The importance of staging a home has come up more and more in my conversations when listing a home. I know enough to tell clients to take away the clutter including pictures on the refrigerator-have as much space as possible for the prospective buyers to imagine themselves in the home-not to mention painting, upkeep and cleanliness. I can walk through a home and know when it looks off kilter or dominated by excessive furniture etc. What came up recently for me was how does it look in the pictures I take - is there a sense of space and openness when people view it online. I take a lot of pictures and post the best ones but it got me thinking-what else can I learn about something I thought I knew already.
I ran across a credential for Realtors called an "ASP Designation" (Accredited Staging Professional) through Stagedhomes.com which is for Real Estate Agents to be trained in proven Staging techniques. This is a two day course for Realtors and three days for Staging Professionals. I first heard about it through the message boards with RE/MAX where many Realtors have the designation and recommended it. Several of the RE/MAX agents also said they have a partnership with a staging professional as part of their listing presentation. A staging professional comes when they list the home (the Realtor pays them from $25-$100) and they give some tips on how best to present their home. Many times the seller wants to hire the stager after this initial meeting and so it is a great lead opportunity for a stager to provide this service with a Realtor.
Selling Southeastern Michigan Real Estate where Buyers have so many choices, sellers have to be really competitive ao I am considering adding this to my tool box of marketing strategies I can offer my sellers. Does anyone have this designation, heard of it or recommend it?
