Home Staging is a marketing tool that the best real estate agents and savoy homeowners are taking advantage of. We frequently get asked about how much our stagings cost. We tell everyone the same thing; staging is a marketing tool, therefore an investment to ensure your property is marketed in the best way to reach as many buyers as possible. Just like you invest in a great realtor, fantastic marketing photos and your time in getting the home ready for today’s market, you should protect your money by investing in staging.
Take one of our Des Moines clients for example: The homeowners purchased their starter home for $105,000. After living there for three years, a new job opportunity was taking them to a new city. They did not invest in any updates for their home. When they contacted their realtor, she visited and stated the housing prices in their area had been increasing and they had an “as is” value of $115,000 for their property. They were adamant that they could get more, so they contacted us about our signature home staging. They decided to invest $2,300 in having us stage the property.
After we staged the property, we contacted their Realtor to let her know it was ready for photos. She came over the next day to do a second walk through to confirm the listing price and to have professional photos. She was so blown away by how the staging brought a completely new life to the property that she insisted on listing the house for $125,000. The homeowners were ecstatic! Remember, they purchased this house originally for $105,000 and were now being told they were listing it at $125,000! That was a $20,000 difference!
But that wasn’t all! Photos were taken on a Thursday, went live Thursday evening, by Friday the realtor had three showings scheduled! By mid-morning Friday there was a bidding war and the home ultimately sold for $127,500. That is a $22,500 gain! So recap, original listing price was going to be $115,000. They invested $2,300 in staging, and got a new list price of $125,000. And ended up selling the house for $127,500!
Look, I am not going to lie to you and tell you that when clients first hear the investment in staging is a few thousands dollars that they are not intimidated. They are! But, throwing your money away by letting it just sit on the market, or even worse, taking price reduction is not something you want to experience. When you take a price reduction it’s not for $2,300. The average price reduction is $5,000-$10,000 and many times more! Don’t even think about taking a price reduction before you consult with a professional staging company. Put the money into protecting your investment first. If your Realtor is suggesting a $10,000 price reduction, try staging first! Staging is only ever going to show the property in its best light, when done by a professional!
Don’t throw your money away! Call us (515-986-1895) or email (Office@ElizabethErinDesigns.com) and we will help you come up with a personalized signature staging plan to protect your investment! Do you want to hear more of our signature home staging tips and tricks? Check out our blog on The Truth Behind the Staging Investment or Why Utilizing Staging and Photography will Increase Showings Now! Until next time!