Home Staging is Not Just a West Coast Thing

Several months ago I attended a networking event in Edgewater.  As I was preparing to leave, a gentleman standing nearby asked me to explain home staging.  After offering up an explanation, he immediately equated it to "that HGTV thing".  He added that New Jersey is slow to pick up on this new trend and that home staging is a "California" thing.  Was I hearing him correctly?   Did my ears deceive me?  Did he actually believe that home stsging is better suited for the West Coast than the East Coast?  I wonder how many other people actually share this view.

On the off-chance it's more widespread than I suspect then, my challenge is to educate potential clients and real estate partners of the merits of professional home staging in the buying and selling process irrespective of which coast or whether in a buyers or a sellers market.  The staging goals remain the same:

• To transform a property from empty, cluttered or dated to one that is show-worthy and appeals to a broad range of buyers.  A staging investment of 1-3% of the value of the home can yield an average 8-20% return on investment  (NAR survey)
• To give the property that wow factor to stand out from the competition.  80% of buyers find it easier to visualize the property as their future home when it's staged to reflect a lifestyle they aspire to.
• To bring increased foot traffic through a combination of staging and professional, on-line photographs.  Over 95% of buyers shop online first.  With only seconds to make a great first impression, staging.plus great photography means more interest, more views and more offers from buyers.
• To sell quickly and for a higher price than similar unstaged homes.  Staged homes sell 90% faster than unstaged homes (RESA).   And, staging increases a homes selling price from 5-20%. (2015 NAR Report)

Home staging is not a new trend, but a standard to be adopted.  It has always been around in some form, but it's gained popularity during difficult real estate cycles and buyers markets as a way to stand out from the competition.  Some of the great West Coast home stagers, like Meredith Baer, and shows like HGTV have helped to make it an attractive profession to pursue.  Today, there are thousands of professional home stagers and a large percentage of them work right here on the East Coast.

So, it's definitely not just a West Coast thing.  To the curious gentleman standing nearby that night, I say "thank you".  At every possible opportunity, I now try to educate others on the value of home staging and the difference it makes in the real estate buying and selling process.