This is a little tale of a home that was on the market for some time. It involves realistic expectations from the listing agent and their ability to convey that to their client. In addition, this savvy agent has a professional home stager stage every listing she has (us) and we've had great luck helping her move her listings.
The home in question was listed on 12/31/2006 for $869,000. During this listing the home had received multiple price reductions with an extended expiration finally on 10/08/07 - final list price, $799,000.
The fact of the matter is that in this area there are an abundance of home and virtually all of them are second homes - vacation homes. In this market, they are not flying off the shelf. The seller is losing money every single month this home sits on the market. He decided to take his time, interview several agents and picked a great one.... one who understood the market in all its reality and pledged to get this home sold using every tool in her arsenol.
The agent not only took the time to have her professional staging team create a warm and inviting atmosphere, but also explained the market to the client in clear and no uncertain terms. The home was listed this time on 12/09/2007 for $729,000.
The home went under contract in only 60 days 02/08/08 and finally closed on 2/28/08 for $700,000. Yes, it was significantly less than the original listing. How much money and time did this investor waste in carrying costs trying to get an unrealistic price for this property?
In this case, the REA actually procured both sides of the deal - working in the best interests of both clients. We met the new homeowner the day of unstaging. She was thrilled and wanted our business cards. This will be a winter home and she has come back many years (renting). She already has a list of sellers she is contacting providing our information. She gave a glowing report of both the REA and our staging services and advised how savvy both of us were working with each other & what a difference it made in this particular deal.
Now, that makes for a great day!
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
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 the Executive Director of 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:
February 6-8 Charleston, SC
February 16-18 Austin, TX
March 6-8 Atlanta, GA
March 13-15 Raleigh, NC
March 20-22 St. Petersburg, FL
April 10-12 Knoxville, TN
May 4-6 Covington, KY
May 18-20 Charlotte, NC
July 5-7 Memphis, TN
July 10-12 Charleston, SC
Vincent - Thanks! It is a team effort to get a house sold....
Diane - Yes, she is a very savvy agent and does very well. She's already working on procuring several new listings in this area. She's very good at what she does - a good deal of which is educating the clients on the current market and how she is going to get their home sold!
Elaine - isn't it great to have a client who actually understands how the whole process works? Most of my agents are like this - they understand the formula and work it!
Terrylynn - It is great when your job is FUN! Having easygoing clients really helps that ....
Kathleen - Carrying costs to me, is the biggest budget concern of most vacant sellers. It's also the first place we educate them on when we talk about how staging can save them money & pay for itself.