How to Get More Listings, Sell them Faster, and Make More Money

Today’s post comes courtesy of Sveta Melchuk, professional home stager. If your listing business is stalling, your going to want to check out her tips on using home staging to get more listings, sell them faster, and make more money! Hint: you don’t have to offer free staging to your sellers to leverage the power of staging! Read on for some insider info.

How to Get More Listings, Sell them Faster, and Make More Money

As you probably know by now, Home Staging has gained in popularity in the last 20 years and is now a “trendy” real estate marketing tool.

The concept originated in the western USA in the 1970s.   The term was coined by Barbara Schwarz, when she worked as a realtor in Bellevue, Washington and started decorating homes for sale i.e. “staging” them to look their best, to impress the potential buyers.

Home Staging is an interesting phenomenon, as its implementation and usage varies tremendously between different countries and even, different states/provinces.  The field of staging is unregulated and an official accreditation doesn’t exist.  In fact, anyone can become a home stager overnight.

I started my home staging company in Montreal, Canada in 2006. Even today, 14 years later, the staging industry in Quebec is not nearly as successful as it is in Ontario or in British Columbia.  In the USA, the regional differences are significant as well.  In some states, such as California, Washington, Florida, and New York, staging has become a norm.  And some states are just getting into the new way to sell real estate.

Home Staging concept is finally taking hold in Australia, Europe, and South America as well.

Of course, in the last few years, media and various real estate shows on TV helped consumers understand the real benefits of staging their properties for sale and, in some cases, they created the demand within the real estate industry.

There is no doubt that staging, properly executed, can make a huge difference in the number of days a house spends on the market, as well as the selling price of a property.

If you want to see some recent statistics, let’s have a look at the NAR March 2019 Survey of over 2000 agents.

The following highlights are significant:

• Buyers’ Agent Perspective:
  • Eighty-three percent of buyers’ agents said staging a home made it easier for a buyer to visualize the property as a future home.
  • One-quarter of buyer’s agents said that staging a home increased the dollar value offered between one and five percent, compared to other similar homes on the market that are not staged.
• Sellers’ Agent Perspective:
  • Twenty-eight percent of sellers’ agents said they staged all sellers’ homes prior to listing them for sale.
  • The median dollar value spent on staging was $400.
  • When staging a home, 22 percent of sellers’ agents reported an increase of one to five percent of the dollar value offered by buyers, in comparison to similar homes. Seventeen percent of respondents stated that staging a home increased the dollar value of the home between six and 10 percent.

You can read the full report here:  https://www.nar.realtor/sites/default/files/documents/2019-profile-of-home-staging-03-14-2019.pdf

Another interesting survey of 900 top agents was conducted by Homelight in June 2019.

Some Highlights are:

• 67% of top agents say that home staging helps a seller fetch more money for their house at resale.
• Over 50% say that staging increases a home’s value from anywhere between 1%-10%.
• 83% of agents say that a staged home will sell faster than an unstaged home.

You can read the full report here: https://www.homelight.com/blog/home-staging-statistics/

How YOU can use home staging as a leverage to obtain new listings

Depending on the local market you’re in, home staging might be already expected by home sellers and, therefore, you must offer them a solution.   Or, in some markets, where the concept is less established, you can use it as leverage.

What do your competitors offer when they interview for a listing?

If home staging is not yet a norm in your market, you can offer a “Home Staging package” for lived-in homes.   The trick is to keep the home staging costs at a reasonable level, so that it becomes an affordable service for any home seller, not just high-end properties.

Some agents do some minimal home staging themselves for their clients.   I think it might create an awkward situation with the client (for example, if some delicate issues such as cleanliness and odors must be discussed J).   And it will take up quite a bit of your valuable time.

Another option is to partner up with a local professional home stager.  The consultation costs vary by geographical area you’re in, but they could be somewhere between $200 and $400 for a consultation only. The full staging service by a home stager could be more in a $500-$1000 range and, usually, includes reorganizing the house with the client’s stuff.

I recently spoke to several agents, who told me their costs are often between $1000 and $2500 on staging fees per listing, which might not be a viable option for homes in lower price ranges.

Who pays for the home staging service?

Again, it varies by geographical area.  I suggest you research your market and your competition.  If, in your area, the sellers don’t expect you to pick up the full tab, good for you!   You can decide how much are you willing to contribute on a case-by-case basis.

If, on the other hand, your competitors include staging in their services, you’ll have to do the same.

How can YOU compete and offer a “Home Staging package” at a reasonable cost to you?

If a home is vacant and you decide to stage it, you’ll probably need to hire a staging company, as they will provide all the furniture and accessories and do the setup.   To minimize the investment, you could stage the main rooms only:   the entrance, living room, dining room, the kitchen, and the master bedroom.   You don’t really need to stage every room of the house!

If a home is lived in, you have a few options available to you:

• You pay for a staging consultation only and the client implements the staging recommendations
• You pay for one day of in house staging by a home stager with the client’s stuff

Or, I’d like to introduce another option to you!

I’ve created an online program for savvy home sellers, which guides them through the house preparation and staging process in an easy, cost-efficient and step-by-step way.   It’s accessible online at any time, can be taken at one’s convenience and pace, contains tons of value, and is supported by me through a FB group as well as a 1:1 coaching through the process (VIP bundle).

You can offer my course as a signing gift to your clients (I make it very affordable for agents through my affiliate program – $149 for Independent Study and $249 for a VIP bundle).

For more details and/or access to my course, please contact me.

In conclusion, I’d like to review the real benefits to you, as an agent, of offering home staging as part of your services.

• Obtain more listings by using staging as a competitive advantage
• The photos of your listings will be superior to your competition, attracting more visitors
• Home staging will help you sell your listings faster, thereby reducing your marketing expenses and time investment
• Staging will help you sell your listings for a higher price, increasing your earnings
• Good sales will increase your visibility and reputation and you’ll be recognized as a ‘Top Agent’ in your area.
• If you choose to do so, you can also refer my online course to your home sellers and make a 50% affiliate commission.

The real estate landscape has changed and evolved and you’ve got to find new ways to serve your clients better while being as efficient as possible.

I hope this article has given you some ideas on how to use home staging as a value add to your business.

For any questions, you can reach me at sveta@homestagingstepbystep.com.

Author Bio

Sveta Melchuk has been a professional home stager since 2006 in Montreal, Canada.   Over the years, she collaborated with hundreds of realtors, home sellers, and real estate investors to help them optimize their real estate transactions. In 2019, she moved her home staging expertise online.   Home Staging Step-by-Step provides tips, tools, services and an online program for home sellers as well as an affiliate program for realtors.   Sveta can be contacted at sveta@homestagingstepbystep.com.   The website:  https://homestagingstepbystep.com.