“With home values down and inventory up, the best way to jump ahead in catching the buyer’s attention in any price range is through the dynamic medium of home staging. A good home staging can do more than a price reduction in capturing an offer to purchase.
For some, the term staging is relatively new, but the concept is not. Home sellers have always tried to make their homes look their best when they go on the market. But most times it’s better to have another set of eyes to make needed improvements. Buyers want to see the features of a home and how they could fit into it without being distracted or turned off by what’s in it or how it’s decorated.
Professional home stagers are not decorators, as some think. Rather, they prepare a home for sale by going with the flow of the home that is already in place, but eliminating clutter, editing and arranging furniture, and helping with curb appeal.
Home sellers might be apprehensive about hiring stagers, wondering what their credentials are in proclaiming themselves professional and, in fact, there are really no national qualifying standards or certification for stagers.
“Today, it’s true that anyone can be a home stager because there’s no real certification,” says Susan Atwell, President of A Well Staged Home, headquartered in Westchester. “But when home sellers make a decision to hire me, they can go through the process of getting referrals for the work I’ve done, talk to me on the phone, and they can check my website that has my portfolio, testimonials and examples of my work.”
