A Home is Where You Live. A House is What You Sell. STAGING Makes it a PRODUCT Buyers Want.
In today's market, it is important for sellers and RE agents alike to realize that standard marketing techniques are no longer sufficient when selling any property. In days past, an MLS listing and a few marketing avenues would do the trick to get buyers in the door. However, with so much competition on the market, that just isn't enough anymore.
Today's buyer is much more savvy than in days past. With the onslaught of staging and real estate shows on television, buyers are learning they should have certain expectations when searching for a future home. Should those expectations not be met, they will move on to the next property until they find one that satisfies them. With that reality, sellers and their agents need to become even more savvy in the ways of marketing their homes effectively.
They must take the step of emotionally divesting themselves from the property and see it only as a house. When they are able to view it in this way, then the non-emotional objectivity will help them to develop the property as a product - available for sale to the mases.
To illustrate this point, I have taken the definition of these words from the dictionary:
HOME 1 a: one's place of residence : domicile b: house2: the social unit formed by a family living together a: a familiar or usual setting : congenial environment; also : the focus of one's domestic attention <home is where the heart is> b: habitat
- at home 1: relaxed and comfortable : at ease <felt completely at home on the stage>2: in harmony with the surroundings.
With this definition, it would stand to reason that a HOME would be a place of emotional attachment. The place where memories are made and kept, a place of safety and joy, a place of security.
In this case, the home bears a significant meaning for the family and usually has been customized in decor and function to meet the specific needs therein. Understandably, when a home is in this condition, it will hold great appeal for the seller but may not hold the same for someone who is viewing it for the first time and is not privy to the memories that have created such a great attachment. It can actually prevent them from visualizing themselves living there.
HOUSE
1: a building that serves as living quarters for one or a few families
When a seller has has achieved some level of detachment from their home and can view it as others may see it, it becomes easier for them to make the necessary changes that will present it as a HOUSE - a place where anyone can live, not just the current residents. Once this emotional change occurs, they are one step closer to taking advantage of what staging can do for them - market their house as a product.
It also gives them a marked advantage to appealing to today's fickle buyer.
- PRODUCT
(1): something produced; especially : commodity 1 (2): something (as a service) that is marketed or sold as a commodity b: something resulting from or necessarily following from a set of conditions <a product of his environment>
Staging is the process of preparing your home for the real estate market in a way that will appeal to the widest range of potential buyers by creating a universally acceptable package which draws attention to the best of the property while making the most of its flaws. In other words, it packages it as a product. One that photographs well and shows well in person.
A home is transformed into a house that people can not only envision themselves living in, but will also want to buy. It is not intended to trick them into buying something that is not right for them, but to show them that with the proper usage, it can work for them.
Staging will not make a property mortgage worthy to EVERY buyer, but it can make it worthy to MORE buyers. That is the basic premise of staging - to assist sellers in turning their home into their house so that it becomes a marketable product that their agent can sell! It is a win-win-win proposition for all involved.
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