Even in a sizzling seller’s market, a well-staged home presentation can make a big difference in how your home is perceived, and can even increase the amount of the sale.
A buyer walking into a dramatically staged or furnished home, will have a completely different impression than one walking into an empty house.
“A good way to look at home staging is how it can increase the perceived value of the property, whether you are viewing the listing online or experiencing the property in person,” said Jacen Crehan, co-owner of StagedSpaces, a San Gabriel Valley-based company which stages homes for sale all over Southern California.
“It does increase the amount of time people will spend in a property, whether they’re doing that privately or in an open house,” Crehan added. “And that’s an important thing to do, is try to keep people in the house as long as possible. It also has a higher percentage of increasing your visibility online through major real estate search engines.”
And while the evidence for higher prices may be only anecdotal, Crehan has an anecdote or two.
As he explained in a recent interview, “Almost every single property we’ve ever staged has gone over asking. If you want to put a number behind it, we have returned, I would say, a couple million dollars over asking with all of the properties we have staged over the last eight years.”
The idea of staging is also a partnership process between the homeowners and their realtor, said Daniel Coffman, co-owner, who added, “It’s always a really good idea to get your real estate agent involved in the beginning.”
This relationship helps the partnership and makes sure that the marketing plan is totally cohesive, he said.
Actually having your home staged is a bit like planning a movie shoot, Coffman explained.
The first step is a site visit which can be accomplished virtually or in person. In fact, Coffman pointed out that the company is doing more virtual site visits these days than ever before.
“And that can be as simple as sending in a cell phone video of your space to us, or emailing into our website,” he said.
The company also utilizes old listing photos when sending out proposals. But the actual site visit is the first step.
“Then once we understand the scope of the project,” he said, “we’ll put together a proposal for review.”
Once the proposal is finalized and the deposit is secured, an “install” is scheduled. Working from a 4,000 square foot warehouse in Irwindale, the designers can choose any number of looks for a home, from modern to traditional, all designed to make the place feel like, well, home.
Installations typically take a day, Coffman explained. Very rarely do projects extend into multiple days for an installation.
Initial contracts are for 90 days of rental, with a month-to-month contract after that time frame. When the home is sold, then it’s time to “strike” the home, like a movie set.
“That’s when we come back and wrap up all of our things and return the home to the way it was when we arrived,” Coffman added.
According to Coffman, typical home staging projects start at $2,500, but an average staging usually runs around $4,000.
“We specialize in creating a cohesive plan for each environment that provides the homeowner with everything a balanced room needs. From big upholstered pieces to rugs, throw pillows, faux greenery, artwork, everything needs to work together,” said Coffman.
Once a home is finally staged and ready to be viewed (and sold), it often happens that home buyers are so smitten with the home’s look that they want to purchase the staging furnishings.
“The new homeowner will quite frequently ask for pricing for items that were in the staging. A big part of our business is restyling and residential design projects where we work with homeowners installing art decor, furniture to better suit their lifestyle. It’s not always just for real estate.”
And should you be wondering if your home either requires a staging, or “deserves” one, Coffman assures that staging is for “every kind of real estate.”
Said Coffman, “It’s not just for ugly homes that don’t have any furniture in them. It is for new homes, model homes, small homes, partially furnished homes, or homes that need a lot of rehabilitation. It serves every kind of environment in a positive way.”
More information about StagedSpaces is available at www.stagedspaces.com; (626)765-4762. info@stagedspaces.com.
