As a realtor, you are always looking for ways to differentiate yourself from the competition and increase your income. One powerful strategy that often goes underutilized is offering home staging services. Home staging can not only enhance your client's experience but also significantly boost your commission. In this post we will spotlight one realtor who gave herself a raise by incorporating home staging into her real estate business.
Understanding Home Staging
But first, we need to understand what home staging services offers before we can know how to incorporate into your real estate services. Home staging is the process of preparing a home for sale by making it look as appealing as possible to potential buyers. This involves decluttering, rearranging furniture, and sometimes adding decorative touches to showcase the property’s best features. Staged homes often sell faster and for higher prices compared to un-staged ones.
Why Offer Home Staging Services?
Increased Home Value: Staged homes typically sell for more money. According to the National Association of Realtors (NAR), 83% of buyer’s agents said a staged home made it easier for a buyer to visualize the property as a future home, and 22% of seller’s agents reported an increase of 1% to 5% in the dollar value offered by buyers for staged homes.
Faster Sales: Homes that are staged spend less time on the market. A well-presented home attracts more interest and generates more offers, reducing the time it takes to close a deal.
Higher Commission: By increasing the sale price of homes, you can earn higher commissions. For instance, if you sell a home for $10,000 more due to effective staging, your commission increases proportionally.
Enhanced Reputation: Providing staging services sets you apart as a full-service realtor. It shows that you are committed to helping your clients get the best possible outcome, enhancing your reputation and leading to more referrals.
Realtor Success Story
Meet Kathleen Stakem Schwab. She is a realtor with Re/Max Distinctive. Building meaningful relationships is the heart of her business. She also takes marketing seriously and knows how to incorporate the best services available to get her sellers the highest and best price. She knows the power of staging and incorporates it in her services at no charge to her clients. Kathleen partnered with us this past year and we wanted to hear from her why she offers staging services. We know what staging can do, but what better way to show real estate agents the truth of how staging works than hearing it from one of their own? Here’s what we learned:
Q: Why did you decide to include staging in your services?
A: Negotiation and making connections is my strength. Design is not my strength – not in my own house and not in someone else’s house. It is hard for me to know what will look good on camera. And as we all know, your online pictures are what get people in the door. Designing for the camera and designing for living are two very different skills. For me it is to my client’s advantage and benefit for me to bring in someone who is skilled in preparing a house to show its best.
It's also leverage for me. Very few people are not going to accept something that is free. If I offer staging services as a free benefit to them, they will use it. By including it, it’s just part of the process. Most of the clients are happy to have it as a service, but there are some who find it an annoyance. However, 99.99% of the time, when they get the photos back, they are saying “oh wow, thank God we did that”.
Q: Do you feel like the majority of time you get a higher sell price at the end?
A: Absolutely! Obviously, it’s market specific, but it just changes the mindset of the buyer when they walk in the door when it has been staged. It just feels like there’s less to do, whether the work has been all done or not, it just gives that impression.
Q: What are the advantages to including staging?
A: Higher price tag, as we talked about, but also it front loads a lot of the work my sellers have to do to move. If they have done the decluttering and boxing up items the stager has suggested, that is a whole lot of work they don’t have to do later when move time comes. They will have to do it sooner or later and if they choose sooner their house could sell for more money. So it just makes sense.
Q: How many of the homes you list sell for over list price?
A: Everyone so far this year has sold over list price and that’s not because of a purposeful strategy to list low. My average listing this year has sold for $16,000 over list price. I made my money back from paying the consultation fee on every home.
Q: Are there times when you don’t feel staging is beneficial?
A: Yes. I had a listing not too long ago that was only 4 years old, the paint was in pristine condition, and the homeowner had really taken good care of it and it looked picture ready. I also don’t always use staging services when I’m selling a home in “as-is” condition. Typically, this happens when the sellers are experiencing distress and don’t have the physical or emotional capacity to make any modifications prior to selling. In some cases the priority is not to sell for top dollar, it’s to sell quickly and with minimal effort.
Q: What area of the home is the most beneficial to stage?
A: The main floor. The entry. The things a buyer sees first and foremost. By the time buyers have left the first floor, they have pretty much made up their mind about the house. I always tell my sellers if you are hesitant about painting the whole house (if it needs it), at least paint the main floor, the exterior, the front door – whatever the buyer is going to see first. You can’t get a first impression back.
As a real estate agent competing for a listing, you only get one first impression as well. Why not make it a good one by offering home staging services? You can significantly enhance the value you provide to your clients and increase your own income and give yourself a raise. Staging not only helps homes sell faster and for more money but also sets you apart as a dedicated and professional realtor. Start incorporating home staging into your business strategy today, and watch your commissions—and your reputation—soar.
And if you are in the Northern Virginia area, give us a call and we will gladly partner with you to help sell your homes faster and shine a spotlight on your home with professional home staging advice.