Ok, I just posted another blog about the HGTV show 'The Stagers' and my frustration over some negative comments. This created a conversation in my family room (as I sit here with my laptop) and gives me pause for the thought on the question.... Why does it seem so unrealistic for us to charge 1% of list price for our staging services?
Agents and their companies associated in the sale of a property receive approximately 5% - 6% (both buyers agents and sellers agents combined). If we help to contribute to the ultimate end sale why do we not earn 1%? Why is our time, energy and ultimate tools not as valuable? We typically actually spend more on each and make significantly less hourly rate. Is it because we don't wait to 'get paid until the home sells'? I think it far more likely it is because we don't perceive ourselves as worth the money.
I know in my market we cannot outright charge 1% up front. We would lose far too many jobs to other staging companies who also charge less. This leaves us stuck with lower rates. We have plans that are a bit more creative in the works that allow us to charge what we think we are worth while putting our money where our mouth is.
If we can show that our work is every bit as valuable, isn't it time we earned what our agent couterparts earn?
Perhaps it is time that we, as PROFESSIONALS, rethink the concept of getting paid what we are worth, not what we THINK the market will bare. It will bare whatever we show it is worth, not the other way around!
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Melissa Marro, a published artist, now turned staging advocate 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. Selling her successful home staging company in January 2012, Marro is now a full time speaker and instructor for Staging And Resign 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 843.619.1593 or email at marro.melissa@gmail.com
Melissa: I am in total agreement, but there are too many stagers in my market who are willing to work for next to nothing just to get a staging job, any staging job. And generally, the quality of their work is reflected in the cheapness of their price. But, since staging is still a relatively new concept, many home owners cannot yet tell a good staging job from a bad one.
The bitter taste of a job poorly done lingers far longer than the sweet taste of a cheap price (or something like that;-))
WOW Melissa wouldn't it be great if that could happen. In my area, not any time soon and not because of the competition but because of the lack of acceptance of staging in general. It's a very slow process to change attitudes here but I just keep pushing. And I do think that most of us undervalue our services. Thanks for the thoughts.
People won't consider it here at the present time because of the market. And it is the mystery service for many. I remember how important staging was in Santa Fe. They even used people to actually live in homes! I'm a wanna be stager.. but not here.
There were days 15-20 years ago, when people did not get home inspections either, nor did they care about them ( many still did not know what one even was). Slowly, though acceptance was gained, mostly through knowledge of what it was, and why you needed one. I think the home staging industry is going through much the same thing right now. Those of you I see here on the Rain appear to be doing the right thing, by spreading the word. Just keep telling people what it is you do, and why it is important to what they need... their house sold! Gather what statistics you can to help validate it, and it will start to open the floodgates for staging very soon, IMHO
In the mean time, don't give your services away.
Good blog Melissa,
You are only worth what you believe you are worth. I put in every proposal in the first paragraph that the industry standard is to invest approximately 1.5% of the asking price into the Staging of the home barring any serious maintenance issues that have not been addressed by the Seller. This sets the bar for the bid and they can gauge their decision from there. Sometimes I am under that percentage but for the most part it is usually bang on by the time I figure everything in.
My parents had a siding and window company in the 70's & 80's and my Dad always said he would not leave for work in the morning if he wasn't getting paid what he knew to be a fair price for his services. There was a downturn in our econony during both of those decades and many a siding company would undercut you or work for cash. But my Dad held out on his pricing and people would wait up to 8 months to have my Dad personally install their siding and windows.
This taught me that if you develop your craft and are professional in what you do and how you present yourself, others will perceive the value in hiring you and not the other guy. You will always lose some work, but it is the way to build your business so that you work with clients that add value to your business. These clients become your best sales people and your business grows in a good way from there.
In my area, staging is not as prominent as I would like. I have increased my prices in a very short period of time and ready to do it again.
The majority of the homes I have staged have gone under agreement within 10-14 days, the last one in 5 days.
Also, being a realtor for many years, the quicker a home sells, the more money a Seller nets. Overall, our fees are very fair.
Joyce
MELLISSA: THIS IS A GREAT TOPIC!
A 'bare market' or a 'bear market'. Certainly the former is more entertaining than the latter. <G> I hate these sound alike words.....am I led, lead, or do I 'leed', lead...ugh!
In Houston, we have no communication between stagers. Attempts to organize as IAHSP, or RESA have not met with great success. The market's greatest complaint is that there is no consistency in pricing of our services. In Houston, we currently enjoy(?) a market of wildly divergent home staging pricing structures. I completely agree that 1% would be an appropriate sum, however, in developing markets such as Houston it's not currently a realistic number.
We're in the third year of our business and have tried several pricing structures. $145 for a complete consultation is what the market grudgingly offers. $1000 - $1500 for a furnished, staged, vacant home (under $300K) is our most popular package.
In Retail Management, salaries are not necessarily connected to sales volume. The $40K I earned whilst an Operations Manager at Marshalls (back in the late 90's) was the second highest salary for that position on the East Coast (my stores generated between $6M and 7.5M with 50 employees). Careers in visual merchandising really aren't all that well-paying, and home staging does have roots in retail visual merchandising. So I believe that generally, when we average the highs with the lows, we'll find that .5% is the more realistic and current value, for our service.
Houston Home Staging will most likely generate sales nearing $40K this year (not substantial growth from last year). However, our profitability on a per project basis is fantastic because the expenses of the first two years don't need to be repeated. We believe that although in our first two years we presented a valuable product, we did not present a 'world class' home staging service, and thus the market did not reward us. We did produce results (quick sales for higher selling prices) and so our reputation grew. We anticipate that the market will soon demand our services on a more frequent basis and that the prices for our staging packages will increase. However, I also recognize that I need a Melissa Marro on my team to really get things going!
Once again, I've launched myself into a topic........ probably I've missed the point entirely, and as usual the things that I've written are specific only to me, and my teeny tiny, little, (grossly underpaid) staging world!
Have a great weekend everyone, and Melissa, no need to send a resume, I'll pick you up at the airport and you can start A.S.A.P.!
Beleive it or not I have actually been considering yet a completley different option of a bonus % when the home sells especially fast. I'm curently in a quandry where my staged homes are going into escrow within the first week to 10 days and my storage unit is busting at the seams right now simply because I can't get the next house "lined up" as fast as the homes are selling. Why consider this? Because I have the stats & referrences to back it up that my company's professional home staging WORKS, and that I'm worth what they pay me..... hmmmmmm, still thinking about it.
Ageed Melissa, We as professionals create the markets we are in. If one is confident in the value that they are providing the client then this should be no problem. Of course many people and companies create the market, so it will take time, education and hard work. I for one would have never considered this business if I didn't think that the future would bring change to the industry. Great Post!
Joe Kaspari, Essential Home Staging, LLC
www.essentialstaging.com
Melissa - I totally agree that many stagers don't charge what their worth (me included). In our current market, many sellers are losing $100 -$150 thousand on their properties here in AZ. When sellers are faced with paying an additional 1% for staging they shut down. Many of our properties are in foreclosure. I would like to get the banks on-board with staging.
I definitely feel we are worth 1% - I just think it will take a little longer. I know how hard I work and the amount of monthly bills I pay to stay in business. 1% is not out of line.
C'mon Melissa - be our Norma Rae!!!!!
HI M,
Long time no see...(Well write I guess)
Anyway I completely see your point, and it is a great one!
I think just give it some time, people and the RE community will see home Staging more then just a ''fad'' if we keep fighting with positive productive numbers and facts about the effect our industry is having on the market.
Roman wasn't built in a day but was built and still remains.
If we keep posting and working at legetamizing (if thats even a word ?) Staging... one day a % maybe the norm for payment.
Remember, just a couple short years ago only a hand full of people used stagers or even knew who we were... Now there are more T.V shows on home improvments and Staging then drama series showing, so the word is getting out there:)
Keep in touch my good freind!
BB
...I'm catching a glimpse of what you're thinking about, Melissa - putting your money where your mouth is...if I'm correct, I'm thinking along the same lines for builders. Julie
Note to Debbie, I work with a mortgage broker that puts together financing for my clients that do not have the money up front for staging. They pay it off when the property closes. This might possibly work for your clients that are losing money due to the drop in the market. Check with a mortgage broker that works with difficult to place financing and you may come up with a solution to your problem. It sometimes takes up to two weeks for all the paperwork to fall into place but if you have the luxury of time it may work out for you.
Hmm, still not sure how this can work if we can't be a part of the pricing decision, and negotiating, and holding the deal together. There are so many variables in a real estate deal; we are only on the front end.
Those that ask for 1%... are they including all of the reno and repairs with the cost of staging? My guess about Dekora and their budget/prices is that labor is a larger expense than it is for us. They're using "real designers", not trained stagers and those folks make more money than we do whether we think that's right or not. This is why I think you've got the right idea beafing up your design creds with IRIS.
Wow.... A lot of great comments. I'm on vacation and just about ready to run out the door but I'll address all of you when I return. Thanks for stopping in!
I certainly agree that it's a struggle to come up with an appropriate pricing strategy. I do often quote the "1/2 % to 1%" norm for staging. But I'm really not sure what this includes? I charge a minimum 2-month rental for my accessories and furniture, but in my market selling within that time frame is an amazing accomplishment. So how many months of rental does one assume is included in the % figure?
In one of my staging markets, Realtors are as much competition as other stagers. They have their own stash of accessories, and stage their clients' homes as part of their services. One Realtor recently actually staged a vacant I had consulted on (and bid on) with her own furniture and accessories (she did a pretty good job, I must admit), so I lost that job! Does anyone else encounter this? I would think Realtors would want to spend their time getting listings or marketing them rather than staging!
One other comment--when i was starting out I offered free staging consultations. Well, probably 20 Realtors took me up on my offer! However, not one of them offered me a payiang job later. Now, I know I did a very good job. But, they saw what I valued my service at--$0--and that's what they apparently decided they would pay for it. I sent the wrong message, but I don't make that mistake now! I charge a consultation fee just to do an estimate, since I will be giving them valuable info in that bid.
I would rather get less work, but be paid appropriately, than to have more jobs, but lose money on every one!
I would rather get less work, but be paid appropriately, than to have more jobs, but lose money on every one!
Me too and I do think that in time a percentage may well be the way to go.
Just to clarify my position. I am not suggesting my particular market bares a 1% staging fee. Nor do I think I would ever likely bid by % of sale price (just watch me put my foot in my mouth on this one:) I do think that value is always an interesting topic and that we strive to offer the best value available. I do also know that I will be part of the reason the market will bare these prices one day. Hopefully sooner than later
I think it's interesting how Subway drops to a $5 foot long sandwich and Quiznos follows suit, and Starbucks is still able to maintain and in some cases raise their prices. We are not the lowest price and certainly not the highest price but like to think we offer superior value.
So if you are the lowest price home stager in your area, have you asked yourself why? How do you value your services?
Great topic and and response feeback Melissa!
Melissa, I have read your blog several times (although not everyone's response) and have thought about your question for awhile. I reviewed some of the homes I have staged this year and calculated what my fee would have been had I charged the 1%. Then I evaluated, knowing the specific situation, whether or not that would have been feasible, reasonable for my time, my expertise, within the given budget, and for the amount of time that the home remained on the market. It was a valuable exercise and I realized I do not charge enough given the continued successful results. However, the 1% was very, very high. I read, hear and sometimes say, we are worth it. The 1% far exceeds the amount of hours that I would spend on any given home. I think it is valuable for homes that are above 3,000 square feet and vacant and take a days to a week to pull together. In my area, these homes list somewhere between $1.5 million to well over $2,000,000. Some are new construction and the contractors are taking a bath in this market. I'm certain their only option would be to sell it vacant, since they are personally losing $$. I have concluded that asking 1%, at this time, may price us out of our own trade. But, I like the idea and I think it is valuable to discuss it often, as we see the market change, which it will.
Thanks for the blog! Do it again soon!
Hey Kathy, you asked if other realtors offer staging for free. I am the prime example. I am a designer working for a real estate company by the hour. The realtors at our company all pay for staging out of their commission. I have been with them for 3 years and it has been successful for them. Granted the last year and a half has ben a struggle, they would never even think about not offering staging in their services. I also work with the general contractors and manage and design any renovations that may be needed to make the house sell for the most money in the fastes time. The real estate agents pay for my time managing renovations as well. Our company has been in the business for 10 years and were the first in the area to offer staging, and as we have continued successfully, other real estate companies are now offering it FOR FREE as well. The agents in our area are well accustomed to paying for staging out of THEIR commission.
Great comments! I think the 1% rule varies by market - in some markets a 2,200sq ft house may list for $500k and in other markets only $145k - which one makes sense to charge 1% of the list price for Staging? The house may be the same size and style and require the same amount of rented furnishings, but the 1% would be a drastically different fee for those different listing prices. Every market is different and it is up to every business person, often through trial and error, to learn what their market will bear. I do think it is reasonable to ask for a bonus if the home sells in _# of days, or something along those lines. I think Connie had mentioned that in her comment.
I think you will find that the 1% rule applies to any property.
In the properties that are higher price points you use inventory items that are of higher quality than you do in the lesser price point properties.
As Matthew (?) or Jay (?) has said in another blog, you don't use an Ikea knock off lamp in a million dollar home you use the real thing. Hence the higher Staging fee.
They may be the same square feet to Stage but the quality of items used varies.
1% is what I commonly charged...I remember getting criticized by others but it was working like a charm...back then about two years ago. Now, not only my warehouse, then studio then home garage began busting at the seams because it went from boom to ....flat line.
I have recently lost two jobs to FREE how do you deal with FREE? FREE does not pay bills. When I asked the Realtor how are they doing free the only information she gleaned was the person placing the furnishings understood builders and how they work...
At a brick or should I say Furniture/Accessory wall of inventory blocking me... I am trying to figure a way over this wall.
So I think, don't sleep, think some more. I've been praised at the value I give, I've been praised for customer service, I've been told when the phone does ring I'm the one they said to call...but that sure isn't bringing in the $$$$ to pay for that wall that is blocking me in....
So...FREE is what I'm offering too. FREE with a little small print* X amount as a security, X amount to move the stuff in...then X amount accrues until the property sells and I'm paid at closing... WHY? Am I discounting my value? ...well I rationalize because,
1. I'm paying for storage and I fear (living in the south) that my inventory will soon reek of mildew. Climate controlled is tough when your moving large stuff in and out and in and out and I'm basically by myself...have to hire guys to get the furniture in and out.
2. If I have contracts with a promise of payment, I can show the creditors that I'm building it and....it will eventually come.
3. The biggest objection I get is "up front" money not the value. The Realtor has to wait to be paid...
Listen at this point in my market, "WHATEVER IT TAKES". Just heard on the Today Show that the housing crisis isn't over yet...I feel like screaming "DUH, has your head been buried in sand talking heads"???????
I'm a licensed Realtor too. I don't sell at all but I'm on MLS doing my own CMA's (that's one of my *'s in my free offer too, the home needs to be priced correctly) SHEESH, in my neighborhood there have been 13 homes for sale for over a year. One has said it is under contract (for six months now...must be contingent)
I did research in one gated community with only about 5 homes that have been built...the rest is dirt (lots). There are 150 lots for sale out of around 450. Yeah...unfortunantly I have some of that dirt that isn't worth dirt. Three lots have resold in TWO years. Many of those 150 listings are about 25-40% LESS than the original purchase price! Of the 5 homes that are in this community 3 are for sale and have been for over a year. ITS NOT OVER HERE YET...
Now if you have a double wide, or a condo, or a house under $250K you might have a chance to sell... sure is tough trying to ride out the storm ... but I'll keep scaling my mountain of furniture/inventory wall until I get over it!
Interesting about the mortgage broker angle. Hadn't thought of that one. I am linked to a mortgage broker and I'll have to ask him his thoughts on that. Thanks for writing a blog that gives thought to raising prices.
I am forever baffled how staging sells a property and you don't hear from the Realtor again. Is it professional competiveness or professional fees or a little of both. I still hear from sellers, the press, and agents that they should or do tell their clients how best to prepare their properties and don't need professional stagers. Just this past weekend I read an aricle in the Washington Post about staging and is it worth it. The reporter again stated that agents should be telling their sellers what to do as part of thier commission. I think agents also hear 1% and look at what is happening to their commissions in this market and hold back. If a Real Estate commission is 4 to 5% and in tough times many agents are taking less and givingt the buyers agent more; or their commission after the broker fees and marketing is less due to time on market so they look at the return and say how can Home Staging cost X% and I"m left with fewer and fewer dollars. What is my time worth. We are all asking the question from a different perspective.
Just recently I did a consultation for an agent's client and they received an offer on a condo in less than 2 weeks. The agent called and wanted me to look at another property and make suggestions. I said I would do it for a reduced consultaiton fee, but I couldn't do it for free since it really was a consultation. I suggested that she do what many agents are doing and pay for it up front and get it back at closing. I did not hear back. I have put a stake in the ground that I will not give consultations for free. As Kathi Presutti mentioned earlier, this brings no return.
Every day we experiment with different ways to present fees and win business. It is good to share and hear other view points.
Two hours later, I get to the end of this AWESOME blog! What great information ! Thank you for posting this. I was just asking my partner about the 1% idea and wouldn't you know it it is on AR! I agree we nee to charge what we are worth. My fear is like any business you set on a price and someone will undercut you! Then we go back and forth lowering our price to compete. I will hold steady and hopefully show the value in my service. Yes you can get it cheeper but if you want it done right give me a call....
GREAT & timely topic Melissa!
The market you live should generally dictate a fair price. I got a call from someone in Oregon recently, yes OR. She was price shopping 3 stagers out of her area. While I was able to tell her what is fair market in my area of North TX, and any stager worth their weight in salt and that values their service charges in the neighborhood (for vacants)of .5 to 1.5% of the list price of the house - occupieds are really dependent on needs and scope of the work the client wants - it's not necessarily the same in OR. In her market that may be completely off base and once I referred her to another stager in her area, she found out it was less.
For example: lets compare a similar 3,000 sq. ft house in TX at $300,000 to a 3,000 sq.ft house in CA at $800,000.
While 1 to 1.5% of the list price in TX sounds reasonable the same 1 to 1.5% list price in CA sounds outrageous (to some). Price points are different around the country for the same size and comparable style houses because the markets are different! I sold my 1,600 sq. ft house in Miami (no pool or spa) for the same price I bought my 3,000 sq.ft house in TX with a pool & spa! This same house would be over $500 in FL. So really we need to know our market and price accordingly.
I believe in the value of my service and what I bring to the table. I cannot nor will not compromise my core business values just to get work. I'd be exhausted and broke and be out of business. If others find it necessary to price themselves cheaply in order to get work, I say let them. If they don't value their business, eventually it will come around.
Had to come back and see what all the comments were - good stuff.
Great food for thought Melissa, thanks. Where I work in Marin County, California, 1% of the list price would be fairly high. The median home price is close to $1 million. In some parts of the county, that'll get you a 3/2, 1700 square foot home. $10,000 to stage a relatively small house seems extremely high to me. Maybe there are other stagers in my county charging that and I don't know it! But I think generally speaking, it's about half that.. maybe .5%.
Like any industry, I think regional pricing will develop. Our challenge is still to convince home sellers that staging is 'needed' and not just 'nice to have.' Even in this county, there are home sellers doing short sales. There are plenty of others who are not upside down in their mortgages, but whose homes are worth substantially less than they were 2 years ago. So convincing them that they should invest more money in their homes when they are taking such a hit.. is difficult.
Well I'm glad to see that there were no real negative comments here, most everyone seems to understand the need for us to increase our rates, though some areas are not quite ready for it yet. I do wonder how many of us have markets that aren't ready, or we aren't ready to ask for it.
I do think that if we are going to ask for this type of income though we need to follow Michelle's thought process of putting our money where our mouths are.
1% is where staging fees should start. At 1% on a $500k home, the staging company would realize $5000. If you have any type of scaleable business with real overhead and staff, your fully loaded costs of doing business will eat that up before you even get to the cost of furniture and accesories. Most small business owners make the mistake of not calculating fully loaded costs into their fees.
We charge 1% and find it is getting easier, even with competition. So many people get into the staging business and dorp out as soon as they realize they can't make enough money to stay in business.
I think we would all like to see higher prices and we'd all like to see poorly trained stagers cutting costs come to a stop. It really does do a lot of damage to the industry.
Great post, Melissa!
I couldn't agree with you more Melissa! The very photos alone are what create interest for a property, of which stagers have helped create as we show the home in it's best light. I totally agree with your argument about what Realtors make vs. stagers in terms of percentage.
There is an awful lot of work and talent that go into each staging, I don't see any reason why we shouldn't be rewarded accordingly, ESPECIALLY in today's market.
Excellent point & post!
OK... This 1% deal,,, or even .50% .. What does this buy? ,,, Is every room being staged with furniture and art and accessories?... Personally, I have never furnished every room, in a vacant home., I prefer to do a really bang up job on the public rooms, and the master, .. and of course appropriate accessorizing of all baths and the kitchen.. Some rooms are left empty.. ( I really hate to see a lonely rug, or one potted plant sitting in the corner of an otherwise empty room,,)
Anne - for me, 1% would mean that we would stage and make any cosmetic changes that are necessary. The budget may go slightly up or down depending on the detail of this. I don't know how things are in your area, but too often sellers try to cut corners and eliminate recommended rooms or things like painting. This would give us more power to do what really needs to be done and still keep it from breaking the bank while they are selling.
Melissa -
Great post! As always your wheels never stop turning. This is something that my husband has been wanting me to do for a while now. Charge my regular staging fee if they pay upfront or offer to accept payment at close of escrow for a higher fee, something like the 1%. I've just not wanted to go there because there are too many factors that are out of my control, how the realtor markets the property, how it is priced, etc. I would be interested to see what you are planning.
Melissa, This is a great topic. In my market, if you take a home listed at $500K, 3/4 of 1% is not at all out of line IF it includes 3 to 4 months rental of the staging inventory along with the staging fee. However I think that many sellers & agents get hung up on the fact that you're "selling" a 3 to 4-month rental period, and their anticipation is that staging will sell the property faster than that. So, in a way the fact that staging has been promoted by some training companies as selling your home in "13 days" or some other ridiculously inaccurate time period has hurt us! What to do?
Kelly - Yes, my wheels are always turning! lol.... my husband says that all the time. To know where I am going with this read... Continuing the Thread... Contingency, Deferred or Real Estate Developer? Some of it might not quite make sense in the comments because one of the commenters removed all his posts.
Maureen - I agree that when I see stats like that I cringe. For some markets it may work that quickly....not here in Charleston though. If we can get it under 30 days then we were phenomenal! We also don't have large furniture chains for rental & the shortest contract you can get here is 90 days. So, sell it in 4 days or 60 it doesn't matter... you still have to pay that rental bill. We own our furniture but we use the same basic contracts that the other companies use - playing with the competition.
Melissa - would you please clarify what this does cover - how much painting, what kind of cosmetic changes, do you buy curtains and rods and leave them with the property?
Thanks!
Kathleen - every house is different so the answer would be different each time. The concept is that this would give us a little more power to do what needs to be done without the budget objections. It may not be right for every client - but I do think that getting closer to 1% should become the norm.
What do agents to do earn 3% (average listing is 6% around here with 1/2 to the LA, 1/2 to the SA.. .then the broker takes their cut of those amounts)? If we PARTNER with the agents to help them get the home sold, maybe we should get paid a little more like it. If all we do is bring in furniture, art & accessories, then maybe not.
Real Estate agents should pay for staging. Its their investment into a property and how they go about it that gets the house sold, in turn giving them a large check at the end of the day. Staging should be part of their investment.
But thats what im used to, so its easy for me to say that.
Rania - Interesting! I usually advise against the agent paying for the staging as it is the homeowner with the most to gain. Most of the agents I work with pay for the consultation, but not the actual staging.
Well yes the homeowner has much to gain, but not so much these days. The market SUCKS as we all know and of course it wont stay that way, but with my experience, most homeowners feel incredibly strapped. They are already dealing with selling a depreciated house on top of 6% of the sale to buyer and seller agents, and dont forget to include the plethora of work they probably have to put into it just in the light fixture/paint/landscaping/carpet/kitchen/bath updating world. So to have to pay even more money for staging, is just a really really hard sale.
In my market, the agents pay for it as part of their investment.
Thanks Melissa - I do think that if the sellers had a set price to pay for staging services ; instead of add in this and add in that to a sum of ? it would be easier to conceptualize. We have certainly tossed around the % pricing and will continue to explore it.
Wow, lots of reading over the last couple of hours! OK, my quotes always land in the 1 to 1.5% of asking even when I've not been told the list price. I'm that good! GUFFAW!
Appologizes, I'm very tired.
I've got a 'stager' who is a member here on AR who is bending over backward to undercut me...on a job I've already staged and the owner told her thanks but no thanks after getting her quote and looking at her portfolio.
And yes, if she reads this comment I will hear about it from my client...through the Realtor who has got it in her head that the property should be staged specifically for a 75 year old with one foot in the grave. Ouch! Go on AllDecor...dare yah! :)
Anywho...apparently someone can stage a huge vacant condo for $3000 dollars...which was about .25% of asking.
I know what we, as stagers, are worth, I also know the cost of quality rental pieces, my time on a project from start to finish etc. And like Michelle's dad, I won't leave the house unless I'm getting paid a fair price to do my job.
So *someone* (see above) who is still trying to get a client who chose not to use them must see this client as one dumbass or a cash cow.
In my market 1% to 1.5% up to 2% on a vacant is absolutely fair...too bad there are 'stagers' here who are so afraid of not being successful they will do just about anything to try to damage their peers and get the jobs for themselves. Don't they realize there is enough work for all professionals...and if they are not getting the jobs...maybe they are not that good.
Rania - the great things is that every market is different. If it is working in your market, I'm certainly not going to downplay it!
Kathleen - Yes, and when we can do all the work necessary then it is a much more productive end product. Don't you think?
Dane - Sorry you've been having your own competition issues there. You already know mine here. 1% - 2% would not fly here, except on the lower end homes and even that would be stretching it. We are working on bringing up the numbers but 2% is definately out of reach right now..... we are still shooting for the 1.