Christine Bird (New View Home Staging)

Research suggests that the Moving-Up Buyer is going to purchase a new home for perhaps 50% more than the one they're selling. You've probably worked with these buyers, and typical wish lists are for a bigger kitchen, a 4th bedroom, a luxurious "spa" ensuite, and more room in general.

Getting into the head of the Moving-Up Buyer may be hard sometimes, because they know what they want, but they may not be able to explain it in so many words. What they really want cannot be truly defined, or physically built for them. They'll just know it when they see it.

And so what is the "it"? It's intangible... it's a feeling... a sense of opportunity and excitement... a suggestion of a better lifestyle.

When Moving Up Buyers are out looking at homes, they're often not so much looking at the house as they are looking into the lifestyle that it suggests they could have, and it needs to be a step up from the home they are leaving.

This is where working with a professional Home Stager can make a huge impact, to both the Buyer AND the Seller. The price needs to be set right (realtor expertise required here), but it also needs to look great and provide the intangible IT factor... the lifestyle influence.

The perfect combination for a sale to the Moving Up Buyer is a property within their price range that exudes the quality of life they want. For Sellers that understand this and Realtors that guide the process, it's usually a win-win-win situation.

These days there's a statistic for everything, so let me throw one in about staging. Staged homes STATISTICALLY sell for between 5% and 10% more than their unstaged competition.

So using those figures, a $260,000 home will sell for between $13,000 and $26,000 more. That's great news for your client because you've protected their equity, but it also means that the 3% seller's commission has increased between $390 and $780, or on average $585 per home.

From there the math gets easier to understand. If, on average, you earn an additional $585 per home and sell 24 homes per year, you're AT LEAST $14,040 ahead of where you would be if you hadn't recommended staging.

All this is based on just a $260,000 home ... and only the commission. Now, because we also know that a staged home typically sells 2 to 3 times faster, start factoring in the need to host fewer open houses, spend less money on advertising, leaving more time to focus on other leads... PLUS the additional referrals from satisfied clients who have realized greater profits themselves, and it becomes clear that staging makes good financial sense.

New View Home Staging is a full services real estate staging and property styling company serving Kitchener-Waterloo, Cambridge, Guelph, Stratford and surrounding communities. We pride ourselves in exceptional customer service and would welcome the opportunity to work with realtors and homeowners in southwestern Ontario.

Christine Bird, owner and lead stager, is a Certified Staging Professional and CSP Elite Agent trainer. Please call 519-505-0892 to speak with Christine about your real estate staging requirements.

Kitchener-Waterloo Home Stager, Christine Bird of New View Home Staging, is helping take the home staging industry to a new level of awareness.

Home Staging has emerged as one of the most important and influential components of the selling process that remains within the seller's control. "Location can't be changed and price has a range driven by the market, but how the house is viewed is completely up to the seller," Bird says.

And how the house is viewed directly impacts the sale price. Buyers will pay more for a home that's move-in ready. They no longer want to tackle the challenges of a fixer-upper, and if they do, it will be reflected in their offer. Buyers are busy and they're educated. They're frugal and yet expect more for their money.

So Christine Bird is challenging the realtors themselves to assist home sellers realize their best opportunities for protecting their equity through professional home staging. As a Canadian Certified Staging Professional, she is instructing the North American-wide CSP ELITE AGENT Designation at the local-level. Realtors completing the designation will gain a better understanding of home staging and have the tools available to promote it more effectively to their clients. Home sellers, working with a CSP Elite Agent, will have the confidence and trust in knowing they are being well served and their biggest asset - their home - will be market-ready and competitive.

Home Staging is an extremely effective marketing tool, and it's here to stay. Buyers have embraced it because it reflects their lifestyle and eases the transition to a new home. Sellers and realtors need to understand how to help the buyer make that connection. CSP Elite Agents will be the recognized frontrunners in their field by doing just that.

Canadian Certified Staging Professionals, CCSP ^TM, was founded in Niagara by Christine Rae, and is one of the most widely recognized and respected names in the industry the world over. Her groundbreaking training programs have advanced the careers of thousands of home stagers internationally, and she is now offering realtors the opportunity to gain more insight into the evolution of staging over the past three decades, and its invaluable contribution to the home selling process today.

New View Home Staging is owned and operated by Christine Bird, CCSP^TM. Located in Waterloo, she regularly travels throughout Southwestern Ontario working with home sellers and realtors to enhance and improve a home's marketability through pre-listing consultations, showcasing and staging. Christine's strong background in business and a passion for real estate have propelled her company to one of the most sought out home staging names in the area.

"I am very excited to be offering this innovative training program to realtors in Southwestern Ontario on behalf of CCSP^TM. I hope to advance their businesses by furthering their understanding of mine, and in fact that of all professional home stagers," she said.

To contact Christine Bird email christine@newviewhomestaging.ca, call 519-505-0892 or visit New View Home Staging's website at www.newviewhomestaging.ca.

Realtors interested in learning more about CSP Elite designation, registering for a local class or finding a CSP Elite Stager in their area can contact CSP by calling 1-888-STAGING or visiting www.cspelite.com.

CCSP, Certified Canadian Staging Professionals (CSP in the US) have rolled out a terrific new designation for Realtors ~ the CCSP Elite Agent program!

The Elite Agent program is designed to increase undestanding and marketability of real estate staging; to allow a realtor to differentiate their services through a proven strategic process; and to have an improved listing package with statistics, articles, DVD's and an abundance of information for sellers.

As a CCSP Elite Agent you will be setting yourself apart from your peers... you will better understand and utilize the tools provided through home staging to sell more properties quickly and for top dollar, sign more listings, get paid faster and have happier clients! And happier clients lead to more referrals... which will be sold quickly, for a better price, resulting in happier clients...

The CSP Elite Agent logo will be provided to you upon graduation which you can include in all marketing, and on-line and print advertising. Why not align yourself with one of the most respected home staging names in North America?

As an added benefit in Ontario, CCSP Elite Agents will receive a voucher to complete an on-line CE course, free of charge. CE credits vary by State/Province so you will need to check in your area for comparable offers.

As a CCSP Elite Trainer, I will be conducting the one-day workshops in southwestern Ontario, and classes will start this fall. You can contact me directly for more information or go to www.cspelite.com

Gone are the days of "Stagents"... because busy agents don't have time to stage.

Christine Bird

New View Home Staging

www.newviewhomestaging.ca

christine@newviewhomestaging.ca

This is a piece originally published in my September newsletter...

A mentor to many in the staging profession, and certainly to me, is Christine Rae. Christine is the founder of Canadian Staging Professionals, known as Certified Staging Professionals in the US. She travels the world, recently expanding CSP into Australia, and is keynote speaker internationally at both real estate and staging specific conventions. In her spare time, along with co-author Jan Saunders Maresh, Christine penned Home Staging for Dummies. Yes, there really is one, although it's for anyone BUT Dummies.

I find one chapter of this book to be particularly relevant, and would like to share some of it here. These are their thoughts, condensed by me.

Reasons Sellers Don't Stage Their Properties (But Should)

"We don't have time for home staging"

If you have time to sell your house, you have time to stage it for sale. Don't undervalue the staging process unless you are prepared to accept less than the property is worth. No one can guarantee the results, but statistically unstaged properties realize a lower return on investment than staged properties, and they may be on the market longer. Why would you gamble with the equity?

"Location and Price will do the work"

While location is important, and price is key, a house that isn't in great condition will probably still stay on the market longer than the seller would like, convincing them to eventually sell for less. Improving the condition of the home before listing will positively influence the selling price.

"I get compliments on my home all the time, so I don't need to stage it."

Remember that the home is not being sold to family and friends. Decorating a home for living, and staging a property for selling are two very different things.

Selling a house isn't about taste or decorating style, it's about what the buyer wants.

"My neighbor's house sold without staging"

Well done, but we'll never know if they got as much for their home as they could have. Again, why gamble with your equity? A property that has been properly staged leaves a positive and lasting impression and stimulates multiple offers.

"If it's good enough for me, it's good enough for anyone"

Buyers are more educated about the real estate market than ever before. They're busy, and most make a short list of homes to see off the internet. Staging before listing gives the property more opportunities to get on that short list because the on-line photos will be so much better. Remember, buying a home that requires lots of work is only appealing if the price is low.

"Staging is just de-cluttering and cleaning and I've done that already"

True, these are huge parts of preparing to sell, but far from the entire picture. There's also furniture editing, reducing, replacing and placement, correct use of colour, lighting, props and art, all targeted to the buyer most likely to be looking to purchase the home.

The home is going to be competing with every other home on the market, and many will have been staged. In order to sell the property at a price that everyone is happy with, it needs to compete with EVERY home out there ~ and win!

Christine Bird, owner and lead Stager of NEW VIEW HOME STAGING, is a Canadian Staging Professional.

We can be reached in Kitchener-Waterloo at 519-505-0892

www.newviewhomestaging.ca

christine@newviewhomestaging.ca