10 Showings...

How many times should my house be shown before I see an offer? As a Stager I get this question often. I put on my Stager's hat and my Broker's hat when I answer. 10 times max. If your home has been shown 10 times to qualified buyers and you have not gotten an offer, there is a problem!

Problems fall into 2 categories in my book. Price and condition.

Location, road frontage, school districts, number of bedrooms and baths and all such as that will fall under pricing. Proper pricing will overcome all of those problems. For that matter, with a low enough price even poor conditioned properties will sell eventually.

Condition is where staging comes in. Staging will accent the positive and make sure the buyer sees it while simultaneously correcting and diffusing the negatives. Staging will "out" hidden square footage, define spaces that have no clear function, and in general speak to the buyer on an emotional level so he/she/they can connect with the property. A large portion of staging is about editing out the visual noise so that the buyer is not distracted from the actual house.

So the answer is 10. If your house has been shown 10 times and you do not have an offer, take the time to figure out which problem is stopping the sale. Or could it be both? Price and condition are definitely linked, so don't drop the price without being sure that is the problem.

Often the solution is to stage a home to support the sales price. Getting the positives out there front and center will impact the price. Sometimes it is a combination solution that will reclaim the marketing momentum, staging and a smaller price reduction.

There is a saying in the Staging industry that is so true, "Staging is always less than the first price reduction." Price reductions are of highest value to the buyer when they impact the monthly payment. In order to do that a price reduction will often be $10,000 or more. In more expensive homes it is not out of the ordinary to hear of price reductions of $40,000 or $50,000. Staging is a much more affordable option and offers the added value of the opportunity for a quicker sale to boot. Shorter days on the market mean much less hassle and headache for the agent and the seller. In my book that qualifies as a WIN-WIN!