rooms b.y. root. Dressing homes for Display is the service offered to home owners wishing to make their real estate memorable to home buyers.
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Hi Yvonne - what a well thought out and informative article - with some familiar faces too:) Thanks.
Stephanie
Yvonne, do you think of those awesome things while driving that 18 wheeler? As always you came up with the insight we all feel, but haven't been able to articlulate!
Yvonne - thanks for including little 'ol me in your beautifully written, inspiring, oh-so-true description of the impact of staging. As always, you're very articulate and truly get the point across with style. When I grow up, I want to be just like you!
Here I thought this was a highlight of your friends and I would be face #1.
The article was great, regardless.
Sorry, couldn't help myself!! This is the cartoon Me.
Stephanie, Thanks for such a wonderful comment. Yes, can you believe how nice all these folks look in my post? Did you notice that I included Jackson West in the other post I link to here? I wonder how long it will take me to put everyone who is in SIF in my posts. Maybe I shouldn't set that as a goal. :)
Terry, How did you guess my secret? While I dodge the cars which all look like a giant pin-ball machine to me I take notes for how to express myself here in the rain. Either that or I wake up from my nice comfy bed and stroll over to the computer and let my fingers fly. Thanks for stopping in to see me.
Calie, How interesting -- when I grow up I want to be just like you. It is a good thing you and Phyliss had recently posted great things which fit so well with what I wanted to get across. How cool is that?
Kathleen, My special friend! I am so glad you put your picture here. You, my dear, are beautiful. You have a wonderful smile and you make me smile. What would I do without you? Oh yeah, I'm so glad you liked the post too.
you really ROCK, Yvonne! This is such a great post. It's amazing how you pulled it all together in such a wise, positive fashion.
Karen, I'm going to hire you to do my graphics! You are so good at that. Thanks for saying such nice things. I haven't checked lately; have you written your post for the contest yet? You only have a few more days.
done and posted -- but little attention. oh, well . . .
yours was great and so is this one. I just loved it!
Yvonne - What a well written article!!! You nailed it. In fact, I've rating it a 5 in hopes it gets the attention it deserves.
Karen - you really out to consider writing and graphics as a sideline career (on top of staging). You have a way with words as well.
Karen, I ran over there and checked it out. FANTASTIC! I love your graphics as well as the well written post.
Kathy! My dear friend, thank you for the 5. Wow to here you say it deserves attention has made me soar. Thanks!
You go Yvonne! - great points and wonderful links. I love your description of what home staging means to home stagers -such a vivid description and so true. High 5 SS Arizona!
Karen, Thank You! It is funny how staging homes is a vivid activity in so many ways. :) Thank you for the Arizona High 5 SS!
it's very well thought out! staging seems just a minor part of the selling process but indeed it does affect everyone and everyone related to the seller.
Yes Cindy, staging is only a part of the process but at least a part which can be of benefit to all who are involved in the selling of a home. Thanks for stopping by.
Yvonne, this post definitely deserves the feature and I am also giving you a 5. The different viewpoints expressed in the article were informative, well-written and should be published in a newspaper or magazine. I think you should submit it to several. Plus - enter this blog into the contest too.
BTW, love your picture frames. Thanks again Jackson. Betty (Where was my picture?)
Betty, Thank you so much for the good words and the 5! I think I will use this and the entry for the contest in some of my hard copy marketing. Since they only allow one entry per person in the contest this piece will have to reside on it's own. Oh, the picture frames. Can you believe I have Coral Paint Shop on my computer and just figured out the other day how to use this frame feature?
Oh look Betty! There you are.
Great article.
Thank you Susan! I love Taos. I was born in Albuquerque, have tons of family in the Four Corners area, and just like playing around in Santa Fe and all the other fun places there. Thanks for stopping in.
Yvonne, you are too much! Good luck in the contest. Love my picture - where's my frame? Betty
You are a great model for blogging!
Great Job Yvonne! Regards-Kathleen
Betty, Thanks for the well wishes. Oh no, I was lazy and didn't frame you. Perhaps next time.
Ann, Wow thank you for saying that. You are so nice!
Kathleen, Thank you! Thanks for stopping in.
Yvonne - 5 for another terrific post. Thank-you for your insight. Do you give lessons in articulating your thoughts? I have many, many thoughts that keep me awake at night but can't seem to get them out of my head into my fingers.
Hi Cheryl-Anne, It is great to see you popping up over here too. Again, thank you so much for the rating. I'm really blushing now. I love your thought concerning getting the idea from head to fingers.
Giving a class sounds like lots of fun. Not sure I'm qualified yet but that would bring me great pleasure. Thank you Cheryl-Anne!
Great Articke Yvonne. Home staging has taken on new importance in our current market. How do you do your pricing on staging?
Good luck
Alan, Thank you for the nice comment. And, you are correct, staging has a great importance in today's market. I've sent you an email with pricing information.
LOL - I LOVE the "otherwise there would be more flea markets than malls" comment!!! Mind if I use that? Super post, Yvonne. It really circles back to the need to hire a PROFESSIONAL Stager every time.
cimarrona = cinnamon gone bad
Julia, I'm glad you like the flea market comment. I like it too. Of course you may use it. And, you are right hiring a professional stager will pay off.
Just what i was looking for. Great information on Home Staging. Without a Home Stager, we're (agents) are missing a piece of our puzzle that spells out VALUE. Thank you for your great info.
Julie, I'm so glad you were able to find what you were looking for here. Thanks for stopping by. I'm going to include a link to your post so that others will know more about what you are talking about if they happen to stop by here too. Thank you.
Great piece, Yvonne. For years, it was basically up to a Realtor to advise a seller on how to properly prepare their home for sale. The advent of professional staging takes that basic tenet of marketing a home and kicks it up about 8 notches. It simply works. As a recent success story that you and Calie will both appreciate (Calie referred me to the local stager), a listing of mine in South Scottsdale just went under contract recently. We sat on the market for 90 days prior to staging, and secured a contract within 30 days of having it staged.
Paul, How fun that you dug into the blog-log to find this piece. Thanks. You are so right, the bar has been raised. When folks contemplate selling their homes today, they need to be reminded that their home will be in competition with other homes within the same price range which have been professionally prepared to be on the market. What a fantastic story about your staging, selling success. Thank you so much for putting that info here. BTW, Calie Waterhouse is a fantastic stager, a wonderful marketer, a fantastic person to stage the stager, and I'm happy to say one of my personal friends.