The next time an agent tells you “home staging doesn’t work,” get them to check out this video. It’s a wonderful example of what can be done over a single day or two, using what the homeowner already has and creating a completely new environment. Dare I say “hot property”!
Four minutes well spent to watch the transformation of this Westport, Connecticut home that has sat for 6 months without a single offer. Well no wonder! You’d think her agent might have mentioned that her lovely home just looked plain sad. That it looked like she was half moved out already!
Check it out and add your comments below!
Debra Gould, The Staging Diva®
President, Six Elements Inc. Home Staging
Internationally recognized home staging expert Debra Gould, creator of the Staging Diva Home Staging Business Training Program, has staged millions of dollars worth of real estate, including seven of her own homes. She is president of home staging firm Six Elements Inc. and has trained over 1000 home stagers to start and grow their own businesses.
Wow that is Home Staging to the max. I love how he has just completely transformed that home utilising everything that was already there. Debra it would be great to find out if the house sold straight after the transformation.
Yes, would love to know if the house sells.
Thanks Debra, that’s a very useful link. I do have to say that he picked a very good house to stage, as the architecture of it is attractive, the fittings were decent and the owner already had some lovely furniture. Maybe that made it an even better example, because in such cases agents would be more likely to think that it looks fine and there is no need for a stager. Lovely owner too! I hope she sells quickly and for a good price. Best wishes from France! Sophia
Great piece. Really shows how fast transformations can happen and of course the difference they can make. And yes. Did the house sell!
I really liked this video. He really helped me to see how you can start Homestaging with next to nothing to purchase. The furntture that was in the house was used and nothing was purchased from a furniture rental store. They had Benjamin Moore contractors for painting and he worked for five hours and showed us new homestagers how he had homestaged this house in that little amount of time. Also, he showed how to greet the lady at the door and how appreciated she was……….. That really made me think how important Homestaging really is.
Debra, well this just got my blood boiling! Of course, not because I disagreed with anything – quite the opposite! Lately, I’ve felt like a snake oil salesman when I speak to real estate agents, whether formally or informally, about staging. They seem even less receptive than last year.
Yes, as you said, how could her real estate agent put that on the market looking like that? I am amazed at what I also encounter. Over the last 2 weekends I’ve gone to several open houses. In one of them, the homeowner clearly had just had a birthday party for one of the children and there were Happy Birthday balloons floating at the top of the ceiling – one right in the entry foyer! And this was one of many things which I won’t go into. When I pointed this out to the real estate agent, she just shrugged her shoulders. She could have at least put the balloons in the garage temporarily. In the other open house, there were family photos all over the place, including a rotating show of them on the TV set. I told the agent the apartment was lovely but that she might want to tell the homeowner to remove the photos during open houses because when I was walking around, I felt like I was intruding on someone’s personal space and if that’s how a buyer feels, they can’t imagine themselves living here. To which she said that she thinks photos make the place homey and she has been selling real estate for 20 years and doesn’t agree with me. Then she proceeded to check her emails on her blackberry and ignore me.
Loved the video..Great media coverage for Home Staging …amazing what can be done in a short period of time! Hearing the home owners comments and seeing her reaction to the results reinforces why Home Staging is such a vital step in the real estate process.
Also would be interested to know how long it took to sell .
Hi, Debra!
I’m considering this video a little birthday gift to me for my portfolio, so Thank you! I have to agree with Donna and Lisa above. Donna’s description of being treated like a “snake oil salesman”, was sadly LOL funny. I know exactly what she’s talking about. I, too have been to many Open Houses that just scream “Please stage me!”, and the agents in Venice, FL act the same way. Saying I’m frustrated is an understatement. I hope this video , which I will link to my website as well, impresses clients and realtors as much as it did me. As Lisa indicated, I hope you are able to post the results of this staging with a resounding SOLD video. Thanks again, Debra!
Debra, Good video. I tend to agree with Donna. I have noticed in my area that several agents feel they can stage themselves and offer as part of their listing packets. In some cases clients have told me their agent discouraged them about staging. It never ceases to amaze me some of the pics I see on line. WHAT WERE THEY THINKING…. We are’nt out there telling folks they don’t need agents , so why should they feel we are’nt needed or give that impression. As we all know there is such a thing as bad staging , so why not leave it to the pros………and do it right…..
The video made the point, unfortunately the designer made the point that you could do it yourself and the reality is most people can’t do it themselves and wind up sabotaging the sale of their home by doing it themselves or letting a realtor do it for them. I have gone into many staged homes open houses and was horrified at the staging the agents bragged about doing. They actually receive some kind of certificates from their companies that say they are trained home stagers. I went into a home where they actually thought it was a selling point to have each room painted in a different primary color….. scary.
I like that Stephen used all the clients furniture.
I live in a rural community and I think this kind of Staging would work in my area.
The first house I did, I staged like he did. I have been thinking of marketing myself
to Stage in a day; along with doing consultations. Thanks for the video!
Karen Cook.
Debra,
I loved this video because it so clearly demonstrates that it is possible to stage a home by using sellers own furniture and accessories. As many people struggle with today’s economic situation, they don’t want to spend a lot of extra money when selling their home, specially when they are forced to re-locate or sell. This video shows the value of a designer who has the ability to see things as they could be and the skills to reveal home’s true potential.
Hi Debra – I LIVE IN WESTPORT, CT!!! To bad I’m not as famous as Stephen Saint-Onge…yet! Is this clip something that I could link to my website??? I agree that there needs to be some way to come to a meeting of the minds with Real Estate agents. Can you imagine if we were telling their clients “You don’t need to pay commisssion – just sell it yourself.” Jeez, why can’t all help each other out!!
Good Video Debra thanks for sharing. I believe alot of it go back to good old common sense. I can not believe time and time again how I have seen pictures of listings on line of a kitchen with clearly the realtors laptop and or purse ploped on the kitchen counter in plain view and that’s the picture they post on their website along with the dirty dishes in the sink. shame on the owner and the realtor.
I also, have approached realtors and they say that they don’t need homestagers till Spring where I live.
Also some of the places realtors show are out rageous clutter everywhere or it is very dark because they kept the curtains closed. All the houses except two that I looked at to buy , didn’t have any furniture in them and it just didn’t feel as homey. The two with looked better but I looked at one of the two furnished and then without and then I didn’t really like it at all because of old basement, fixtures were loose. Pipe in basement had burst during winter. It was also a dark house. I never talked to one at a open house though. I think that realtor was rude.
Amazing transormation Debra. What a lovely home, I too would like to hear if it sells. I am getting NO WHERE with realtors, it’s so interesting to me why they don’t use stagers more at at least recommend them to the home sellers. When I go to open houses almost all of them say, without being probed, that they have a hard time telling the sellers what they need to do without offending them. Of course I explain the benefits of using a stager but I’ve never been hired by a realtor…or recommended by one. Doesn’t make sense to me!
That was a great little video. It really shows the average person what can be done with little to nothing. I hope that people really see what a difference color and furniture placemnet can make in their homes.
Miss Home Staging
Hi,
I have to agree with you all! SO, HOW DO WE GET THOSE REALTORS TO ACCEPT OUR SERVICES?
New Orleans Area
I found what Debra recommends in her course very helpful, i.e., do not focus your marketing efforts on realtors, but on home sellers themselves. If a real estate agent isn’t open to the idea of staging, or thinks that they can do it themselves, then it’s wasted time and energy trying to convince them. I live in rural France and am the first stager in a large region and it’s already clear to me that the agents just get nervous when I start talking to them about home staging. It feel a bit like talking to a smoker about ways to stop smoking. They know you’re right, but they don’t want to hear it, because it means they’ll have to take action. It’s bizarre, but a fact. So, focus on the sellers, they are the ones who are putting their equity on the line after all.
Thanks everyone for your comments. A few observations:
* Unfortunately real estate (like any field) has many bad apples. There are excellent agents who genuinely care and go the extra mile for their clients. They are the 20% who do 80% of the sales (or so conventional wisdom suggests, in real estate I personally think it’s more like 10% doing 90%). That’s why I recommend in the Staging Diva Training Program to find out who those agents are and ignore the rest.
* I always go out to open houses incognito to see what agents I’d want to deal with (or list my own homes with). I’ve seen everything from what all of you have described, to agents who actually tell me the house is overpriced as I walk in the door!
* The largest percentage of my home staging income comes from staging occupied homes using mostly what clients already have. This has always been the case.
* Yes you can use this video on your own sites. When you finish watching it, I believe you’ll see a share link at the top.
*If you want to learn more about how to deal with real estate agents and how to build your business directly with homeowners too, check out course 4 of my training program, Staging Diva Sales & Marketing Secrets to Build Your Home Staging Business, https://stagingdiva.com/store
Thank you all for your comments, keep them coming!