More notes on staging and its effect on sales.
Staging delivers a great first impression – it’s probably worth it for that. But staging is just a component of the overall package needed to sell a house – especially for top dollar.
Examples from the weekend:
1. An agent called me on Saturday morning to tell me her client was gushing over the home on Via Mariposa, and they were going to make an offer. But nothing happened, so I pinged her on Sunday morning. She got back to me on Sunday night, and said her client re-considered, and decided not to make an offer. In her case, the staging wasn’t enough.
2. A lady asked me at open house, “I wonder what this house looks like without the staging?” Some buyers want to see beyond the staging.
3. Kayla said, “I’m not a big fan of the blue/teal color combination”. The staging will have a different impact on different people.
4. An example where staging really paid off was with the out-of-town buyers. There were multiple out-of-towners viewing homes via FaceTime, Skype, and video – the staging has to have a positive impact when you are looking at a small screen from afar. The eventual winner at Via Mariposa was one of them – a family member saw it in person, and online photos and video did the rest.
I am comfortable with buyers making informed decisions based on video/FaceTime actions. People trust the smartphones for everything else in life, might as well use it to buy a house!
Staging got the ball rolling, and got buyers engaged. But the rest of the house had to look sharp, and the price had to be attractive too. There were about 20 showings of that house over the first four days on the market, and we had three written offers. For seventeen buyers, the staging wasn’t enough.
After offers are submitted, the end result doesn’t just happen by itself. I’ll take the credit for giving every buyer a fair opportunity to step up and pay top dollar for the home, and guide it over list price. It’s the talking to people that makes the sale!
If nothing else, staging should make it clear to buyers that the seller is actually willing to sell.
imagine that?
They come in with their doubts too.
I would actually prefer to see an empty house than a staged one. It gives me a better feel of the true size of the rooms and I can imagine where my existing furniture will go.
Have you ever tried to think of one song while another is playing? It’s kinda like that.
UPDATE: After delisting my home a few days ago, a one-page letter arrived at front door yesterday asking me to call what may be the #1 local real estate company.
And now that it’s Tuesday, the phone hasn’t stopped ringing. *Clue the sound of vultures*
You would think this (partial) phone message would be quite clear. And some agents who are calling hang up after hearing this message I devised years ago:
“I promise to call you back if you’re not a pesky telemarketer”.
For the record, I’ve had numerous people ask it they could “steal” it to use it for their own phone messages.
From 8:51AM – 9:10AM I received four phone calls–all from agents cold-calling me. My plan was to just let them go to voice mail, but in a moment of momentary weakness, I did pick up the phone-thinking it was my daughter. It wasn’t.
Agent: “Is this (my legal name)?
Me: Yes. Are you a real estate agent?
Agent: Yes
Me: I’m not taking any calls.
Agent: I’m sorry. *Quickly hangs up*
But it gets better with Tony’s verbal arrival:
8:58AM:
*Enthusiastic Voice*
“Good morning, ‘Susie’. I’m not a pesky telemarketer. I’m a realtor calling you about your house on ______________. This is Tony ____ from ______ Real Estate ____. We’re just curious if you’ve already sold your house on _______________ or when you’re going to put it back on the market. Once again, I’m Tony ____ from ______Real Estate ____ Hope to hear from you. Thanks. *Click*
MORE: (4 hours, 56 minutes later, Tony doesn’t give up.)
1:56PM
“Hi, this is Tony from _____ Real Estate _____ calling back. We haven’t heard back from you as to when you’re going to re-list your house for sale. Give us a call when you get a chance (Gives phone #). Again, it’s Tony from _____ Real Estate _____ (Gives phone # again). Hope to hear from you. Thanks.”
JtR, Do you get an MLS-generated list every morning with the recent off-market listings? And how do all these real estate agents get my phone # if the listing has been taken off the market and is no longer on the MLS information sheet?
For the record, I won’t be calling Tony back. I felt a bit harassed when he called back a 2nd time on the same day and reminded me that I hadn’t called him back in his required time frame. And re: first phone call: I don’t care if you’re curious whether I’ve sold the house or when I’m going to re-list, Tony.