Last week, while staging this town home (see below), we had a prospective buyer pay a visit. She happened to be viewing the home next door which was also on the market. I had been introduced to the potential buyer via the agent who was showing her that home. That agent had offered to show me her listing so that I could see the difference in floor plans. She also made mention that her listing was already "partially staged." I couldn't wait to go in. My excitement quickly vanished when I entered. It turns out that her definition of "partially staged" equates to a rug and a floor plant for the living room. Dumbfounded, I excused myself. But, I digressed.
The prospective buyer stayed for approximately 10 minutes in the home next door. When she made the visit to the home we were staging, she stayed for almost 20 minutes. Why the difference?
- Because she had someone to talk to? No, that's not it. She had the listing agent there to engage in conversation inside the other home.
- Could it have been the price? No. Both were priced at equal amounts.
- Could it have been that we (me and my assistant) have awesome and incredible personalities? Not likely. But... for those wondering, we do have great personalities (smile).
Here are a few pictures:
Before Picture of living room area:
Here's the same room after we staged:
And here's the room at a slightly different angle:
And while I don't have a "before" picture to accompany the following picture (see below), I did like how the picture came out.
To ensure I captured the size of the kitchen, I sent the following picture to the agent for his use.
___________________________________________________________________________________________________ Serving home sellers, agents, builders and investors, they have the experience, skills and inventory to help make your home and/or listing stand-out from the others on the market. Kathy Nielsen, Owner and Principle Design Specialist is considered an expert in the field of home staging. Her expertise has landed her on the pages of Atlanta Magazine, Atlanta Home Improvement; Atlanta Business Chronicle, Atlanta Journal Constitution and will soon have one of her homes appear on HGTV's Sleep On It With their extensive home staging portfolio, you'll quickly learn that they have the expertise and knowledge on what it takes to make your home and/or listing appeal to the prospective buyers. 
Home Staging Atlanta - Kathy Nielsen - 678 522 8392
RESA Professional Stager of the Year - Southern Region 2011
Whether your home is vacant or occupied, this Atlanta Georgia Home Stager, Kathy Nielsen, understands what it takes to sell a home quickly. Her homes have graced the pages of several publications, appeared in TV commercials as well as on HGTV's hit program Sleep On it.
With years of experience and a massive inventory - Kathy makes the perfect choice.
Home Staging Website: Home Staging Atlanta
Before and After Pictures: Atlanta Home Staging Portfolio:
Email: Kathy@HomeStagingAtlanta.com
Blog: Atlanta Home Staging
- Kitchen Transformations
- Short on Space? Keep it Simple
- Tips on Selling Your Home From a Professional Stager
- Curtains. Should they stay or go?
- How to dress up your coffee table and end tables when selling
- Quick tips for table settings
- How will buyers remember your home?
- Atlanta Home Staging Consultations - Check out what the homeowner did
- Atlanta Loft Gets Home Staged
- How to ensure your home appeals to a broad base of prospective buyers
YES! Absolutely right on! Staged homes do make buyers linger, helping them to take in more of the home and find themselves more connected to it later when they are deciding on what home to make an offer on. I'm sure that your staging (which looks fab) was a big part of that....
Your pictures speak a thousand words - they are gorgeous Kathy. In this case, what transpired with the potential buyer speaks volumes too. The fact that he or she spent more time at your staged listing proves once again that staging works. Great job! By the way, you really need to start putting that little star next to some of your posts in the 'Staging B&A Pictures' group. Your work is so worthy of a feature.
Thanks, Melissa!
Charlene - That was super sweet of you to say. Thank you!
Kathy
Kathy, you assessed the situation perfectly. They do stay longer in a staged home for just the reasons you pointed out. Your staging and photos are gorgeous.
BEAUTIFUL Job Kathy!!!!! I totally agree with what you said about emotionally connecting and envisioning themselves there because of the way the decorating makes them feel. You always do a beautiful job. Thanks for sharing.
Gorgous staging Kathy. Just beautiful work, who wouldn't want to spend time in there?
Your staging is great, of course! fun when a buyer walks through!
Hi Kathy,
No wonder she stayed. That's the whole point of staging. Creating such a wonderful space they never want to leave. You did that and more!
According to Feng Shui, in an empty house energy (and buyers) come in one door and fly right out the other.
Very, very effective presentation. You clearly know what you're doing!
It is nice to have the comparison of two properties right next door to each other. It will be great for stats. The one you staged should be a much easier sell! It looks fabulous!
Absolutely beautiful! I would want to stay there. Very nice work!
Your pictures say it all....and your staging is always amazing. I love looking at your pictures! Staging makes a space come alive and certainly lets the buyer get a feel for the size of the room and lets them see how their furnishings could fit. Staging also creates the environment to make people "linger" in the house....and the longer a potential buyer lingers, the better to make that important emotional connection that can help get the home sold.
Another great job Kathy. By seeing a staged home, the potential buyer (PB) was able to see what it would be like to live in that house. By seeing the home staged by your company, she was able to see the home's fullest potential and how lovely that life could be. The rug and plant probably made the other home not have an echo, but thats about it. I bet your staged home sells first. Let us know.
Kathy you did a great job, Congrats ~
Thanks, Michelle.
Chrissie - I was able to send the sellers the above pictures and they too loved how it turned out. Thanks for your kind words.
Robyn - I'm hoping they (prospective buyers) will ALL stay a very long time!
Thanks, Karen. I would have loved to have sold her the town home while she was there!
Susan - I just met with a prospective client on Monday who mentioned the same concern. In his home, when you first enter the front door, you are directly facing a window. He was concerned with the energy screaming in the front only to exit quickly out the back. I too was concerned.
Thank you, Paul.
Lisa - I want this one to sell quickly (as I do with all my homes) and then... approach the agent with the listing next door and take it from partially staged to key room staging. Wouldn't that be great?
Thanks, Teri.
Tracy - I love posting examples of my work so thanks for taking the time to comment.
Thank you, Michelle. FYI - the other home still had an echo (smile).
Thanks, Tosha.
Kathy ~ Your post and photos illustrate the powerful benefits of staging a home. Your work beautifully proves that an empty home holds little interest for a buyer, who needs to connect with a property to be able to imagine living there. Best wishes for a quick sale!
Kathy, I can't get over the beautiful work you did. It is sooooooo pretty I could just stare at the pics. Do you take your own photos, or use a pro?
Kathy,
Very nice.. simple, less is more and it tells you exactly what you are selling.. The only reason why the potential buyer stayed is because they felt comfortable, when someone is comfortable it helps them linger.. That is one of the keys to a successful staging..! Great photos.. Keep them coming!
Thanks, Maureen.
Hi, Robyn - Yes, I took these photos. I truly have to give the camera most of the credit though. And thank you for your kind words.
Thanks, Jackie. I'll keep them coming, I promise.
Kathy
Beautiful staging. You really brought out the best of the features of the home. Care to share regarding the camera you use?
Kathy - I love the things on the coffee table. They look so clean and contemporary.
Don't you just love when this happens? Now I know some may look at it as an intrusion - 20 mins. can be a long time for some - but my feeling is GREAT let them in let them see how great the house looks and know that others are going to see it too. You made the vacant turn into a home once again Kathy - you do an amazing job! I'd love to hear if this potential buyer turned into the new home owner....
You really showed the potential of this house with your staging, Kathy-like the desk by the window! Of course the buyer wanted to stay and absorb it all!
It's really beautiful, I especially love the desk placement in the office area. Your Staging feels warm and inviting, and what a great comparison to have the "partially Staged" house next door. No wonder the buyer stayed longer here.
Your pictures- content and quality- are also fabulous, I'm sure the agent is thrilled to have these for the mls. Great work.
Kathy- You always do such great work! It is always so wonderful :)
Wonderful work!!! You are just a talented stager and this is just another example. Good post.
Oh Kathy...I never tire of looking at your BEAUTIFUL photos. There would be no question as to why the buyer would not want to stay longer in the unit you were staging. Did the Realtor not comment on the difference of staging in the units?
Hi, Magi. The camera is a Nikon D80 and I absolutely love it. It was a well worthy investment.
Thanks, Maureen.
Karen, Yes; I love it when it happens. And no, I didn't view it as an intrusion.
Kathy R - Thank you!
Gina - The agent loved how the home came out and loved the photos!
Thanks, Wendy - that was sweet of you to say.
Terrylynn - What a wonderful compliment. Thank you!
Donna - I love sharing my work and I'm glad you don't get tired of looking (smile).
Kathy
Bravo, Kathy. Very nice. It's a real treat to witness such a beautiful transformation of space. Thank you for the nice post. Hope your having a great weekend.
Really great space and the staging looks perfect for the the lines of the home. No wonder the house garnered 10 extra minutes with the potential buyer!
What a beautiful home, and job. I swear I just saw that same table in another photo on AR. Can you email me privately if you don't mind and let me know if it's your inventory, and if so, where you bought it. cindy@redesignetc.com
I also concur with what Charlene said and was thinking the same thing as I was looking at your photos...where's the gold star???
Thank you, David.
Sandra - When the home is vacant, it's just less interesting (as you know). Thanks for your kind words.
Cindy - There were so many excellent staging jobs to feature in the group that I choice to feature those and not my own. I've only done that once thus far (feature my own) and moving forward, I promise I'll feature more.
Kathy
Kathy: Cindy and I are going to hold you to that promise! ;-)
Kathy,
What a beautiful job! It always makes me nervous when people "stop by" before the staging is complete. Hopefully with more experience, I'll get over it.
I agree about your pix as well...they are really great!