As the market heats up, we are seeing more real estate agents and sellers recognizing the huge benefits that come with hiring a professional home stager! Here is the latest in home staging statistics according to a new Zillow Digs survey of Real Estate Agents and Interior Designers:
“In a market where home prices are rising, it becomes even more essential to get every dollar you can from the sale of your most expensive asset…professional home staging does this for sellers.” – Audra Slinkey
I’m seeing bidding wars all over the place for the right home that is staged beautifully in this 2014 spring housing market. The savvy agent who wants to have the reputation for getting sellers “top dollar” understand the necessity of staged and merchandised rooms, as well as professional photos to post online.
Curb Appeal was listed as the number one home improvement item while using a professional home stager was listed as number two according to the survey.
A home stager can skillfully identify ways to highlight your home’s best features and compensate for its shortcomings. The goal is to make “your home appeal to the broadest audience and number of buyers possible,” says Zillow Digs Board of Designers member Mara Miller of Carrier and Company in New York City.
Warning…not all home stagers are the same! It takes extreme design expertise, a strong knowledge of the real estate market and buyer demographic, as well as special training in phraseology, staging psychology and vendor partnerships (flooring, window coverings, furnishings, etc..) to really maximize the value of the transformation.
XOXO – Happy Staging!
Audra Slinkey
Hope to hear from you!
1-888-563-9271
I love design and probably own every staging and design book and magazine available. I’m really loving the design trends that are driving the staging trends of 2014 because they reflect the brighter economic outlook of sellers and buyers. When people feel good about their home equity, job stability and market conditions…great things happen in design! It’s no wonder that in a recent Houzz Survey all of the tradespeople (especially designers) were feeling wonderfully, optimistic about their revenue growth in 2014! There’s never been a better time to become a stager and designer!
1. Staged Outdoor Spaces – Can you imagine what this space would look like without the staging? Yes, it would be cold and dreary. Karen Hunter of http://www.staging-magic.com/, transforms this yard into an entertainers dream come true! Staging is about creating the vision of what life in the home would look like and including the outdoor living areas is critical! This staging trend is probably one of the most essential and I see so many sellers not have their outdoor areas staged. Remember a photo is worth a thousand words, so have the stager stage the outdoor space, take your gorgeous photos and that is what will sell the buyer online. 95% of buyers are online first trying to find the home of the dreams…what do you think this photo would say to the buyer?
Don’t forget to stage all of the outdoor space and especially the BBQ/bar area. The husband weighs in on the home decision and I imagine this staged outdoor area would speak louder than the table area.
2. White Kitchens – Huge trend now for home owners is light, white, bright kitchens! In a recent Houzz survey an overwelming amount of respondents desired a white kitchen in their home. A professional stager can easily offer this solution at a low cost since the right painter, accessories and accents are what is needed. When the kitchen comprises almost 30% of the buyer’s decision (according to NAR) a little more expense in this main area makes a world of difference in price! Elayne Forgie of http://forgiehomestaging.com/, works wonders in this space.
3. Birds On Display – The bird in the pillow is just a taste of what we will see more of in the future. Whereas last year’s trend was the white porcelain deer head on the wall and horses, this year’s trend is sweet, little birds. I also love how Monica of http://www.definedspacesstudio.com/, used a palette of wheat yellow and variations of blues to create this dreamy bedroom. Okay, I know the chevron pattern is a bit over-used but in this instance it anchors the palette of yellow and blue nicely.
4. White Slipper Chairs and Bright Pops of Color on a White Canvas – White slipper chairs have always been popular but now we’ll see more of them in these whimsical settings where pops of bright hues help to modernize the space. This staging and design technique by Jo McLaughlin of http://jomclaughlindesigns.com/, looks great throughout the home as the overall sunny economic outlook reflects the bolder color palettes people desire. I also love the metallic framed art which is also very popular right now whether silver (as in this photo) or gold.
5. Speaking of gold….the next big trend is warm gold/brass accents – Framed mirrors, art or brass bar carts add warmth and sophistication in any room. Carmen Cuesta of C.C. Loeb Interiors beautifully displays an old wooden table with a touch of vintage and greenery. Certified Home Stagers and Home Stylists have many inexpensive tricks they use to add glamor to a space using what home owners already have.
6. Purple Accents in Small Doses – We all know that the Pantone color of the year dictates future color trends (that’s why we’re seeing so much yellow and turquoise now manifested in design (Pantone’s past colors) but this year’s Radiant Orchid I believe will be best seen in small doses in living areas (as in this staged living area by Lisa DeFrancesco of South Shore Staging and Photography, http://www.ssstagingandphotography.com/.
And while you won’t see Radiant Orchid on the walls in the living areas of truly staged homes, you will see it in beautifully redesigned/styled homes. Susan Batka of Aerie Interiors, http://aerieinteriors.com/ creates a sensual and inviting space for the bolder client. The zebra print rug really helps to anchor the space and look.
7. Dual Coffee Tables – placing two coffee tables next to each other to scale a larger space is a much better staging solution than just one.
8. Clear Tables, Chairs, Lamps and More – Glass has always been an excellent staging tool because of it’s reflective nature and ability to create more light in what would probably be a dark space. Elayne uses glass tables, glass hurricanes and glass lamps to move the minimal light throughout.
White is Right in Big Doses – While white kitchens is the hottest kitchen trend, white also sells when it’s in an 80% dose as in this living room.
9. The Navy Comeback – Navy blue is making a come back in a huge way! Navy just stole our hearts originally via patterns like chevron, ikat and floral (as in this chair) but now it’s really making it’s presence known as a “new neutral” that pairs well with yellow (as shown), turquoise, coral, chartreuse, wheat …basically all of the bright 2014 on-trend colors that add pop to a space. Navy is one of those versatile colors that can work with bright or earth tone accents (just open your latest Pottery Barn catalog to see it with earth tones).
10. The Statement Piece Over-sized Chair – There are so many things I love about this staged space but the dramatic, over-sized, wing-back chairs are my favorite. Every space needs that one thing that makes the buyer go “wow”! Kristine Ginsberg of http://www.elitestagingandredesignmorriscountynewjersey.com/, the USA Top Professional Stager of the Year invests in luxury accessories that create harmony and sophistication in her spaces. Plush elements like the platinum garden stools, mirrored console and geometric lamp shades serve to pull together this space.
In a new Houzz Survey all of the tradespeople (especially designers) were feeling wonderfully, optimistic about their revenue growth in 2014! There’s never been a better time to become a home stager and designer!
11. Non-Matching Chairs Around the Dining Table to Create Interest and Memorability – Those of you who are familiar with my staging and design training know that I never stop at 10, so here’s another trend I think will play strong in the staging world. You can remove the end chairs in a formal dining space to create space and to also take a great, real estate photo head-on OR add unique, statement piece end chairs to take an interesting side photo of the space. Remember, staging is always about the best photo since 95% of buyers are online first, so pick the shot, then stage it.
I’m really loving the design trends that are driving the staging trends of 2014 because they reflect the brighter economic outlook of sellers and buyers.
What a lot of home stagers don’t realize is that agents want different things in different real estate markets. For instance, in a “buyers market” which was 2007-2011 agents just want the property to sell and not sit on the market like their competitions. In today’s seller’s market, the savvy agent wants to get the best price (and sell quickly) but price is king. Why? Because the smart agent knows that if they can be the “high price” leader in their market, then people will give them their listing (instead of their competition).
I love this story told by Lori Murphy who was recently awarded a 2013 Best of Houzz award and nominated for the RESA Rising Star of the Year even though she essentially just completed her HSR training and started her business last year! At the end of the story, I give my three tips on what agents want right now…
Hi Audra,
He continued to tell me how he wants someone who will give the seller the “bad news” so that he doesn’t have to, because he wants to keep his relationship with the seller.
The stagers they’ve been using seemed to just want the seller to like them. He said, “I need someone who will explain to sellers “why” and help them understand it is important in preparing the house to sell. I’d rather postpone putting it on the market by 4 weeks, if when it is listed it’s ready . . . every thing’s done.”
As I sat there listening to him, (he went on for an hour . . . I’ll try not to), I realized something.
At first I shook my head agreeing with him and thinking to myself, “well, of course, that’s what we do” . . . and then it hit me . . . I was trained that way. But it became suddenly clear that because not every stager in Columbus, Ohio received their certification from the Home Staging Resource . . . . well, let’s just say the advantage I have became crystal clear.
Eventually it did make a little sense, and then a little more, and then came the first staging job . . . .and then it really came together! lol
Audra, I’m so glad I made the choice to sign up with HSR! And YOU . . . over the last year and a half, I have never felt that I was in this alone.
Cheers to all the talented home stager’s out there! Any more tips you would like to add to this post?
XOXO – Happy Staging!
Audra Slinkey
Hope to hear from you!
1-888-563-9271
audra@homestagingresource.com
There was a study published by the Wall Street Journal* claiming that “staging” has no effect on the home’s sale price based on the photo above…seriously?! The study had a group of people view virtually staged before-and-after photos and asked them whether they would pay more for the beige room (above) over the purple room (below). Each of the respondents said they would not pay more money for the beige virtually staged room over the purple room.
How can anyone take this study even remotely serious is a minor miracle. Here are the huge problems with this study:
I wasn’t going to even respond to this study since I didn’t want to bring attention to something so absurd but since there has been some chatter about it, let’s put this matter to rest once and for all.
Anyone with half a brain would look at that “after” photo and never in a million years call this a “staged” room!
(This home was staged by Donna Dazzo of Designed to Appeal in New York City)
Living Room After
Boy’s Room After
Girl’s Room After
By the way, I could have produced tons of other similar success stories and photos by the many amazingly talented home stagers across the country who have been maligned by this study. It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to know that when you improve upon a product, you get a better price.
XOXO – Happy Staging!
Audra Slinkey
Hope to hear from you!
1-888-563-9271
audra@homestagingresource.com
*By the way, the study was called: “The Impact of Staging Conditions on Residential Real Estate Demand” and the Wall Street Journal article was called: “Home Staging Effect? Not Much.“
What is it that you love to do and are passionate about? Chances are if you love it, you are truly gifted at it. Do you get goosebumps when you walk into a book store and head to the interior design section? Do you anxiously wait for your design magazines to come in the mail or get “geeked up” over organizing your closet? Do you notice every design detail when you walk into a friends house and then subconsciously rearrange the space in your mind? If you answered “yes” to any of these seemingly absurd questions then you definitely have what I call the “design sickness” and the good news is there’s never been a better time to explore the possibility of creating a business doing it. There is nothing more exciting then doing what you love and getting paid for it!
The most famous real estate agent of all time, Barbara Corcoran is speaking at our Staging Convention in a couple weeks, so it’s incredibly encouraging to see how our work over the years in educating the public on staging has Barbara as a huge supporter and advocate!
Here are just a few quotes from our members I thought was worth posting to encourage others that a new year, can mean so much to you…or it can pass you by.
I am happy to say I am very busy….I have two jobs going and another that I will continue after the first of the year…..I’m loving every minute… Thank you for checking in and thank you especially for providing me with the tools to make my dream happen. I will continue to read and re-read you course and continue to learn from you and my other fellow-ette stagers…
I’m very glad I decided to get my certification and go into the home staging field. I LOVE staging homes and it doesn’t seem like work at all. I also LOVE getting great results for people and seeing their homes sell quickly!
Before deciding to invest in a Home Staging training course I’d done quite an exhausting search to find the course that would best suit my needs, budget and one that would give me the tools I needed to buid my business and my confidence. I have found all of that and more with the Home Staging Resource. I do know a quite few stagers and they have all said they wished they had trained with HSR instead. All of the materials you need are included with HSR, where they had to pay extra for just about everything that HSR provides. So glad I made the decision to go with the Home Staging Resource!
Kind regards,
Susan Thompson
Ready-Set-Stage, LLC