Summary

Home staging expert, Debra Gould, shares a story about a real estate agent who was given proof that home staging works in an unexpected way.

Real estate agent proven wrong by home stager

Home stager Fabia McNair of Styling Spaces received a call from a homeowner last December who was listing his home and despite the fact that his real estate agent did not feel the home needed to be staged, he called in Styling Spaces to do the job.

Founder of the Staging Diva Home Staging Training Program, Debra Gould says, “After being a home stager for 7 years, I can assure you what happened to Fabia in this case is common. Savvy home sellers use their own common sense even if their Realtor® isn’t a believer in staging.”

When the agent came back and saw the transformation she was “wowed” and immediately hired Styling Spaces to stage four of her other listings.

One of those listings had been on the market on and off for a year before staging and it sold that same weekend.  Two of the homes sold same day and one that had been overpriced for its market sold for $15,000 over market value.

That skeptical real estate agent became a big fan of Styling Spaces and spread the word around her office leading to lots more work for Fabia.

Gould says, “This story proves you cannot depend on real estate agents for your business. Obviously the homeowner in this case had been educated about the value of staging and look at the snowball effect that followed.”

Having two very young children at home to take care of, it was quite a risk for Fabia McNair to take when she decided to quit a good job in the residential development field to start up her own home staging business full time. But it’s a risk that continues to pay off for her and her family as her company continues to grow.

Having given up a steady job, Fabia was very motivated to make her business work and put to use everything she learned in the Staging Diva Home Staging Training Program into practice. She has even been mentioned in her local newspaper after giving a staging seminar to local members of the community.

Fabia writes, “The Staging Diva Program, hands down, has given me the answers I need to run my business. My class notes still guide me when I am stuck. Debra Gould is very knowledgeable about this industry and is willing to teach it. When you have spent enough time with those other courses and you are ready to get to work call The Staging Diva.”

About Staging Diva

The creator of the Staging Diva Home Staging Business Training Program, Debra Gould has staged millions of dollars worth of real estate, including seven of her own homes. She is the president of home staging firm SixElements.com and has trained over 4000 home stagers to start and grow their own businesses.

Debra has gained international recognition through features in major media in the US and Canada including: This Old House, HGTV, CNN Money, CBC National News, CBS Radio, Global TV, City TV, The Wall Street Journal, Women’s Day, Reader’s Digest and more.

Summary

Home staging expert Debra Gould, president of Six Elements Inc. was recently hired to write an article for HGTV’s FrontDoor website on the topic of silly home staging tactics sometimes used by home sellers who decide to stage their own home rather than bringing in an expert.

In the story, Debra Gould provides room by room advice on what mistakes to avoid.

Excerpt from “4 Silly Home Staging Ideas to Avoid” by Debra Gould:

“The current economy has many homeowners trying to hold on to as much equity in their home as they can. If you’re trying to save money by staging your own home, real estate staging expert Debra Gould advises you tread carefully, as many staging tactics do nothing but work against you in your goal to sell faster and for more money.”

Read the entire story here on HGTV FrontDoor.

FSBO is an acronym for ‘For Sale by Owner.’ These properties are sold without involving a real estate agent so the owner can keep the 5% or 6% commission for themselves. Needless to say, this type of client is interested in maximizing their selling price, making FSBO clients an excellent target audience for stagers.

Staging Diva Graduate and Omaha home stager, Dolly Dewald has witnessed for herself the benefit of staging for FSBO properties.

When a busy couple with three young children planning to sell without an agent had completed their home staging consultation with Dolly, they hired her to do the staging.

“The owners spent weeks painting and cleaning while Dolly helped them select rental furniture and shopped for bedding and accessories,” explains founder of the Staging Diva Program, Debra Gould. She adds, “The actual home staging took Dolly one full day to complete. Every Sunday the couple had an open house and they ended up receiving multiple offers which is quite a unique situation for a FSBO property. They ended up selling for 96% of their asking price.”

These clients were ecstatic with the results and told Dolly later that the buyer told them the staging sold the house.

About her home staging training, Dolly writes, “My goal was to have a job I loved. The Staging Diva® Home Staging Courses gave me the structure and know-how to create a business and make it work. With Debra Gould’s help I now have an outlet for my creative juices and a job I love.”

About the author

The creator of the Staging Diva Home Staging Business Training Program, Debra Gould has staged millions of dollars worth of real estate, including seven of her own homes. She is the president of home staging firm SixElements.com and has trained thousands of home stagers to start and grow their own businesses. Gould created the Staging Diva Directory of Home Stagers to help home sellers and real estate agents locate staging services in their area

Summary

Staging Diva and home staging expert Debra Gould, wants stagers to claim their own power in real estate and to stop listening to nay-saying real estate agents.

Real estate power no longer belongs only to agents

Before the age of the Internet, most of a real estate agent’s power came from the control of information. You couldn’t get any details about a house for sale without going through a licensed real estate agent. There was a day in the not-so-distant past when listings were printed out in primitive black and white and carried around in binders by agents and that was the only way to see those details.

Eventually that changed with MLS being accessible by computer, but the public still couldn’t access it. There was no way to tell how fast homes sold or for how much, without a licensed real estate agent.

As the keepers of all that valuable real estate information, agents had a tremendous amount of power and with it they could establish asking prices, sway buyers and convince their sellers to accept certain offers.

Agents still have power and influence of course and they still have an important role to play, but the rest of us no longer exist in a black hole void of real estate information.

Staging Diva® Debra Gould wrote a blog post recently called, “Stagers, don’t let real estate agents discourage you.” According to Gould, she was motivated to write that article because of agents who:

• List a property as is, put a select few bad pictures on MLS and then talk their client into subsequent price reductions as the property remains on the market with no offers.
• Fail to understand why an empty, disorganized or ugly home is harder to sell.
• Fear they’ll have to pay for staging services if they recommend them, or feel threatened by what home stagers do instead of realizing it makes them look good while making their job easier

Sadly, it’s still difficult to find agents in many real estate markets who genuinely want to be proud of a listing with their name on it because they know it reflects on their reputation. It’s tough to find those real estate agents who know if they have great MLS photos they’ll attract more showings and quicker and higher offers.

The Staging Diva® says, “The good news is that the “unaware” or “fearful” real estate agents can be educated and many of them do come around to understanding the benefits of home staging to themselves as well as their clients. That’s why I emphasize the messages and selling points you should use with real estate agents when selling your home staging services in course 4 of the Staging Diva Program.”

Gould was also motivated to write that original post because she says, “For the 5 years I’ve been teaching home staging courses, I’ve watched too many really talented stagers feel they should give up on following their dreams because they let the discouragement of real estate agents stop them in their tracks.”

With 90% of buyers in Canada, and 70% in the US doing their own online search for properties before even calling a real estate agent, the competitive environment agents operate in is completely different today than it once was. Not all agents have woken up to the paradigm shift in their industry. That’s where much of the resistance home stagers run into comes from.

With change also comes fear. There are agents old enough to remember when they controlled all real estate information and it’s hard to let go of habits that came with that. For newer agents who flooded the industry when the market was booming, it’s difficult to recover from the reality check the last 12 to 18 months have brought, and look for ways to change how they sell properties.

At the end of the day, Gould has the following advice, “Home stagers and aspiring home stagers, don’t give up your power to real estate agents. Many of them will discourage you, but keep on going anyway. We offer a tremendous and valuable service to home sellers that makes a huge difference in their lives.”

About the author

The creator of the Staging Diva Home Staging Business Training Program, Debra Gould has staged millions of dollars worth of real estate, including seven of her own homes. She is the president of home staging firm SixElements.com and has trained thousands of home stagers to start and grow their own businesses. Gould created the Staging Diva Directory of Home Stagers to help home sellers and real estate agents locate staging services in their area

Summary

Home staging expert, Debra Gould, shares recent US and Canadian real estate statistics that indicate a strong market for home stagers in 2010.

North American real estate markets look strong for home stagers

Towards the end of 2009, reports released by the National Association of Realtors (NAR) and the Canadian Real Estate Association (CREA) indicated that the market looks excellent for North American home stagers in 2010.

NAR has reported that by the end of November, sales of existing homes had reached their highest level in over two years.

Obama’s $8,000 tax credit for qualified first-time home buyers has likely been a driving force behind these high sales levels. The tax credit deadline was extended to April 30 which will give more first-time buyers the chance to dive into the real estate market and take advantage of this tax credit. That is great news because it will help boost demand for staging in these first few months of the year which are generally slower for stagers.

According to home staging expert, Debra Gould, the group of buyers home staging has the greatest impact on is the first-time home buyer.

Gould says, “These buyers often have the strongest emotional response to homes that have been staged. Since they’ve never had the experience of buying a home before, this is the group most worried about the responsibilities that come with being a homeowner. They are also the least realistic about how great a house they can get in whatever their price range is.”

A well-staged home is not plagued by a bunch of repair projects, ugly wallpaper or an abundance of clutter that would scare off many first time buyers. Home staging helps them see the home in its best light and it helps them imagine themselves living there. Not only that, it creates the “I can just move right in” feeling that would comfort a nervous first-time buyer.

Things are also looking up in the Canadian real estate market, though Canada’s economy has not been hit nearly as hard as its southern neighbor. Based on sales activity towards the end of 2009, CREA has adjusted its forecasts for 2010.

In Canada, sales records were set every month from July through November and national sales in average showed a 6.6% increase from 2008. CREA has  forecast that MLS sales will increase by 7% in 2010 which would make 2010 the second highest year for sales on record.

According to CREA President, Dale, Ripplinger, buyers late in 2008 and earlier in 2009 were putting off buying or selling until the economy improved. In a report released by CREA,Ripplinger said, “With the economic outlook having improved since then, the release of that pent-up demand will boost activity over the rest of the year (2009) and in 2010.”

Many sellers were taking their homes off the market in late 2008 waiting for market conditions to improve. Others who might have listed their homes in 2009 held back. At the same time many first time buyers were jumping into the market due to low interest rates, the fact that prices had dipped, and bidding wars were no longer the norm.

With higher demand and lower supply, of course home prices started to rise again. In fact based on results to date, the year is forecast to be up 4.2 per cent in 2009 and a further 4.7 percent in 2010.  With strong price increases, new listings are likely to continue to increase as well.

Naturally this increases the demand for home stagers as more homes come onto the market. As a home stager (or real estate agent) it’s critical to educate home sellers about the importance of staging and especially why it’s most effective with first-time buyers. For more information on why this is true and a more detailed explanation of how demand and supply in the real estate market effects a home staging business, download Debra Gould’s free Ask Staging Diva report: “Can I grow a home staging business in a depressed economy?”

About the author

The creator of the Staging Diva Home Staging Business Training Program, Debra Gould has staged millions of dollars worth of real estate, including seven of her own homes. She is the president of home staging firm SixElements.com and has trained thousands of home stagers to start and grow their own businesses. Gould created the Staging Diva Directory of Home Stagers to help home sellers and real estate agents locate staging services in their area.

Summary

Expert home stager, Debra Gould, shares a success story from Staging Diva Graduates Paige Holm and Aron Bailey. After their expertly done staging, a home that had been sitting vacant for five months with no interest sold in two days. 

First-time real estate investors rescued from debt by home staging

When a pair of first-time real estate investors in Pennsylvania found themselves stuck with a property that wouldn’t sell despite the enormous amount of money they’d sunk into renovations, they contacted home stagers Paige Holm and Aron Bailey to help get them out of their stressful money-losing situation.

These Staging Diva Graduates and co-owners of Win-Win Home Staging and Redesign, Paige and Aron were faced with the challenge of getting some buyers interested in this completely renovated home that had been sitting vacant for five months with absolutely no interest despite the 6 open houses that had taken place.

The first thing these professional home stagers did after their home staging consultation was shop for rental furniture and accessories because vacant rooms don’t sell homes. On a Tuesday, the pair arrived with a truckload of furnishings to prepare for the open house scheduled to take place the following weekend.

The real estate agent brought an interested buyer through the property on Thursday, two days after the home was staged, and that evening they had an agreement in place.

The next morning the sellers put in a counter offer and that afternoon there was a signed Agreement of Sale allowing the cancellation of the planned open house.

The Win-Win Home Staging and Redesign clients were thrilled with the outcome and had this to say:

“We can’t thank you enough for your guidance through the process. Not only did you help us sell the property but it was such a pleasure to work with you both, Aron and Paige. Please feel free to use us as a referral at any time.”

About the author

The creator of the Staging Diva Home Staging Business Training Program, Debra Gould has staged millions of dollars worth of real estate, including seven of her own homes. She is the president of home staging firm SixElements.com and has trained thousands of home stagers to start and grow their own businesses. Gould created the Staging Diva Directory of Home Stagers to help home sellers and real estate agents locate staging services in their area.

Summary

Home staging expert, Debra Gould, reminds home stagers and home sellers that the bedroom is just as important as the kitchen and bathroom when it comes to decorating a property for a fast house sale.

Staging the bedroom no less important than kitchen or bathroom for a fast house sale

There is no shortage of articles discussing the importance of kitchens and bathrooms when it comes to decorating a property for the real estate market. Home staging, as this is also called, is all about decorating a house to sell quickly. And in a slow real estate market, articles about home staging often focus on de-cluttering and neutralizing the entire house. Too many home staging articles entirely miss the importance of decorating the  bedrooms too when you want a fast house sale, but not to the point of blandness.  

The right decorative touches can take a sad bedroom that would never stick in a buyers mind to one that is memorable enough to make the buyer imagine sleeping there long after the showing is over.

Staging Diva Graduate Jayne Steuart of Colorado-based Pearl Home Staging and Redesign LLC shows how it’s done in her transformation of this 13 x 14 foot extra bedroom.

Before Jayne transformed this bedroom the placement of the bed was awkward and made the room look quite small. And before staging, the focal point was the unattractive window.

Jayne moved the bed to go under the window to refocus and re-balance the room. At the same time she dressed both to create a relaxing and stylish haven.

“Her use of muted tones and well chosen accessories create a lush environment that make the room look larger and far more elegant,” says The Staging Diva®, Debra Gould. Gould adds, “I love how she handled the window. Now it looks much larger because the soft chenille panels and silky sheers are hung close to the ceiling. This is a great trick to make ceilings also appear higher, one of the many I share in the Staging Diva Ultimate Design Guide: Home Staging Tips, Tricks and Floor Plans.”

Some home sellers worry about the cost of staging and are reluctant to invest in a home they’re selling. This is short-sighted because selling an unappealing property costs the seller more in lost time and lower offers, than would dressing it up to appeal to buyers and attracting higher offers sooner.

Jayne Steuart staged this bedroom with furniture the home seller already had in other rooms of the house. The new bedding and window treatments that were purchased can be used in the sellers’ new home, so buying them was not wasteful. They serve the important purpose of letting the home show well on the real estate market with the added bonus that the owners will live in much better style when they move to their new home.

About the author

The creator of the Staging Diva Home Staging Business Training Program, Debra Gould has staged millions of dollars worth of real estate, including seven of her own homes. She is the president of home staging firm SixElements.com and has trained thousands of home stagers to start and grow their own businesses. Gould created the Staging Diva Directory of Home Stagers to help home sellers and real estate agents locate staging services in their area.

Summary

Home staging expert, Debra Gould, shares a story from Staging Diva® Graduate, Susan Atwell, about how she helped a desperate family sell their home fast even in a slow real estate market.

New York Home Stager Rescues Ailing Homeowners

When New York home stager, Susan Atwell, was contacted by a couple in dire need of a fast sale, she didn’t waste any time springing into action.

This couple was being forced to downsize to a one level home due to a deteriorating illness and after 14 months on the market with little interest, they were growing more desperate with each passing day. The market was also deteriorating, unfortunately, and this couple just could not afford to lower their price again.

There would still be no guarantee for a fast sale even if a significant price reduction was made.

When the couple asked their real estate agent if they had any more options, the agent finally suggested home staging.

When AtWell Staged Home arrived on the scene, a very detailed, budget-conscious DIY plan was created. The plan was implemented aggressively by almost 30 volunteers from the couple’s church and all work was completed in two weeks. The only items that were purchased for this 3500 square foot, 5 bedroom house were paint and a slip cover. The home sold four days after it went back on the market.

Susan, who is a Staging Diva Graduate, says, “A family’s life changed and all it took was a plan, some paint and a slip cover. Rooms were de-cluttered, furniture was expertly moved around and some rooms were re-purposed to create an inviting and clean space for buyers to imagine themselves living in.”

This family was finally able to breathe a sigh of relief and move on with their lives without the stress of selling their home hanging over their heads and it couldn’t have happened without the help of Susan AtWell’s home staging company.

About the author

The creator of the Staging Diva Home Staging Business Training Program, Debra Gould has staged millions of dollars worth of real estate, including seven of her own homes. She is the president of home staging firm SixElements.com and has trained thousands of home stagers to start and grow their own businesses. Gould created the Staging Diva Directory of Home Stagers to help home sellers and real estate agents locate staging services in their area.

Pittsburgh Tribune Review – August 28, 2009
“Setting the Stage: Telling a Home’s Story Helps It Sell”
by Bob Karlovits

Excerpt from Pittsburgh Tribune Review:

. . . Debra Gould, a Toronto, Canada-based stager, author and staging instructor, says staging can be known as “house fluffing” or “home merchandising,” but basically it’s the effort to make a house irresistible.

“The better job you do, the better chance you create that someone will just fall in love with the house,” says Gould, the author of several guides to staging whose ideas are on three Web sites: debragould.com, stagingdiva.com and sixelements.com.

. . . Gould admits there is an element of theatricality in the term “staging.” It hints at setting the stage in a home and suggesting action and events that could happen there.

“A well-staged home will not look staged,” she insists. “Take the dining room table that is set for a dinner. That isn’t realistic. You suggest things. You take a lamp, a chair, a book and hint it would be a good place to read. But I don’t add the tea set on a folding table.”

It is important to make statements mildly enough that you “don’t tell people how to live,” but suggest what could happen in a space, Gould says. . . .

> Read the full story at Pittsburgh Tribune Review

Katfish Morgan, Darryl Kornicky and Laura Stone interviewed home staging expert Debra Gould on the morning show for Live 88.5 Start Up Radio.

In the interview Debra shares why home staging works in slow real estate markets and why home sellers shouldn’t expect their real estate agents to do work that is better left to a professional home stager.

Listen to the 8 minute interview here: