At long last, mortgage rates have finally dropped, just in time for fall selling season. The challenge is we only have a few short weeks before sales activity takes its annual end-of-year plunge. Whether you have a new listing or one that’s been languishing on the market, this is the best possible moment to do a staging refresh and get that property sold before the end of the year.
5 ways to get past seller home staging objections
If your sellers don’t see the need for staging, despite the old recliner and the cat trees in the living room, here’s how to give them a dose of reality in terms of how buyers see their property. Use these scripts to overcome seller home staging objections.
1. Explain the financial opportunity
When sellers say, “We don’t want to (or don’t have the funds) to professionally stage our home,” remind them of the data.
According to National Association of Realtors data, 83 percent of buyers’ agents agree that staging a home makes it easier for a buyer to visualize the property as a future home.
The Home Staging Institute found that:
- Over 65 percent of 900 Realtors surveyed believe that home staging helps sell a house for more money.
- The majority of Realtors believe that home staging increases a property’s selling price anywhere from 1 percent to 10 percent.
- Twenty-one percent of buyers’ agents agree that staging a home increased its value by 6 percent to 10 percent.
Here’s a simple script to drive this point home:
Seller, you have an important decision to make. Staged homes sell for approximately 1-10 percent more than homes that are not staged. If you decide not to stage your home, you will probably have to reduce your price by that much to find a buyer. It’s your choice — stage it or reduce the price later to get it sold — what would you like to do?
2. Spell out how sellers lose money by not staging
When sellers decide not to do repairs or allow their house to be shown without putting it into the best possible condition, they pay for it in three different ways.
- Longer market time: HGTV has conditioned buyers to want perfectly staged properties. As a result, both agents and buyers normally want to see the homes that look the best in the photos or videos. This is especially true in those areas experiencing a buyers’ market with six months or more of inventory. The result is fewer showings and longer market time.
- Lower offering prices: Small repairs such as a doorbell that doesn’t ring, a dripping faucet or a door that sticks can lead buyers to conclude the house hasn’t been well maintained. This perception typically results in lower offers because buyers are concerned about what else hasn’t been maintained, such as HVAC, roof, appliances etc.
- Inspections: Since buyers usually ask sellers to handle the repairs, it’s smart to make sure that the house not only shows well, but that the little nits are handled. As one agent astutely observed, “The buyers will use any excuse they can to beat you up on the price.”
3. Show them the proof in the pictures
Your camera tells the real story. When sellers are reluctant to take care of basics such as painting and carpeting, use this four-step process:
When you first pull up to the home, take a picture from the street, preferably on your tablet so it’s easy to see. The reason? Most sellers enter their house through their back door or a door in the garage. This means they seldom see how their house looks as someone parks in front and walks up to the front door. Taking a picture of the front allows the seller to view the house as a buyer would on a showing and how their exterior photos will look on the MLS.
Next, take a second picture at the front door. Ideally, this picture shows how the front entrance looks. Be sure to get close-ups of any feature that would turn off a buyer, such as a broken doorbell or a front door that is in poor condition. Agents and their buyers often note these conditions and assume that the rest of the house is in poor repair as well.
Third, when the seller answers the door, ask permission to take more photographs as you first step inside. Taking the picture at the front door allows the sellers to immediately see how their home will first appear to the buyers as they walk into the property.
Show them exactly how their house looks through the lens of the camera and say the following:
“Here’s the first impression that buyers will have of your house. What do you see?”
Sellers are often shocked when they see how dirty their carpets look in the photos or how cluttered their house appears. The photos are a powerful way to help the sellers understand how buyers will view their home in print, online or in person.
4. Remind them that it’s not their house anymore
When we sold the first house I bought in Austin, my listing agent had this to say when it came to paying for all the expensive staging she was proposing.
“It’s not your house anymore. When you list a home, it becomes a product. Your house is nine years old and you’re competing with new homes just a few miles away.”
“While you don’t have to repaint the entire interior of the house, you need to get rid of the dated wallpaper in the kitchen and the powder room, paint the main rooms in the colors you’re seeing in the model homes, replace the faucets in the kitchen and master bath with new fixtures, plus update the lighting. We’ll stage the room around the fireplace, not the television.”
It turned out she was right. We got a full price offer in just a week, even though there was so much new product being constructed nearby.
5. Do the comparison test
In case the sellers are still resistant, here’s a great tip.
Take out a crisp, new one-dollar bill plus one that is dirty and wrinkled. Place both bills on the table, and ask the sellers to choose one. The sellers always choose the new bill. At this point, you then explain:
“People who buy houses are like you — they will choose the attractively staged property over one that is not staged.”
So, the next time you hear the seller home staging objection, “I don’t think my home needs painting, cleaning or staging,” share these field-tested approaches that illustrate how staging their property is not only in their best interest but can also help them obtain the highest possible price in the least amount of time.
Bernice Ross is president and CEO of BrokerageUP and RealEstateCoach.com, the founder of Profit.RealEstate and a national speaker, author and trainer with over 1,500 published articles.
