New View Home Staging Blog

Research suggests that the Moving-Up Buyer is going to purchase a new home for perhaps 50% more than the one they're selling.  You've probably worked with these buyers, and typical wish lists are for a bigger kitchen, a 4th bedroom, a luxurious "spa" ensuite, and more room in general.

Getting into the head of the Moving-Up Buyer may be hard sometimes, because they know what they want, but they may not be able to explain it in so many words.  What they really want cannot be truly defined, or physically built for them.  They'll just know it when they see it. 

And so what is the "it"?  It's intangible... it's a feeling... a sense of opportunity and excitement... a suggestion of a better lifestyle.

When Moving Up Buyers are out looking at homes, they're often not so much looking at the house as they are looking into the lifestyle that it suggests they could have, and it needs to be a step up from the home they are leaving. 

This is where working with a professional Home Stager can make a huge impact, to both the Buyer AND the Seller.  The price needs to be set right (realtor expertise required here), but it also needs to look great and provide the intangible IT factor... the lifestyle influence.

The perfect combination for a sale to the Moving Up Buyer is a property within their price range that exudes the quality of life they want.   For Sellers that understand this and Realtors that guide the process, it's usually a win-win-win situation.   

These days there's a statistic for everything, so let me throw one in about staging.  Staged homes STATISTICALLY sell for between 5% and 10% more than their unstaged competition.
 
So using those figures, a $260,000 home will sell for between $13,000 and $26,000 more.  That's great news for your client because you've protected their equity, but it also means that the 3% seller's commission has increased between $390 and $780, or on average $585 per home. 
 
From there the math gets easier to understand.  If, on average, you earn an additional $585 per home and sell 24 homes per year, you're AT LEAST $14,040 ahead of where you would be if you hadn't recommended staging.
 
All this is based on just a $260,000 home ... and only the commission.   Now, because we also know that a staged home typically sells 2 to 3 times faster, start factoring in the need to host fewer open houses, spend less money on advertising, leaving more time to focus on other leads... PLUS the additional referrals from satisfied clients who have realized greater profits themselves, and it becomes clear that staging makes good financial sense.  

New View Home Staging is a full services real estate staging and property styling company serving Kitchener-Waterloo, Cambridge, Guelph, Stratford and surrounding communities.  We pride ourselves in exceptional customer service and would welcome the opportunity to work with realtors and homeowners in southwestern Ontario.

Christine Bird, owner and lead stager, is a Certified Staging Professional and CSP Elite Agent trainer.  Please call 519-505-0892 to speak with Christine about your real estate staging requirements.