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?

FREE Download of All Statistical Images for Your Use!

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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...

FREE Download of All Statistical Images for Your Use!

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…

Home Staging Business Marketing

This 30-minute video on how to get your phone to ring right away for a home staging business will change the way you do marketing!  It’s not easy being a home staging business but this quick video shows you how to market your home staging business right away!  Stop struggling with your marketing and start following these easy steps for home staging business marketing.

Amazing Home Staging Before and After Photos

In the over ten years I’ve been doing home staging training, I NEVER get tired of seeing gorgeous, home staging before and after photos!  Successful staging is not “easy” or something you can learn in a book.  Amazing staging is an ART form born out of extreme expertise driven from a life time of a passion for interiors.  There is so much design talent in our HSR certified membership, I just had to share some of my recent favorites from our almost 10,000 photos in our Stagers Connect photo gallery…

Carolyn Rush of CR Interior Designs, a home staging company in Montgomery County takes a home with lots of character and works her staging magic:

BEFORE Staging

AFTER Staging

Look what Ginger Slemons of Elevating Spaces, a home stager in Salt Lake City did to this home!  It’s all about getting the buyer to stay in the home and eliminating those questions a buyer would have about a home that does not look “model ready”.  As you can see from these two home staging before-and-after photos PAINT makes all the difference!

And you all know what a pillow freak I am, so you can imagine how much I love the way this master bedroom home staging before and after is given some fun style with just a pillow…

Nichol Sandoval of DreamHome Staging in Hollister, CA staged this vacant home where before you mostly notice the bad valance and broken blinds.  Another critical reason to always staging a vacant space…look how the after staging makes this room look adorable!

 

 

 

Every tiny area of the home can benefit from a fresh perspective!  Laura McAllister of Laura Lorraine Designs, a staging company in Rancho Cucamonga, CA helped a friend redesign their entry table area.  Every area of the home, gives the interior stylist an opportunity to create style, function and a smile on the owner’s face!  I love how that tiny space now has big impact:

 

I’m buried in home selling success stories and wish I could share them all!  I also get to hear a ton of personal success stories especially from new members who just decided to take the plunge, follow their dreams and start a home staging and design business…

here’s a couple of my recent favorites that made me laugh out loud…

I am so excited about this business that I can barely sleep!  I dreamt about color  combinations all night. My boyfriend is looking at me sideways,  wondering why this makes me so happy!

Sure beats sitting in a cubicle.  Thanks so much for creating such a great program!

Best regards, Cyndi Latour

This was one of the first non-testimonials I’ve ever received and it made me completely crack up!

Audra, I cant thank you enough. Not a slow start but a slow/medium start to my new business but it finally clicked in and I am now turning down jobs because I am just too busy. There is so much information in your course that I was only able to skim through and if there is such a thing as a “slow season” I welcome the chance to go back and study it further. Looking back, the best tool I used to start my business was to sign up for your classes. The bad news is that I can’t recommend you because I don’t want my competition to have the valuable tools you have provided me…Forever in your debt.

I had to keep that one anonymous but isn’t that hysterical?  Anyway,

homes and people are being transformed in this industry…it’s a wonderful thing!

Finally, I just had to share an email I received from a new member, Janis Capone entitled, “A Great Friday the 13th!”

Janet had emailed me last week letting me know she had her first full, staging day on Friday, Nov. 13, so I quickly emailed her back some tips, encouragement and a request to let me know how it went…here’s what she sent today:

 Hi Audra,

Thanks for the congrats and well wishes.  Today was fabulous!  You really came through for me in so many ways.  I felt prepared, confident and comfortable with my first full home staging.  Your voice was a constant in my head saying,”You can do this”.  I practiced my pitch (like you instructed), I was complimentary of their home, I was honest and I listened to them.

Your words of wisdom really paid off. What great satisfaction not only for me, but more importantly my clients. Rewarded with many hugs and kisses and a check to boot! I know that there is so much more to learn and I can’t wait for this. So in closing, thank you for a great day and I look forward to many more.

 How cool is that?!  What will your story be?

Not all professional stagers are equal!  Our HSR Certification training was the first and one of the only staging and redesign training programs that has been third-party, accredited by the Real Estate Staging Association, so invest in the best!

Ready to Become a Successful Home Stager and Redesigner?

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

Model Home Staging

Secrets to Model Home Staging

I’m so excited to announce an advanced training class I’m adding to the HSR Certification program on Successful Model Home Staging.  This class is free to Home Staging Resource members and will cover EVERY aspect of designing and staging a model home.

I created this class because I had so many members get calls from new home builders and I wanted to make sure they were well prepared to handle this business!

If you are a home builder looking for a stager who is well-trained in handling model home staging, click here to go to our directory

Here’s what I go over in my class and what YOU should know about model home staging:

• How to Define the Buyer Demographic and Create Your Home Owner Profile – My 10-step research process that is critical to selling your concept to the builder and setting yourself apart from your competition
• Five Design Rules for Every Model Home – These are rules of thumb that should never be broken
• Audra’s Five-Step Formula for Design Success – I’m very clear on how you should pick your finishes, fixtures, furnishings, window treatments, art and accessories for these homes.  What to splurge on and what to save on so you get the most bang for the builder’s buck!
• Training Your Eye Using My Formula – I show you an easy way to know exactly how to design for your area plus over 50 photo examples
• Most Important Questions to Ask the Builder – The interview sheet and why the answers will determine your price, services and concept
• Sharing Your Vision – How to easily create a concept board that communicates your vision and expertise while NOT looking cartoony!
• How to Price Your Services – What the builder expects, customizing your quote, working within budget, getting what you’re worth and setting expectations!
• Setting Up Your Critical Vendor List –  Using my design formula, there are critical vendors you will want to source your materials from that I recommend.

Plus…all the forms, price guides, interview sheet, step-by-step process, vendor list (trade discounts), product ideas and more!

The live webinar will be this Wednesday, March 11 at 10am (pacific time) and will go at least 2 hours.  I may have to break it up into 2-parts since there’s a lot to go over!  If you are an HSR member, login to the Members Area to attend but don’t worry, I will be recording this session and adding it to the advanced section of the training.

By the way, much of the process I outline will be perfect for your design clients as well!

XOXO – Happy Staging!

Audra Slinkey

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

audra@homestagingresource.com

PS – Does your training provider always give you the latest, critical information as part of your membership?  Click on the image below, to see Why Certification Matters…

2015 NAR Home Staging Statistics

NAR Home Staging Statistics Are In!

Finally, the National Association of Realtors has surveyed real estate agents on the merits of home staging!  To see the full report, click here or on the image below.  In the survey, they interviewed over 2,300 real estate agents to get their opinion on the benefits of staging, who pays for the staging and how often they recommend staging to their clients.

As a home staging trainer whose sole mission has been to “make home staging an industry standard” for the last 10 years, I’m happy to say that a whopping 34% of the agents surveyed insist on ALL their homes being staged!  Yippee!  Before I get too excited, we stagers have a long way to go in educating the other 66% who don’t think that every listing benefits from staging, so here you go…

I’ve included some fantastic quote images below from the staging report, I want everyone to share on Facebook, Pinterest, your websites, etc…all year long.  They are yours to use freely to get the word out!

Home Staging Deeply Affects Buyer’s Perspective

When Buyers Can Visualize the Product As Their Home, An Offer is Made

Even A Flawed Home Has Hope When Staging Happens

Ask the Seller How Much 11-20% More Would Affect Their Bottom Line

A Very Small Percentage of Agents Think Staging Does Not Affect Price

Together, we can grow this industry

We are not each others competition

Staging works to sell home’s faster and for more money!

XOXO – Happy Staging!

Audra Slinkey

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

audra@homestagingresource.com

4 Steps to Finding Your “Calling”

4 Steps to Finding Your Calling

Another year went by in a flash and I’m taking a moment reflecting on what can help me to slow down time, be very intentional in my planning and focus on my “calling”.  The reality is that everybody has a “calling” and your job should be finding out what that “calling” is for your life.  In Stanford’s graduation ceremony this year, Nike founder Phil Knight said something very profound to the young, excited new grads:

You see, when you find what you were meant to do, what gets your blood going and keeps you up at night thinking excitedly about…you will succeed.  Money usually always follows passion because it doesn’t become “work” at that point and training yourself daily in your passion helps you be become “the expert”.  A key to finding a calling that can become a career is following these important 4 steps:

Step One – Identify Your Core Competencies and Strengths

What is it that you know about and are good at?  What is it that people are constantly complimenting you about? Make a list, if you need to organize your thoughts.  For some ideas, consider your ability to achieve, adapt, analyze, arrange, communicate, compete, connect with people, develop, empathize, focus, learn, etc…Knowing your strengths will help you to understand how to pathway your career.

 Step Two – Identify and List Your Interests and Passions

What is it that you love to do?  What really gets you excited about life?  What gets your blood boiling?  Make a list of the things that you do in your free time, when nobody is watching, and consider whether or not there may be something deeper to that desire.  Many times the things you love to do, correspond to the talents that you have, so look for connections between what your talented/strong at and how it corresponds to what you are passionate about.

Step Three – If Fear and Money Were Not A Factor What Would You Do?

Okay, here’s the tough part…taking fear out out of the equation.  How do you do that?  You need to face the fears and break them down in you mind.  What is the worst that can happen if you pursue your “calling”?  Is the consequence of inaction, better than the risk of trying?  I love this quote by Ralph Waldo Emerson:

Step Four – Take Action and Get Busy!

Just sitting and dreaming does not make things happen.  Take the first steps you need to move closer to your calling for 2015.  The good news is that you have the Internet and so many ways to explore and learn about new things.  Make this year the year you grow, learn and create!

If you love design, know that there is a home staging industry that would love to take that talent and help you do something GREAT with it!  At the Home Staging Resource, we are focused on giving you the tools, strategies, forms and training that allows you to never reinvent the wheel and focus on what you’re great at…staging and design.

I just got this email from Pramiti of BlueGrape Staging who has just been nominated for the RESA Rising Star Finalist of 2015:

Pramiti just took the plunge and followed her calling LESS than a year ago by becoming a home stager!  Don’t let another year go by to follow your calling.

XOXO – Happy Staging!

Audra Slinkey

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

Not all professional stagers are equal! Our HSR Certification training was the first and one of the only staging and redesign training programs that has been third-party, accredited by the Real Estate Staging Association, so invest in the best!

Ready to Become a Successful Home Stager and Redesigner?