“Stagents” Help Clients Stage a Sale

When a home is put on the market, the property must make a transition from “home place” to “show place.” In other words, the home becomes a stage, not for the current owner, but for the prospective owner, a place where potential buyers can picture themselves living their lives and dreaming their dreams.

To make sure a home is properly staged some real estate agents are adding “stagent” to their business card. “Stagent is a term coined to indicate that an agent can advise a homeowner on how best to stage their home. Preparing a property in this manner means an agent can speak knowledgeably about home renovations and design principles such as furniture arranging, accessorizing and lighting.

Staging is an important part of the sales process at all times, but particularly in a sluggish real estate market. Studies have shown that staging a home can result in a sale almost 75 percent quicker than a home that hasn’t been staged.

Some agents have expressed concern that they may not have the background in interior design, but the skills needed to stage a home are relatively simple and easy to learn. A good real estate stager tries to identify a home’s best features and make them stand-out, by arranging, adding or subtracting furniture, and suggesting other changes that will further enhance the way the home is viewed by real estate agents and prospective buyers.

While having a good eye for design is helpful, both online and in-person courses are available for someone interested in adding to their real-estate staging knowledge. In person classes will last for several days, while online programs proceed at the students pace.

A stager may charge $ 500 for the staging services, but the average is between $1000 and $3000. With finances being more strained however, more homeowners are depending on their real estate agent to give them the information they might have received from a professional home stager.

Some agents believe that owners may expect them to step in and get involved with the actual process or rearranging furniture, but that isn’t what most “stagents” spend their time doing.

Rather, stagents start by viewing a home with fresh eyes and no pre-conceived notions about the way a room is utilized by the current owners or the manner in which it is decorated. Stagents strive to see a home the way a buyer will see it and then communicate to the owner what the buyer may want.

Even before the time for rearranging furniture is the time the stagent provides the owner with a “punch list,” a list of repairs that must be performed to get the home in viewing condition.

After any physical defects have been repaired, the stagent can recommend paint colors, look at the flow of the rooms, and begin to talk about furniture placement, and the possibility of purchasing or renting particular furnishings and accessories.