Crucial in Today’s Real Estate Market: Home Staging
In today’s 2008 real estate market, sellers are facing new battles in attempting to get their homes sold. With inventories of properties for sale on the multiple listing service (MLS) still at all time highs, sellers are really forced to look hiring a stager in order to get their home sold. Today, let’s discuss the ins and outs of having your home staged, and how it can help you in competing to get your property sold.
First of all, many people wonder, “What is a home stager, and how does the process work?” A home stager essentially is a company that comes in to make your home more sellable. Often times a home is vacant and it needs furniture in various rooms, etc. The stager has rented furniture that he or she brings in to the home. She also has various decorations available. Sometimes, a home needs a complete makeover if you will. In this case, the stager will bring in all types of furniture and assessories.
Sometimes however, a home seller may just need a consulation with a stager to examine items that need to be done in order to make the home more sellable. In cases such as this, no new furniture is brought in, but perhaps more minor things are discussed with the seller to improve salability. Perhaps one room needs some furniture rearranged. Perhaps another room could use a new color of paint. They may often times not seem like very major changes at all. However, these smaller things can make a world of difference for a prospective home buyer.
And it should also be noted: a real estate agent does not always have the “eye” for what a seller needs to do to make the home ready for sale. He or she may be the best marketer, but may not have that right “touch” that can get a home staged and ready to sell. In cases like this, bringing in a home stager can really be an outstanding choice.
Lastly, many people question what overall costs will be. Again, depending upon a home consultation by a stager, which can be a couple hundred dollars, to a full blown staging effort which may go into the thousands, the benefits are surely immense. Home sellers are preparing their homes for sale and getting them ready to receive top dollar offers from buyer agents in their respective real estate markets.
Ryan O’Neill is a licensed agent with RE/MAX Advantage Plus. As the founder of The Minnesota Real Estate Team, Ryan and the team help clients buy and sell Minneapolis Real Estate and Minneapolis Homes.
