Real Estate has changed in the last few years and staging has become a must-do when getting your house ready for sale. But what is staging? And why have the public and real estate agents been confused about it? Most agents today will tell their clients to “stage or edit” their property by cleaning it, removing magnets off the fridge, and taking down family photos. They offer advice on packing up the clutter and removing it from the property. This is good advice, as a preparation point, but it’s not staging.
Let me say that again. De-cluttering is not staging. De-cluttering is part of a three-step process to staging.
Step 1: The consultation process determines what needs to be done at the property. This is a paid-for consultation because intellectual property is being shared from the stager to the home sellers. The stager is giving advice, making a property-specific checklist, and offering solutions for the sellers to help them create a more marketable property.
Step 2: This step involves renting storage space, a dumpster, donating or gifting items then packing up all the stuff listed on the checklist, doing all repairs that have been neglected, cleaning the home really well, and doing updates that are going to give your home an advantage over other listed properties. This part can take a few days, weeks, or months, depending on how much needs to be done. After doing all of this, your home is still not staged. It is only prepped for staging. This is where many agents and homeowners miss out. They think that doing these first 2 steps is staging. It is not.
Step 3: The staging. This step involves hiring a professional stager (with a proven track record). The stager will come in and take photos, and measurements, and take notes about the staging plan. The stager should be well versed in the following concepts to successfully create a staged home for you.
Staging is About
- Creating correct traffic flow patterns for the brokers and buyers
- Highlighting the property’s features, such as large windows, fireplaces, new cabinetry, new flooring, etc.
- Directing the buyers’ eyes to see these features through use of proven staging techniques
- Designing visually and technically correct furniture placement in each room
- Building layers of interest in each room, without being distracting to the eye
- Tying room color and styles together in a cohesive way
- Using proper scale and proportion in furniture and accessories, including how to hang artwork properly
- Creating wow factor first impressions in every room that draw the buyer deeper into your home
- Showing the buyers how they can “live” in the home using “lifestyle selling techniques”
- Generating interest in the property through speaking to the “emotions” of the buyer
This is staging. This is the icing on the cake, the most important grand finale to the first two steps. This is also the step that sometimes gets missed by owners who think that they have staged, but truly have only de-cluttered. Completing these three steps is a winning formula. Be the house that stands out in the market.
