I received a call from an agent who is taking on a new listing this week. She called me because she needs my help. Here is the situation. The neighborhood that the home is listed in currently has 178 active listings. This particular home has already been on the market 6 months and the current listing agreement is expiring. As a smart agent she has advised that the home be staged PRIOR to re-listing with her.
As a smart stager, I've been doing my homework... want to see what I see when I look at many of the homes currently listed (many of which have been listed over 100 days) ---- please note none of these is the actual subject property I am going to see tomorrow for my consultation:
Contrast this to the homes that are currently contingent (most of which sold in under 60 days):
Do you see what I see?? I didn't stage any of these homes. I don't know if they were professionally staged or if the homeowners were just savvy. All 8 photos are taken in different properties. The agent who contacted me obviously understands what's going on & wants her homeowner to compete in this tight market. My question is, do you?
Consistently I see agents here in the incredibly overabundant Charleston market (in some areas we have as much as 8 years worth of inventory currently listed) do the following:
- Add new listings with only 1 photograph of the exterior
- Add tons of photos (of the yard) and none of the inside of the home
- Take photos of the light fixture, baseboards, or tub instead of taking wide angle shots of the entire room
- Put photos of messy rooms in MLS
I'm sure I can list a dozen more problems, but you are getting the point (I hope). Will you do what is necessary to help advise the homeowner on how to sell their home, or will your photos (if any) be like the ones in the top section of this blog? Are you paying attention?
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Melissa Marro, a published artist, now turned staging advocet and national speaker speaks her mind about real estate and the home staging industry. In her 'no holds barred' approach, audience members find real answers to the industries pitfalls and learn how to overcome them with tried and true information and guidance. With marketing as her passion, she turned a small home based business into one of the nation's largest home staging and training facilities. She now operates as the CEO of First Impressions Home Staging & Interior ReDesign as well as an instructor for Certified Staging Professionals International Training Academy (CSPI) - the world's largest Staging Training Organization, and regularly speaks at the StagerList Expos and Real Estate Staging Association (RESA)'s trade events.
For more information on having Marro speak at one of your real estate functions, please contact her at 843.822.2622 or email at marro.melissa@gmail.com
If you would like Marro's team to provide information on staging a property in the state of South Carolina, or the Greater Charleston Area, please visit www.WeStageSC.com, email marro.melissa@gmail.com or call 843.822.2622.
For more information on Marro's CSP Staging Training, please visit www.StagingAndRedesign.com, visit the CSP Calendar for dates or email marro.melissa@gmail.com. Below is a list of Marro's current CSP Certification class dates:
April 10-12 Charleston, SC
May 4-6 Covington, KY
May 18-20 Charlotte, NC
June 22-24 St. Petersburg, FL
June 26-28 Marietta, GA
July 5-7 Memphis, TN
July 10-12 Charleston, SC
August 2-4 Washington DC
August 24-26 Chicago, IL
Melissa,
Thanks for the post. I see a BIG difference. How much does staging cost?
Bill - Agents are required to add photos within 24 hrs or be fined here as well. It doesn't stop the lack of laziness on some agent's parts. As far as I'm concerned, if they are too lazy to put in 5-8 QUALITY photo in MLS then they shouldn't earn their full commission.... after all, they did not earn the money by working in the client's best interest!
Melissa - having moved 3 times in the past 3 years (selling a home each time plus an investment property) I understand what homeowners are going through. It's not easy, but it IS worth it! I was telling the agent from the blog above yesterday that homeowners have a choice. They can spend a few hundred, maybe even a couple thousand dollars getting their home ready before they put a FOR SALE sign on it, or they can wait for months to sell it and take tens of thousands of dollars in price reductions. The choice should be easy, but so rarely is it the case.
Great post! Staging and taking pictures at the proper angles makes such a big difference!! I recently showed a home with only an exterior shot...once I got in the home I understood. The place was such a mess that no one would want to look at it, if they saw the pictures ahead of time!!
Lori - This only emphisizes the point that I'm making! If you can't load up the photos, why should the buyer bother going? If there are no photos I assume the house isn't worth photographing!
Vicki - Good for you! More agents should at least be clear what needs to be done, or willing to bring in someone who does...
Diana - Thanks for the compliment. The program is RES & can be done at www.RealEstateShows.com It costs something like $125/yr for unlimited shows. I think it is as wonderful as a virtual tour and much more cost effective.
Gosh, Melissa, I thought we'd played this tune loud and clear. It's astonishing how many realtors, while dreaming of big money, follow so few of the fundamental rules. It's just common sense. This is a terrific post that makes the point irrefutably. I confess I'm hugely envious of your access to the MLS. I used to have it, via my husband, but now that he's moved on to a different type of investing, I no longer have access. It was so useful to understand the overall condition of the market, the average offerings in the same price bracket, the history of the home.... <sigh> Some talk of staging naked, I think without the MLS I'm staging blind!