If a buyer walks into a home and immediately knows it’s been staged then I don’t think we’ve done a great job for our clients.
Of course the house looks neater than real people usually live day to day, but that’s not unlike dressing up and getting your hair done for a first date. It’s still you, only more polished.
When you think about it, our goal is to get buyers to fall in love with a property so that they’ll pay as much as possible for it. So if you hit them over the head with the fact that that’s what you’re doing, they’re going to resist the seduction.
I avoid anything that looks overly contrived (like a tray with a tea pot on the edge of a bed, or a dining table laid out as if the President or Queen were arriving any minute), it just ruins the magic!
Perhaps that will be the subject of another post… my top ten most hated staging tactics! Send me yours and I’ll compile a master list!
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Good afternoon Debra,
Remember the $600.000 batchelor pad ? Well, the first couple that looked at the property after staging made an offer and the listing is SOLD. The property had been listed 65 days with no offers. The unsure agent is all about staging now. She has offered to endorse me in any way she can with her company of 60 agents. Have a great day and I have just signed up for course 3. Gary , An Eye 4 Change . Nashville, Tn.
Not a big fan of the karate chopped sofa or bed cushions personally, and nothing screams badly staged like the bottle of bubbles and two champers glasses…
Love it Adam, you’re so right!
I completely agree Debra. Over-staging looks great in a magazine ad, but it just doesn’t look realistic when you’re doing a walk through. Simple is best in my opinion. I look forward to reading your most hated.
Beyond the Eye – Home Staging, London Ontario
Thanks for commenting Trish! I was in a house staged by movie stylists and everyone was so busy looking at all the stuff they used they weren’t even looking at, or talking about, the house itself.