It all began with Barb Schwarz in 1972, when she made the decision to enter residential real estate after leaving the interior design business. Initially, she faced some challenges in preparing homes for sale, and making suggestions to change the furnishings to the owner without offending was a hard nut to crack. 

Soon she realizes that homes that were better presented sold faster and for more money. She began suggesting to the owners that they ‘stage the home’ for their potential buyers.  Because of her background in theater the phrase “Staging a home for sale” came to life.  The concept of Home Staging was born. 

In the late 2000’s, Barbara’s methods gained tremendous popularity as the recession turned real estate into a buyer’s market. Everyone started looking for efficient ways to set their homes apart from the rest. Home staging then slowly made its place in the real estate industry.

Only in 1990, Stage® was named a Federally Registered Trademark with the US Government and the Canadian Government in 2004.  Barb then developed the ASP® Accredited Staging Professional® Course through StagedHomes.com Staging University for industry professionals so they can earn the ASP® designation.  The ONLY nationally recognized designation for Home Staging.

Fun Fact “Before home staging became a marketing tool, real-estate agents would recommend that property owners cut the grass and keep the house tidy.”   

The current market is still a buyer’s market and most potential buyers are looking for a home that they can move in without the struggle of interior designing, reconstruction and so much more. Also, not all buyers have extra funds to renovate their new house. 

And yet, why do homeowners complicate the selling process for themselves by not staging their property to make the best impression? Here are some misconceptions that sellers have about home staging.

1. Our home is already professionally decorated

Sure, let’s agree to that for a second. However, professional interior designers decorate the home according to the owner’s preference. It doesn’t make their home necessarily attractive or welcoming for the new buyers. An accredited home stager has the experience to objectively prepare a home for mass appeal in the current marketplace to engage as many buyers as possible, no matter their personal style. 

2. It was too expensive.

Staging is an investment that you are looking to reap profits from. We’ve seen that staged houses sell faster than unstaged ones and the buyers are also prepared to offer up to 17% more than the selling price.

When compared with the carrying costs of a home that lags on the market (monthly mortgage, utilities, landscaping/snow removal, etc.), the cost of staging is far less.

3. We can stage the house too, we have everything we need.

Vacant homes are not the only ones with the scope of staging. Even occupied homes are staged and a professional stager can provide homeowners with tips on how to increase the appeal of the house. For example, keeping the home show-ready while the home is on the market — and still feel comfortable in their own home.

4. We can declutter and clean without spending money.

Cleaning and decluttering is something we do daily, why hire someone to do it for us? Well, how about the emotional impact on the seller while staging and de-personalizing? Having lived in the house for a long time, years of personal belongings are accumulated making it even more difficult to part away. An accredited stager will provide a detailed action plan to neutralize and remove any items that will distract from the home’s features to get the house sold.

5. We can stage later if needed.

There is a lot of truth to the popular phrase – “Today is always better than tomorrow”. You will inevitably lose time and money if you don’t stage before you list. Be prepared for the buyer.

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