We are currently in the throes of the hot summer selling season and there has never been more homes on the market competing for the attention of today's home buyers. If you thought that curb appeal starts at the curb, the front yard or maybe even at the front door, you'd be mistaken because today it starts with a computer.

 

As you know, it takes more than a yard sign, a newspaper ad or an open house to capture the attention of buyers. The onset of the information highway has definitely influenced how buyers search for their new home. As a matter of fact, 86% of today's buyers view homes online before scheduling an actual tour of a home. Buyers can see homes, inside and out, right from their computer screens at any time. Curb appeal used to mean having great landscaping. Although this is still true, it also means having a great visual presentation of the entire home which is being sold.

 

Buyers will want to see more of a home if it has been presented with the absolute best on-line images. Realtors and  home sellers will benefit because buyers who view homes online and then schedule a tour are more likely to be serious about a property.

 

How do you  ensure that your clients' homes get the most attention so they can compete aggressively in this crowded marketplace? After all, you are in charge of marketing a product for sale. As part of your marketing campaign, you promote your "house for sale" with MLS presence, flyers, ads, open houses, broker's open houses, internet marketing, agent-to-agent marketing, etc. While these are effective and important marketing techiniques, there is one technique that should not be overlooked...  

 

...Home Staging!

 

How the product is packaged, merchandised and presented to its targeted market significantly impacts the sale. The house itself is the point of sale, yet it is very hard to market a house successfully when it is simply not ready to be SOLD. Working with a reputable home staging company is a great way to diversify your current services, as well as add a valuable service that can assist your clients in this tough market. We are happy to be a resource to help you and your clients upstage their competition with presentation marketing.

Over the past six months, our growth has brought us many positive changes. Our first change came in the form of  adding design/staging consultants Danielle Huff and Amy Humes to our existing staff of Patty Terrell and Gary Barnett. Expanding the skills and talents of our team of staging professionals has allowed us to offer a better response time, while maintaining our high standards of customer service and statistical results.

 

We have also added to our existing inventory of furniture and accessories. We had room for expansion in our furniture warehouse. However, that was not the case with our accessory storage so we acquired additional warehouse space to accomodate our accessories--and expanded into a new office space as well!

 

Next came the expansion of our website to include a much larger portfolio of the before-and-after photos of the homes we've staged and our own home staging blog. We feel strongly about continuing to improve our communication with you, which is why we are constantly updating our website as well as starting our "Staging Solutions!" newsletter. Coming soon to our website are downloadable PDF files that can be used to educate home sellers about home staging and information which you are welcome to use in your listing packets.