This might be a stretch (maybe not for a Monday morning), but Staging a Sale is an article about companies that “stage” homes that are for sale. For some reason, I am intrigued by this whole premise. My wife watches a show on HGTV or A&E that is list large guy who stages a home for sale. I get drawn in to the show everytime she watches it. From what they reveal in the episode, the staging appears to make a tremendous difference (my wife informs me of this fact).
So I am drawn in to this article and I read this line:
A key part of their sales pitch: They say the average days on market of homes they’ve staged is 35 days, compared with the Twin Cities average of more than 60.
That is a robust value proposition.
And then comes the hook:
“When you’re a stager you’re a solution,” she said. “When you’re a Realtor you’re just a salesman.”
The stager certainly falls into the solution selling category if for nothing else, they provide a unique proposition every time. My experience is that most realtors want to take photos, measure rooms and upload everything to MLS. Hard not to be commoditized in that world. Stagers, however, work with your home’s colors, arrange your furniture, supply specific filler pieces, etc.
The real estate market is slowing down and I think it is safe to say the stager’s value proposition will become even stronger as supply increases (homes on the market) and demand decreases (active buyers).