Home Staging Advice - 5 cents

Want some home staging advice for nickel? If so stop in our booth at the Sourwood festival in Black Mountain, NC Aug 8 and 9, 2009.

We will have live demo's twice each day for creating custom art and drapery at a fraction of the cost of purchasing.

Many people think Home Staging is too costly. Quite the contrary, with a little ingenuity, you can stage your home and control the budget spending only what you can afford.

While at the booth, you can also talk to us about classes designed for homeowners who may want to do-it-yourself, real estate agents that want to advise their clients effectively and anyone that wants to become a professional home stager.

Goodwill In The Home Staging Business Model

In an economy of recession, depression, growth, rising GDP, declining GDP, it doesn't matter. Goodwill should be included in your home staging business model. Answer this question as a business owner, What is the value of your business over your tangible assets?

If your business model is short term you may be missing the advantages of goodwill. A long-term view is a model for business success.

A potential client call came in needing a 1050 square foot outdoor area staged. After a walk thru of the area it was clear that placing my inventory of outdoor furniture in an unprotected outdoor area to be ruined by nature's variances was not financially a good decision for me, nor the client. The rent would have to be enough to carry the cost of deterioration and replacement. But still the client needed help.

Empathy kicked in, the client family was so like-able and their need was so great. I sourced the job via the Internet and provided a detailed staging consultation to the client at break-even.

The rewards have been never-ending. Not only do I feel good, I have photographs to add to my consultation results portfolio, I have a client that will not hesitate to recommend my services, and a recommendation useful in marketing. Having a goodwill advocate is a great thing. It has added to my tangible assets as a result!

Home Staging Economics

In the last week we learned more bad news about the economy and specifically pending home sales prices. If you are paying attention to the economic indicators you know that the selling prices of homes are continuing to be slashed. One in 4 homes across the U.S. for sale July 1 have reduced the selling price at least once according to Trulia.com.

On the bright side, the housing stimulus plan it is taking shape, and each day a little more detail is revealed. For the market to start making it's move their are a couple of other indicators that need to fall in line simultaneously, job losses often referred to as non-farm payrolls and consumer confidence. It's like a reverse domino effect, once they start moving, GDP will start moving, when GDP starts moving, even more consumer confidence improvement and investment grows. On these fronts, there are Administration efforts to jump start. We will start to see, if nothing else, a reduction in the rate of growth of the bad numbers. Job losses may still be high, but at a lesser rate, and with that consumers will start to feel better about their futures.

The reasons to stage a home remain. When the economy is declining there are generally fewer buyers and you have to fight for the ones out there. A staged home is a clear advantage. When the economy is rising, you have to compete still, and a staged home remains a clear advantage. The year 2008 was clearly a bad year and yet the Real Estate Staging Association reports days on the market staged vs. unstaged (same home) improved a staggering number of days.

In my own area of the country, Asheville, NC, home sales are up, but at a reduced price. It is encouraging even with the caveats. Keep your heads up, recessions always end!

Eileen