New 2017 Home Staging Statistics

New 2017 Home Staging Statistics Are In!

The "actual value" of home staging is hard to quantify because who has the crystal ball to know what the home would have gone for had it not been staged?  Having said that, I get emails daily from HSR Grads who stage homes that have been sitting only to have them receive multiple offers after they staged the home. 2017 home staging statistics are hard to come by but luckily a new survey has been done.

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Statistical Changes from 2015

Does Staging Increase the Home's Value?

Does Staging Effect the Buyer's Viewpoint?

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How Important is Each Room from a Staging Standpoint?

Who Pays for Staging?

Statistical Changes from 2015

In 2015 the National Association of Realtors® (NAR) created a survey profile of home staging for the first time and the staging industry went wild!  Finally, staging which has become commonplace on HGTV was being acknowledged in a real way by NAR.  I'm so pleased to see that NAR has updated those statistics for 2017 and while not much has changed, here are some key differences in the report:

• Staging the Outdoor Spaces has become much more critical as "outdoor entertaining" is hot!
  
• The 2017 profile featured the importance of staging for each room of the home

My mission has always been to "make hiring a professional home stager when selling a home an industry standard" and it's statistics like the ones below which help our industry EDUCATE, EDUCATE, EDUCATE the value of what we do!

Does Staging Increase the Home's Value?

Yep, agents are "getting it" and the "Seller's Agents" are really seeing that the homes that are staged are getting a better price than the un-staged homes.  While it's hard to quantify exactly how much more a seller is getting for their home, it's easy to say that improving upon a product usually nets you more.

Does Staging Effect the Buyer's Viewpoint?

The Buyer's Agent sees that taking their client's to homes that have been staged provides a more likely offer since the staging does effect the way the buyer views the home.

Do you have a home on a busy street, small lot or in a more undesirable area?  Check out this stat...

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How Important is Each Room from a Staging Standpoint?

How important is staging every room of the home?  It turns out that each room has it's own value of importance according to these 2017 home staging statistics.  In fact, this is one reason why I train my students to do good, better, best type bids when it comes to staging a vacant home.  Providing options to clients in a way that fits their budget while maximizing return on investment is important and my HSR home staging certification training teaches this critical business concept.

Each room in the home provides an opportunity to "wow" the buyer, so staging and every detail matter!

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Living Rooms and Master Bedrooms Top the Chart!

Staging the key areas in a vacant home which include the living areas, master bedroom, dining areas and kitchen are obviously an important factor to most buyers according to these 2017 home staging statistics!

I've long been saying that outdoor areas are trending in importance to the aesthetic and return on investment, so it was nice to see that this area of staging was right behind the kitchen in importance!

Who Pays for Staging?

A lot of times the agent feels like they should be the ones providing the staging service or paying for staging but this is simply not true.  The home seller benefits the most by having their home "move-in ready" and staged, so they should be the ones to pay for this critical service. 

In fact, now more than ever home seller's are contacting a professional home stager BEFORE getting an agent...

 

2017 National Association of Realtors® Profile of Home Staging Report is in!  Here are some 2017 home staging statistics images you can use…

Perfect Business for New Moms

Having just come back from speaking at the Real Estate Staging Convention I have so many, amazing stories to tell about the people who take a leap of faith, follow their design passion (and talent), take our HSR Certification training and are now loving life!  I have tons of photos to share too but I wanted to get this story out which showed home staging to be the perfect business for a new mom.

One such story, I had to share right away was Asha Thune Clarks of Haven Space Designs an Austin, TX based home stager.  I love her story because it shows how she created the perfect business for new moms and so represents what I hear daily from people wondering if they can do this. 

Asha was a new mom when she started the HSR training four years ago and wanted a business that could work around her hours, allow her to contribute to the family finances and still make all the important events in her children’s lives.  That's when she found my training!

Here's Her Inspiring Story and Impressive Portfolio...

One of my very favorite childhood memories was walking into my bedroom and discovering that my mom had surprised me with a beautiful new bedspread. I can still feel the fabric and could pick that particular shade of pink out of a lineup any day. I could not have been more than four years old, but I vividly remember the beauty of my newly, lovingly designed room and how it made me feel: special, loved, and perfectly at peace (as much as a four-year-old recognizes peace).

Throughout the many years that followed, I looked at houses inside and out and loved how the built environment influenced the way I felt. My husband still finds my habit of asking him to slow down as we drive past warmly lit houses at night a bit creepy, but I just love how life happens inside a space that looks and feels beautiful.

When I was around ten, my mom started working for Any Baby Can, an amazing organization that helps families with children with special needs or chronic illnesses. I would tag along on many of her endeavors. One such trip brought us to a small house where we delivered Thanksgiving dinner. I will never forget driving up to the house and once inside, realizing that the dirt floors were not a temporary inconvenience during a remodel or construction; it was the way of life. My heart was changed so strongly that I found myself engaged in as much volunteer work during my high school years as I could find.

When I was accepted into the UT School of Social Work, it seemed fitting; however, I had this nagging voice that wouldn’t let me ignore the dream of creating interior spaces that look and feel beautiful. After all, I was the girl who introduced herself to her would-be college roommate not by saying what my hobbies and interests were but by telling her that our dorm room would be decorated in purple and to please be sure she coordinated her bedding accordingly. Miraculously, she is still one of my most treasured friends.

I completed my graduate degree in Social Work and years went by. I found myself enjoying my career at a local non-profit for several years, but the feeling of “what if I could do what I really love” never went away. When I found out I was pregnant with my daughter, my husband encouraged me to take a leap of faith and make a change since we were about to embark on the biggest change of all. I wanted to be sure that whatever I did, I made it official; I started researching Professional Staging Certification programs. I found HSR and began the training.

I was a kid in a candy store going through the modules and learning more not just about how to stage and decorate but how to run my own business.

Before I even completed the training, I had my first client. I was in a total panic and made a couple frantic calls to Audra to get guidance on how to proceed as if I knew what I was doing. HSR gave me tools that helped me move confidently forward. I cannot believe that this journey started almost three years ago. My business has grown steadily, along with my family.

I specialize in Occupied Consultations and also work with design clients who want to improve their living spaces. I also now have a 10-month-old little boy. It is an amazing gift to live near my own mother who helps juggle – I mean watch- the little ones when I meet with clients. I get to plan my work around their needs and never have to miss out on special moments or events. As ridiculous as it sounds, I often find myself driving away from clients’ homes with a smile on my face.

I was recently asked the age-old “if you won the lottery, would you quit the next day” question. Without a doubt, my answer is “No!” I love what I do, I love the people I get to help, I love the realtors I work for who want the best for their clients, and I love that HSR helped turn my life-long daydream into my real-life job.

Woohoo, how cool is that?!

Thank you Asha for sharing your story and talent to encourage others!   This is an amazing industry because of people like you.

If you're reading this and thinking about becoming a home stager and creating your story...then watch my free video about how to become a home stager below...

Could “ Home Staging" be a Career for You?

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Don’t miss this..!!

• 7 Key Questions to Ask Yourself
  
• What the Cost is to Starting this Business
  
• Do You Have the Personality for This Industry?
  
• How You Know If You Have the Design Talent?
  

Watch it Now »

Some More Recent Stories from Home Stagers...

5 Steps to Successful Blogging for Home Stagers and Designers

I just finished updating my “Blogging” section and creating a webinar about successful blogging for home stagers and designers in 2015.  The Internet is always changing and so I’m constantly updating my training material to reflect what matters to stager TODAY.

Blogging for business is not about writing down your musings so much as giving prospects an insight to the way you work and your style, so having a plan for how to do this is essential!

If you’re a home stager, you may be saying, “why blog?”  That’s a good question.  Here are six great reasons why blogging is essential for home stagers:

1. For skilled writers who are capitalizing on their strength
2. To create credibility – which in our industry is critical
3. To create a “Buzz” about your business and staging in general
4. Better SEO for your website – Who doesn’t want that?
5. Build your email list – Fill your pipeline with prospects
6. “Touch” your prospects/clients – Most of sales is just reminding people that you are there

I see so many stagers create interesting blogs to only have them go out into the Internet-sphere never to be read by anyone!  It’s a complete waste of time to blog and not be incredibly “intentional” about it, so…

Here are my 5 Steps to Blogging Success for Home Stagers and Designers:

1.  WHO Exactly is Your Audience?

As a professional home stager and designer, you have many different target markets you could potentially be writing to.  Too many times I see stagers writing for other stagers which really doesn’t help them at all.  In the blogging training I added the members area, we listed those target markets, where they hang out online, what they wanted to see/learn about and more importantly…what they would share.  When you know WHO you are targeting you can move onto the next key step and that is…

2.  WHAT Are Your KEY WORDS?

One of the beautiful things about the home staging vs the design industry is it’s lack of keywords.  Yes, it’s a good thing when there are few terms that describe what you do because that makes listing those terms that much easier.

For the home staging industry, the key words that 85% of folks would use to search are “home staging” and “home stager” but getting to the top of Google with those keywords can be tricky, so thinking outside of the box is imperative.  List your “service” key words and how someone in your area might phrase those services and your type of work in a search.  Next list your specific location keywords and you have a starting point for what to blog about.

A very cool tool that helps you brainstorm these key word terms is at www.semrush.com.  Remember, my philosophy is to help stagers never reinvent the wheel and when you know how to use the cool tools online that help your business…you save tons of time!

3.  HOW Can You Get Their Attention?

Nobody wants to read straight text.  In an era of very short attention spans, it’s critical to be visual and readable!  Here are things to think about when trying to get your reader’s attention:

• Headlines Matter – There are cool resources online that can help you craft a killer headline and I list some in the training
• Images Matter – We are in the visual industry and a picture is worth 1000 words, so make this work for you!  I list a ton of great resources and rules for images in the training but you all know I’m a huge fan of Canva which puts the visual in motion.  Canva is developing a Canva at Work program I’m excited to see, so go to Canva for Work so you get early access.
• Readability Matters – People like numbered lists and bullet points, so it’s easier to skim the page.
• Grammar Matters – Another cool tool that can help with your grammar is at www.grammarly.com.

4.  WHEN Should You Post?

It’s not so much about what time of day (although I’d stick to midday) but how often?  It takes time to blog, so shooting for once a week on Wednesdays is a good goal to start.  Plan ahead and develop a calendar based on the ideas you brainstormed in steps 1-3.

There’s nothing worse than going to a website and seeing that the last blog was posted in 2012!  An easy way to not give the impression you’re out of business is to simply leave the date off your posts.

5.  WHERE Can You Distribute Your Post?

You see, the key to successful blogging is the ability to not only write well but more importantly, distribute the blog to the specific audience you are targeting.  There are so many great ways of doing that!  In the blogging training I put in the HSR members area, I created a worksheet that listed the places I repost/share my blog once it’s up.  Obviously, you will want to share your post on your Facebook, Pinterest, Twitter profiles.  Beyond that you will want to share it on your LinkedIn and Google+ profiles, as well as with your Groups, Circles, etc…Having a worksheet that helps you keep track of when you shared the post to each profile is critical!

In the HSR Training, I have an exhaustive list of all the editorials across the country by city in my “Public Relations Section”.  A great way to get publicity is to share your articles/posts with your local newspaper/magazine editors who are always looking for content and photos!

In Closing…

When you think about it, this 5 step formula for blogging success can really work for almost any industry, so if you’re a real estate agent, you may want to follow this formula as well!

The home staging industry is growing leaps and bounds and it helps all of us when stagers look great, get press and are connecting very credibly with real estate agents, sellers and home owners!

XOXO – Happy Staging!

Audra Slinkey

Hope to hear from you!
1-888-563-9271

audra@homestagingresource.com

3 Ugly Truths About Home Staging

3 Ugly Truths About Home Staging

I wrote an article recently in the National Association of Realtors, Styled, Staged and Sold blog that got a lot of interesting and conflicting comments from agents and stagers.  In the article, that you can read here,…I talked about the importance of being of honest with sellers in the 2015 real estate market and to tell the ugly truths about staging and selling.

The comments came fast and furious.  One of the commenters didn’t like the “angle of the before photos” because it wasn’t EXACT, so she did not think she would use a stager…huh?!!  This kind of nonsensical thinking is still out there when it comes to understanding what staging does and does not do for a home.  I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again:

Home staging is not rocket science, it’s pure economics…when you use an expert to improve the look of a product, the demand thus price goes up.

The article was a follow-up on my 3 Ways to Start a Bidding War Through Staging article that has been shared a TON by stagers and agents, so thanks so much!  I’m reminded that I need to educate sellers and agents like never before about home staging!   Together, we can do so much!

This season’s real estate market promises to be an exciting one, so buckle your seat belt folks…