How Realtors and Sellers Face the Same Issue: Competition 

As a Summit, NJ Realtor I work in an extremely competitive market. Every person I meet seems to be a real estate agent or is at least contemplating getting their real estate license. Although this may be intimidating to many people in my profession I feel this competition is crucial to my success. Without competition individuals become complacent with their current status. This complacency is what drives laziness and distracts us from showing our true potential.

By now many of you may be asking how any of this pertains to staging a home. Ironically enough every aspect of competition I face with other real estate agents is paralleled by the struggles I know many sellers deal with.

In my career, as a Realtor, I constantly need to find ways to stand out from the crowd. Every day a seller, buyer, or investor decides whether to use me or choose someone else who they feel is more qualified. Although providing clients with excellent service is always my number one priority sometimes it is not enough. The real estate market is a living entity which continues to grow and change. Unless I stay ahead of the curve I will ultimately become one with the crowd. One way I stay in front of the crowd is by furthering my real estate education. I enroll in as many workshops, focus groups, and classes I can find to become further educated in my field.

Earlier this year I earned a designation as an Accredited Staging Professional or ASP. Earning my designation was important because in addition to separating myself from the crowd I found another way to separate my seller’s homes from their competitor’s homes.

Remember in order for a home to sell, a buyer needs to perceive value in that home. If three homes on the market are considered better purchases, in the eyes of a buyer, the less desirable home will sit. This can frustrate sellers who do not understand why there home is either not being shown or not receiving any offers. Let’s take a look at what makes a home more desirable.  

What makes a home more valuable?

Price – I labeled price as the most important aspect regarding a buyer’s perceived value of a home because for the right price anything will sell. The problem is that the right price for the seller may not be the right price for a buyer. Since many sellers either want or need a predetermined net return on their home and refuse to sell for anything less then their own perceived value, price is not always the most desirable option for sellers.

The Home’s Floor Plan, Structure, and Location – The second aspect crucial to a buyer’s perceived value is the floor plan, structure, and location. How many rooms, bedrooms, bathrooms, etc does the home have? What features does the home offer? Where is the home located? Is the floor plan a functional one? All of these questions are extremely pertinent to a buyer’s perception of the home and its value. If a buyer sees a home with two bedrooms located right next to high tension wires for the same price as a five bedroom home on a beautiful cul-de-sac; most buyers will choose the larger home in a better location.  Although we labeled the home’s floor plan, structure, and location a crucial aspect to value there are only a limited amount of things both Realtors and sellers can do to make these details more desirable. Most sellers are not willing to do major renovations to alter the floor plan as a means to sell. In fact in many situations making these renovations would not be cost effective.

As you can see both price and the overall structure of a home are difficult problems to fix regardless of how vital both aspects are to enticing a buyer to purchase the home. Many sellers feel that marketing is the answer and in some cases these sellers are correct. In real estate exposure is a key to getting buyers thus marketing for exposure a necessity. The problem with both exposure and marketing, however, is that once the buyers have come and gone without buying, the property will continue to sit. Therefore marketing a home priced too high and lacking the desired floor plan will still not sell the home.

Staging a Home to Sell 

Before I discuss tricks about staging a home I must first explain how staging works and why it can save any seller a considerable amount of money. For the purpose of example let’s say you go out to buy a used shirt from a second hand shop. You walk into the store and immediately come across the shirt of your dreams. You need to have this shirt in your wardrobe and you are willing to pay the $20 sticker price. Upon closer inspection you notice a slight tear on one of the sleeves. You still want the shirt, yet instead of paying $20 you bring the shirt to the register and point out the tear hoping to receive a discount. The owner says he/she will sell it for $15 and you accept. The point of this story is simple. You knew before entering the shop that everything inside was used and you were still willing to buy your dream shirt. The shirt’s tear was something you were willing to deal with for a better price.

This example is exactly what most buyers do when they walk into their dream home. They know they want the home and they are willing to pay the price, yet they find things wrong and expect a discount. Many sellers believe in the misconception that buyers can see past the clutter, cosmetic details, and other attention grabbing minute details of a home. To an extent these sellers are correct because many buyers do buy homes in need of cosmetic work, but remember the difference is always reflected in price.

Staging a home is when a seller decides to modify the home from functional for living to conducive to selling. In other words if decorating is for living, staging is for selling. Staging can and may include changes to the interior of a home, exterior of a home, or both. Staging may also be a simple fix or include a number of changes depending on the home in question. Unlike the house specific modifications the goal of staging never changes. Staging is meant to sell a home faster and for more money. Below I have listed a number of examples to help you begin to stage your home. I have also included a link to three charts which may be useful to your understanding of professional home staging and how much money can be saved if a home is staged correctly.

Home Staging Tricks and Advice 

For those of you wondering what exactly staging a home consists of here are a few of the basic home staging suggestions typically needed in most homes.

Clutter – Every homeowner is proud of the possessions within their home.  It is completely natural to feel this way because these are the items, collections, furniture, and hobbies that are acquired over an individual’s life. Although each of these items may carry a sentimental value to the owner none of this may apply to a potential buyer. In fact in certain instances a seller’s possessions may push potential buyers away. Keep in mind that the fewer buyers the lower the price because when demand is diminished price will follow. Consider this example for a better explanation of clutter and the issues it creates.

A seller is an avid hunter. Over the course of the past 40 years this seller has collected and mounted the heads of every animal hunted and proudly displays each across the entire home. In the eyes of this seller each head represents another successful journey and memory, yet each buyer walks into the home and becomes horrified. As a Realtor it is difficult to convince the seller to remove the heads without offending his way of life.

As an Accredited Staging Professional you need to ask the seller a simple question, “You plan on selling this home and moving correct?” The seller will obviously say yes. Once the seller says yes ask him/her to please pack early. You will need to pack anyway why not pack early. It is also important to remind that seller that a house is a place of shelter and a home is where the heart is. Where ever the seller decides to move next will become a home once the heads are back up on the wall. It is this depersonalization that creates a good home to sell.

I realize that this hunting example may seem a bit extreme, yet it may not be as far off as you would think. Consider all of the unique collections and hobbies people spend their lives collecting. A collection of dolls may seem more reasonable then animal heads, yet consider an entire home filled with dolls. It makes buyers uncomfortable.

One other aspect of clutter that prohibits a buyer’s imagination is a lack of light and space. Most buyers interested in a home want large rooms and a bright and happy environment. It is this desire that clutter eats away at because when a room is completely filled with stuff it will not be portrayed as large. Since large rooms are a selling point disguising these rooms with stuff can be extremely detrimental to a sale.

Paint – It is amazing how important a fresh paint job within a room can be. A new paint job can breathe life into a room; especially if the color is lively and accentuates light. Think back to the example above with buying a used shirt. Once a hole was found the buyer wanted a discount. Paint is the owner’s way of patching that hole before putting it on the shelf. When a buyer walks into a home that has been freshly painted the home seems newer or less used. This buyer will immediately think differently about the home because it at looks well maintained. New paint also helps conceal any smells within the home. This works great for smokers or individuals who cook more eclectic foods with natural spices. These smells are within the walls of the home and fresh paint helps eradicate the odor.

Another excellent example of how paint can completely change a buyer’s opinion of a home is when a home is painted dark and dreary. Wall colors like dark purple, black, and even blue can make a home feel sullen or depressed. These colors soak in the light instead of reflect light. Buyers want to buy into an image of happiness and success. A couple coats of paint can change a depressed looking home into a picture out of a magazine.

Cleaning – It is absolutely amazing how many homes I preview that are filthy. As a Realtor I have previewed enough homes to get past the dirt and see what the home is truly made of, yet buyers do not. A dirty home makes most buyers want to leave. In fact many buyers will laugh about the list price of a dirty home saying, “Are they [the sellers] crazy? That place was filthy.” It is a shame because many of these homes could be easily corrected if the sellers realized how crucial maintaining a home’s appearance can be.

As a buyer would you walk into a home that has stains on the carpets, piles of garbage on the floors, and strange odors from the basement and offer full price? Unless the price was well below where it should be I would not. If the sellers neglected to maintain the noticeable things how many hidden problems exist within the home. It is these thoughts that cause many buyers to walk out of the home without thinking twice; especially considering the price tag for many of these homes. Most people interested in buying a million dollar home would never consider buying something used looking. As you can see cleaning is a simple task that goes a long way in regards to price.

If you have any questions about professional home staging or about listing your home feel free to contact me. I hope you have a great day!

Home Staging Charts, Graphs, and Statistics 

Return on Staging Investment
This chart shows the average return of your Home Staging investment versus condition-based improvements.

Days on Market
This chart compares the average number of days on market between houses not Staged and listed, houses listed, Staged and sold, and houses Staged first, then listed and sold. 

Equity Gain
This chart compares the average equity gain on houses that were listed, Staged and sold versus houses that were Staged first, then listed and sold. 

All three charts can be accessed through Home Staging Statistics 

To learn more about selling a home please email me your questions at Michael-Pennisi@Burgdorff.com or visit my website at Summit, NJ Area Real Estate .