Home Staging: Facts Tell; Stories Sell

Atlanta, Georgia June 12, 2007 -- Home staging is hot, and getting hotter around the country. Much like the saying, "facts tell; stories sell", Realtors® and home sellers are beginning to see how home staging can mean real dollars, beefed-up reputations for agents and less stress for sellers. Some of the national statistics about home staging dovetail nicely with stories from Karen Dembsky’s experiences as a Realtor®.

Home staging is the art of decorating a home to appeal to the most potential buyers. A professional home stager will bring out the house's best features, and create an inviting atmosphere. Karen recognized while selling real estate that dressing up a home to be shown proved more profitable than trying to sell it as the owners had left it. Here are some of her stories: • According to the 2006 National Association of REALTORS® Profile of Home Buyers and Sellers, 80% of all home buyers used the Internet as an information source. For one client, Karen used her deft touch at staging to set up the home for photos. When the photos were posted on the Internet after staging, the seller received an offer the next day, without the buyer even visiting the house.

• An article published February 2007 by Realtor® Magazine Online reported that staged homes sell 50 percent faster than non-staged homes. Karen had one client whose house had been marketed for six months, unstaged. After staging, with fresh paint and carefully selected colors in all the rooms, the seller received a full-price offer within a week.

• Also reported in that same article, professionally staged homes sell on average for 7% more money than non-staged properties. To illustrate this statistic, Karen gets personal. She has bought and sold four of her own homes during her life. Each was staged before selling. Two of them sold during the first month on the market for the asking price. The other two were sold their first DAY on the market for MORE than the asking price.

• Having your home staged costs less than taking a price reduction. Said one of Karen's clients, "Karen went through every room in detail and outlined exactly the color changes and modest upgrades we could easily afford and quickly accomplish to best market our home for top dollar." On average, home staging projects across the country cost 1% or less of the sale price of the home. For example, a staging investment for a $300,000 home would be about $3,000 or less. The current national average for home sale price reduction is 5% of the original asking price. Investing in home staging potentially puts a savings of $12,000 in the pocket of a home seller selling a $300,000 home!

• According to the American Psychological Association, moving to a new city generates as much stress as does a tragedy or disaster. Or, as a client of Karen puts it, hiring a home stager is like hiring a wedding planner. The seller pays a small price to pass a lot of stress onto the home stager. Said her client, "Karen really understood that having your home show in ready condition day after day is stressful. [She has] a real passion when it comes to helping homeowners on what to do and what’s important."

Facts tell that home staging sells. Stories allow human experience to illustrate the point. Home staging can bring higher selling prices, quicker sales, with less stress on the sellers. That's a fact.

Peachtree Home Staging currently serves all of metro Atlanta. Peachtree Home Staging was founded by Karen Dembsky, a metro Atlanta resident for the past 27 years, currently living in Peachtree City, Georgia.

Contact:
Karen Dembsky, President
Peachtree Home Staging LLC
(770) 595-8809
Email Karen

NOTE TO EDITORS AND PRODUCERS: Karen Dembsky is available for interviews. Contact Karen Dembsky at (770) 595-8809.