Top Ten Reasons Home Staging Pays Off for Savvy Pittsburgh, PA Real Estate Agents-Staging Benefit #4: Staging MAKES You Money

In this Top Ten List of why home staging pays off for Realtors®, we've already seen:



Reason #1: Staging Saves Time
Reason #2: Staging Brings Traffic
Reason #3: Staging Saves Money



And now we're ready for the next reason Home Staging pays off for Savvy Realtors® - Reason #4: Staging SAVES You Money or "Show Me the Money! - Part 2".

When your staged homes sell for more, you make more - it's just that simple. And staged homes have been shown over and over to sell at higher prices. According to the National Association of Realtors, staged homes sell for 7 - 11% more than non-staged homes.

And when you combine this with the fact that staged homes sell faster and therefore reduce your marketing costs, you understand that, financially speaking, using home staging is a true double-bonus for you as a realtor.







Ok, now for the big question. You're saving money and you're making money thanks to having staged listings. But who's paying for all this staging?

Many savvy Realtors® now include a professional staging consultation for their listing clients. If you choose to offer this service to your listing clients, this small investment will:

1. serve as a great value-added service that sets you apart from other agents (stay tuned for more on this benefit)



2. be deductible as a cost of doing business or marketing expense (consult with your accountant for details)



3. more than pay for itself through both savings and earnings (as already explained).

Another option is to explain the value of staging to your clients and provide them with contact information and marketing materials for the staging professional you recommend and the seller pays the stager for a consultation.

Any hands-on staging services are usually paid for by the home seller since they are the ones who will realize the greatest direct gains from staging. This investment by the seller also helps ensure their commitment to the transformation process.

As a savvy Realtor® looking to continue growing your business, can you afford not to make home staging part of your success strategy?

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Up next in the Ten Reasons Home Staging Pays Off For Savvy Pittsburgh PA Realtors

Reason #5: Staging Helps You Handle Touchy Topics.

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A savvy home seller or Realtor® in the Pittsburgh area? Looking for expert home staging assistance getting a property ready to show to its best potential so you can sell quickly and maximize your profit? Please visit Feels Like Home Interiors to find out more about how our home staging services can make a difference for your home or listings.

Top Ten Reasons Home Staging Pays Off for Savvy Pittsburgh PA Real Estate Agents-Staging Benefit #3: Professional Home Staging Saves You Money

Now we're ready to talk about Professional Home Staging and your all-important bottom-line.

You know--"Show me the Money!"

Reason #3: Professional Home Staging SAVES You Money

Selling homes for a living can be a lucrative business (and hopefully is for you!). But as you know (and we all wish sellers better understood), there are a lot of expenses involved in listing and marketing homes.

And these days more than ever, we need ways to cut expenses while still providing clients with exceptional service. While some of your listing costs are one-time expenses many others (print ads, direct mail, flyers, open houses and of course, the value of the long hours required for you to do this on-going marketing) get higher and higher the longer you carry a listing.

So how do you minimize your marketing costs for your listings and still provide the highest level of service to your clients? You sell your listings more quickly. And what is a great way to accomplish that? Professional Home Staging!

According to statistics released by the Real Estate Staging Association (RESA) for 2008, vacant homes spent 85% less time on the market and occupied homes spent 89% less time on the market after staging. And a National Association of Realtors survey found that staged homes sell 49% faster.

So Reason #3 is a "key" bottom-line benefit for you as a Realtor® to use home staging:

Stage your listings and they will sell faster. and bottom-line, you will have MORE MONEY left in your wallet.

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Ok, saving money is nice, but making more money is even better. Stay tuned for the next post in this series, Top Ten Reasons Home Staging Pays Off for Savvy Pittsburgh PA Real Estate Agents- Reason #4: Professional Home Staging Makes You Money.

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And just in case you missed the first two key reasons for Professional Home Staging:

Reason #1: Staging Saves You Time

Reason #2: Staging Increases Traffic For Your Listings

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A savvy home seller or Realtor® in the Pittsburgh area? Looking for expert home staging assistance getting a property ready to show to its best potential so you can sell quickly and maximize your profit? Please visit Feels Like Home Interiors to find out more about how our home staging services can make a difference for your home or listings.

Top Ten Reasons Home Staging Pays Off for Savvy Pittsburgh PA Real Estate Agents--Reason #2: Staging Increases Traffic for Your Listings

Welcome to the second installment in my series of Top Ten Reasons Home Staging Pays Off for Savvy Real Estate Agents. The first post covered how professional home staging saves you precious time. Now for Staging Benefit #2.

Staging Benefit #2: Professional Home Staging Increases Traffic To Your Listings

While traffic on the freeway is literally a pain in the rear, traffic through your listings is absolutely crucial to your selling success. So how do you drive traffic to your listings and get prospective buyers walking through the door?

You start by making the best of your online presentation. These days approximately 90% of buyers start their home search online. And you have only a few short seconds to pique their interest or your chance to sell to them will pass with the simple click of their mouse.

• Cluttered house-CLICK!

• Outdated house-CLICK!

• Confusing house-CLICK!

In order to avoid the "click" and make a potential buyer's "must see" list, you need to make sure your listings look terrific in both MLS photos and virtual tours. What is the best way to ensure your listings look as good as possible online so they will drive traffic to your listings?

Professional Home Staging will be crucial to your selling success.

Uncluttered and Staged Kitchen--Schedule a Showing!

Updated and Staged Entry--Schedule a Showing!

Clearly Defined Dining and Sun Rooms--Schedule a Showing!

Effective home staging will address issues like flow, function, space, clutter, cleanliness, style, odor and animal issues, and curb appeal. A professional home stager will make sure the property appeals to the broadest range of buyers and that its best features are clearly highlighted while minimizing any challenges.

Real estate selling is one time when traffic is a very good thing. The more traffic, the more likely the listing will sell, and sell quickly. It's like the line from the movie Field of Dreams, "Build it and they will come." With professional home staging, Stage it and they will come--and they will buy!

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Stay tuned for the next installment in Top Ten Reasons Home Staging Pays Off for Savvy Real Estate Agents-Staging Benefit #3: Professional Home Staging Makes You Money.

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A savvy seller or Realtor® in the Pittsburgh area looking for expert home staging assistance getting a property ready to show to its best potential? Please visit Feels Like Home Interiors to find out more about how our home staging services can make a difference for your home or listings.

Top Ten Reasons Home Staging Pays Off for Savvy Pittsburgh PA Real Estate Agents

As you well know, the demands of being a successful Realtor® have grown dramatically over the past decade or so. Technology has skyrocketed, competition has increased, and the market has gone (just a bit) haywire. As a Realtor® you likely feel pulled in a million different directions and it probably seems that there are never enough hours in the day.

So why complicate your already over-taxed life as a Realtor® by trying to also wear the hat of a Home Stager? Can you really afford the time? Do you know the best ways to convince your clients to make the changes you suggest?

If you are a savvy Pittsburgh Realtor® passionate about building your business while providing your clients with the highest level of service, working with a Professional Home Stager offers you an easy, effective and profitable strategy so you can be even more successful in today’s highly competitive real estate marketplace.

The following is the first installment in a series that outlines the logic behind the smart strategy of using Professional Home Staging to further strengthen your Pittsburgh PA real estate business.

Here’s the first reason of the Top Ten Reasons Home Staging Pays Off for Savvy Pittsburgh PA Real Estate Agents:

Reason #1: Professional Home Staging Saves You Time



As you well know, Professional Realtors® must be multi-talented and incredibly hard working. Here are just a few of things you probably do on an average day:

•Explain
•Market—yourself and your listings
•Advise
•Negotiate
•Problem solve
•Oversee
•Coordinate
•Comfort
•Encourage
•Network
•Research
•Refer
•Analyze
•Chauffeur
•Listen
•Entertain

The adage “Time is Money” may be more true for Realtors® than anybody else. Successful Realtors® in Pittsburgh and around the country understand the value of effectively managing their time and building a strong support team in an effort to provide a superior level of service to their clients.

So while you likely know and understand many of the principles of Effective Home Staging, can you really justify the time required to walk each listing client you have through the details of what they need to do in order to effectively prepare their home to sell as quickly as possible for the best price?

Partnering with a Professional Home Stager ensures that your listing clients receive proven and detailed staging advice they deserve while allowing you to dedicate your time to the demanding business of being a Realtor®.

And the time you save by working with a Professional Home Stager is only the tip of the iceberg of the benefits to your business. Stay tuned for Staging Benefit #2: Professional Home Staging Increases Traffic Through Your Listings.


© 2009 Mary Fasnacht, Feels Like Home Interiors - All Rights Reserved

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A savvy seller or Realtor® in the Pittsburgh area looking for expert home staging assistance getting a property ready to show to its best potential? Please visit Feels Like Home Interiors to find out more about how our home staging services can make a difference for your home or listings.