I’m sure you’ve read the news recently….this current real estate market is tough, nothing is selling, how am I supposed to sell my house quickly and for the most money??? These are all statements that can be helped with just one simple thing….staging!
The current housing market is very competitive, and to help make listings stand out from the competition, agents and their clients utilize home staging. Home owners can have a great return on their investment with staging, yielding higher offers and faster sales. It’s all about showing your home in the best possible light so that buyers can easily visualize the property as their own. Our team of agents at The Jennifer Jones Team know the value of a staged home versus a non-staged home.
*Buyers are typically wiling to spend up to 5% more on a staged home!
73% of staged homes spend less time on the market!
50% of agents agree that staging a home increases the dollar value offered by 1-10%!
77% of buyers find it easier to visualize a staged home as their own!
So let’s get some insight from a local stager that our team uses on a regular basis to find out just how she got started and how she runs her staging business!
I’d like to introduce you to Skye Fisher of Skye Cecilia Design – Home Staging and Redesign Services. She was kind enough to sit down and answer some of my questions regarding staging that I’m sure consumers would love to know the answers to. Before Skye became a stager, she was a visual merchandiser for Brandy Melville in Vancouver after randomly applying without having any experience and realizing that merchandising was her calling. She eventually moved back to Toronto and became a visual merchandiser for a luxury brand. These companies did not allow her to express her poetic licence with design and she quickly realized that she had to find another vehicle to hone her craft.
She found that in staging her spouse Michael Fisher’s listings, who is a member of our team, her very first staging job was a listing of Mike’s that sold in 24 hours! She was staging part-time, working as an office administrator part-time and took the Interior Design and Home Staging courses at QC Design School so that she could eventually start her own staging company. She apprenticed under Finesse Interiors where she would practice staging, while growing her clientele and her staging inventory.
She has established most of her inventory from Urban Barn, HomeSense, Target, Wal-Mart and other family-run local shops. If she finds herself in need of an item that is outside of her inventory, she uses Stagers Choice to supplement her items.
For Skye, her full service experience consists of 3 steps:
Step 1: Consultation – Skye meets with the agent and home owners to assess the property, do a walk-through and chat about what needs to be done/changed in order to stand out in the market and how to be prepped for stage day After the consultation, she sends a full report on the consultation which includes, all the necessary to-do’s, paint colours, light fixtures, etc.
Step 2: Stage Day! Skye brings in furniture, wall art, bedding, pillows, home décor, towels, etc. She has proclaimed this step to be her favourite, as she gets to be in her element and really get creative! After stage day, the home owner keeps the staging items for 30 Days, and if it doesn’t sell within the 30 days, a renewal of 14 days is an option.
Step 3: Once the property has SOLD, she removes the staging items and moves onto the next job!
As a stager, Skye carries Home Staging Insurance to protect her assets as well as her clients, along with proper contracts signed by all parties. Over the course of time, staging items will become damaged due to wear and tear. Home owners or the agent are typically responsible for any lost, stolen or intentionally damaged items. Typically, clients are very respectful of items used for staging because they see the value in staging their home.
Skye’s style of staging tends to be a mix of vintage and modern. However, every house is different, and she tries to work with the client’s items as much as possible in a way that best showcases their home. Her favorite items to use are pillows and lamps and her least favorite item to work with is a sectional sofa. Her signature would have to be making a home feel cozy and trying new things.
Skye’s portfolio has become quite expansive since the beginning of her business. You can scroll through all of her Staging Project Before & After photos and the Pro Shots on her Facebook Page under albums, and on her blog.
Much like Real Estate, Staging business is typically gained through word of mouth, marketing, referrals from other stagers, social media and by reaching out to local realtors. Skye also enjoys performing consultations for clients that have recently moved into new homes or clients that need help with furniture layouts or specific room decor and design. She has recently been asked to work on new-build home designs!
Skye is sure to prosper in this business that she’s developed, working closely with The Jennifer Jones Team, to fufill that most prestigious level of service to home owners! If you have real estate related questions, please contact The Jennifer Jones Team for more!
*National Association of REALTORS® 2017 Profile of Home Staging Report & Real Estate Staging Association information.
*Please note, this blog is not intended to solicit those home buyers or home sellers that are under a current agency agreement*
