-- A Professional Atlanta Home Stager Answers the What, Why, When, and Price for Home Staging --

What is Home Staging? Home staging is the art of presenting

	Click the image above to watch Real Estate Show

key rooms, and placement of furniture and accessory pieces in those rooms with the intent to draw general appeal to a home for sale for the most potential buyers. Home stagers design unique staging plans for a home based on the potential buyer for the demographics of that home's location, price range, and floor plan. The intent of the home staging strategy is to actually help the home buyer be able to visualize comfortably and happily living in the home.

A professional home stager will be able to highlight the home's best features for the potential buyers. In addition, professional home staging will demonstrate livable solutions for floor plan negatives and awkward spaces. An inviting home atmosphere is created with home staging as well as a strong emphasis toward creating a positive first impression of the home for sale.

Why have your home staged? The proven results of professional home staging are reduced market time, and realizing top dollar for the property. Home staging is a new trend in the real estate arena, and it is here to stay. If it's a buyers market, such as our current market, staged homes have less market time than homes that have not been professionally home staged. If our economy has us in a seller's market, a professionally staged home encourages multiple offers and a higher offer price.

For the more veteran home sellers it is important to point out that the Internet's availability of home photos for all homes for sale have increased the need for displaying cosmetic sophistication of a property. To put is quite simply, if a home does not show well in the on-line photos; physical showings will be limited. All the way back to ancient times, land has always been the prized commodity for ownership, trade, and wealth. Because 80% of all home buyers now begin their search on line, for the first time in the history of man, property must be "marketed" in order to return wealth. Home staging has become that marketing tool. Home staging is today's key criteria stimulating physical showings from the homes buyer's first impression gained via Internet viewings.

The other powerful attribute of hiring a professional home stager when marketing your home is the stager's expertise in targeting the best possible second impression, which of course in today's world of the Web, is generally the physical viewing of the home, as earlier mentioned. For example, you may have a wonderful presentation of colorful collector plates appropriately displayed on built-in bookshelves in your great room. The home buyer tours the home, admires your collection and mentally notes the built-ins. After leaving the home the buyer wonders where the fireplace was. Was it in the room with the plates? Now your home is being remembered as the home with the plates; not the home with the beautiful built-ins and custom woodwork framing out the large fireplace. A professional home stager will see changes needed that would not be expected. A professional home stager's trained expertise will know how to display your items in a way that accents your home, not your collections.

When should a home be staged? This is the simplest principal of professional home staging. Homes should be staged prior to listing. Stage, list, and sell. Once your home is listed and in the MLS Internet system, the pictures posted there can often become a permanent presentation on multiple home selling sites.

Secondly, if you anticipate your home going on the market in the next year or two, it is recommended that you hire a home stager for a consultation and advice regarding possible home upgrades that will be economical, paint color choices, landscaping ideas, etc. A home stager can help you prioritize your action list so that you can pace yourself throughout the process while feeling confident that your home equity will stay intact.

How much does home staging cost? The cost to stage a home depends on the services required. Each quote is custom as each home is unique, and each home seller's needs are unique. For example, the cost to hire a home stager to begin the process of staging your home working with your own items would start somewhere between $150 and $200. The more staging services, furniture, and accessories needed, the more the cost. In other words, if a home stager can come into your home and work with your furnishing and accessories to improve your home presentation it will cost much less than if the home you are marketing is vacant and needing furnishing as well as accessories. And, often, it is somewhere in between. Thus, custom quotes are fundamental to the business of home staging.

Our most recent Home Staging statistical results – proof is in the numbers!

2010 Atlanta home staging statistic from Peachtree Home Staging just in!

• 2384 Drew Valley, Brookhaven in Atlanta – On the market for 192 days. Our home staging helped to bring an offer in under 90 days.

• 176 Savannah Street, Atlanta Cabbage Town! On the market for over a year prior to home staging. Our professional Atlanta home staging services staged this home and received the needed offer within 45 days!

• Timm Valley Road, Buckhead / Lenox area in Atlanta! 2 unit Duplex home staged and secured renters for both units in under a month from hitting the Atlanta rental market.

• 5 Primrose Pass, Arbor Springs, Newnan, GA - received an offer 1st day on the market after home staging by Peachtree Home Staging closing in March 2010

• 1020 Patina Point, Peachtree City, GA – offer came in 3 days for this staged home after listing on Georgia MLS

• 820 Moore Road, Newnan, Atlanta suburb – vacant home on the market for 295 days. Our home staging made the staging presentation that put this home under contract with a happy buyer in just 23 days!

• 510 Willow Road, Peachtree City - this seller listed with 4 different realtors over a period of 332 days. The 4th Realtor recommended home staging services. After our Atlanta home staging this home went off the market to a satisfied buyer in just 42 days.

• 120 Longley Avenue, Atlanta, GA – Atlantic Station area just outside of downtown Atlanta – Karen Dembsky, home stager from Peachtree Home Staging , staged the great room, kitchen, dining room, master bedroom, foyer and all the baths in this trendy home located close to Georgia Tech. The home owner was able to secure a renter in 6 weeks from the initial staging.

• 255 Ridgemont Drive, Fayetteville, GA - This home was staged using a combination of the home owners belongings and Peachtree Home Staging?s furnishings and accessories. This home was on the market for less than eight weeks during 4th quarter of 2008, the slowest real estate market in a half-century. The average number of days on the market in this neighborhood during 4th quarter 2008? 203 days according to Georgia MLS. This subdivision in metro Atlanta had 11 home listings for sale in 2008. Only 2 others, besides this home staged by Peachtree Home Staging, sold in 2008; and one of those was a foreclosure.

• 536 Princeton Way, In-town Atlanta Emory Grove / Druid Hills In-town Atlanta - vacant home on the market for 386 days - home staged and sold in 120 days.

• 111 Creekstone Bend, Peachtree City - home staging helped this home sell in 79 days; previously it had been on the market for 364 days.

• 165 Bankstown Rd, Brooks, South Atlanta - This home was on the market for 218 days without an offer. Peachtree Home Staging was brought in and the house was under contract in 69 days.

• 393 Line Creek Circle, Sharpsburg, South Atlanta - Home for sale for 209 days; our home staging service helped secure a great tenant in 45 days; allowing the seller to hold on to the property for a better market.

• 112 Warmstone Path, Peachtree City - Home staged before listing! Under contract in 90 days.

• 168 Ardenlee Drive, Peachtree City - Another home that home staged prior to listing. The accepted offer came within a quick 28 days.

• 205 St. Martin's Lane, Mableton - this home was on the market for 107 days prior to our home staging. After home staging this house sold in 38 days.

• 110 St. Alban's Way, Peachtree City, GA - This vacant home was home staged with furnishings and accessories by Peachtree Home Staging and went under contract in less than 89 days. In a normal market 89 days is quite good, but in the 4th quarter of 2008, 89 days of market time for this home is exceptional. At this time, when the home was on the market, the average number of days on the market (for this price range in this area, according to Georgia MLS) was 162 days and there were 211 homes in this price range a buyer could chose from!

• 112 Creekstone Bend, Peachtree City, GA - Atlanta area home staged and under contract in 12 days and sold for $30,000 more than any other home in the subdivision. What the Realtor® had to say: "Karen, I could not have been more pleased with your staging service. You transformed the home and were great with my clients. What a difference you made!" Leigh Steele, Realtor

• 130 Mellington Lane, Peachtree City, GA - Atlanta area home staged and under contract in 6 days with a full price offer! The home seller gave Peachtree Home Staging an A grade for value for price, follow up performance, professionalism and was very satisfied with the quality of work!

• 101 Glen Eagle, Peachtree City, GA - Atlanta area home staged and under contract before listed with a full price offer! Hear what the Realtor® had to say: "Our clients were extremely pleased with the fabulous job you did. Once again your professionalism and quick response time was second to none. You transformed the house into a showplace! Look forward to working with you again!" Kerri Richard, Realtor

• 8950 Nesbit Lakes Drive, Alpharetta, GA - Atlanta suburban home staged by home stager, Karen Dembsky. This home went under contract in 30 days and sold for a higher price than any other home in the subdivision. This home was beautifully decorated before I stepped in and a delight to stage. This experience was the perfect example of how personal decorating is so different than design created specifically for highlighting the home's features and down playing personal tastes. And the Realtor, well, she received an immediate referral for another listing in a nearby area!

• 779 McLendon Drive, Decatur, GA - An Atlanta area vacant home staged and under contract in less than 90 days. This cute little duplex bungalow went on the market in February of 2008 and was under contract in April 2008. The home seller was the Realtor and property investor. Needless to say she was quite pleased with outcome!

• 100 Sweet Briar, Fayetteville, GA - Atlanta area home, under contract in less than 90 days. At the time this went under contract, there were 77 similar homes in Fayetteville on the market priced in the 200K to 250K range. The average number of days those homes had been on the market was 159 days. This one came off the market in almost half the time! Here's what the home seller had to say, "staging was crucial... thanks for what you did on the staging, it made a huge difference!"

• 309 Pinemount Dr., Peachtree City, GA - Atlanta, GA home staged by Peachtree Home Staging, home stager, Karen Dembsky. This home went under contract in 38 days.

"Remember, you are selling a HOUSE, a property; space. Disassociate yourself. When you buy a computer, you buy a shell that has the space to hold the items you want and need, software that makes it functional, and tutorials that demonstrate how it is best used. That is what Home Staging does for a house! A potential home buyer is shopping for a house; functional space that they can make their home. That's what they need to see."

"Every time I step into a home to perform home staging, my goal is to assure my clients that staging can and should be fun. Home staging is not decorating and has nothing to do with personal taste or the convenience of day to day living. Home staging has everything to do with marketing features of the home to attract potential buyers. Home staging is a tool to help the Realtor® and the home seller advertise the home in a way that produces interested buyers from the internet and to increase the number of agent showings."

Karen Dembsky, Peachtree Home Staging President

Testimonies that stress the value of home staging in the Atlanta Market:
I am a believer in Peachtree Home Staging's services. I use Karen's home staging expertise for every listing I have, whether that listing is in Peachtree City, Buford or Alpharetta! I just had a closing in December of 2008 where Karen had home staged my listing. At the closing the buyer said, "I am glad you had this home staged. It was the staging presentation from the photos posted on the MLS Internet listing that enticed me to see the property. When I got there, the staged presentation was no disappointment. I could easily visualize living in the home... I knew I needed to make it mine." Thanks, Karen, and Peachtree Home Staging . . . once again, a successful closing!

Karen was so pleased to receive this e-mail regarding her home staging services just 90 days on the market. WOW!
Karen, thought you'd like to know, we officially closed on 12/31/08. Talk about a relief. Thanks for all of your help.

Here's another e-mail Karen was delighted to receive just a few days ago...
Hi Karen, Just wanted to give you some updates. Our house is SOLD. In this tough housing market, I thought it would take a while, but putting the house at the right price and MORE IMPORTANTLY your keen sense of STAGING allowed for the house to be sold within 90 days... I know for sure that without your service, we would be still making our mortgage payment on our old home. You were fantastic that you worked with us with what we have (did not have to rent any furniture or anything) and it resulted in sale. Thanks again, and I will be sure to share your contact information with people when asked... I hope that you will stay in this business for a long time as people will definitely need your services now and in the future.

Home staging, sometimes called home fluffing, home enhancement or home redesigning is the art of decorating a home to appeal to the most potential buyers. A professional home stager will bring out your house’s best features, downplay the negatives and create an inviting atmosphere. The result of professional home staging is reduced market time, and realizing top dollar for the property. • Home enhancements to best market your home! -- When you list your home with your real estate agent, take multiple pictures of every room so they can be properly displayed on the many Internet sites buyers flock to. 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. A staged home presents the opportunity to market the home with captivating pictures that reveal the home’s best features and design. Staged homes generate more showings because of the dynamic presentations with marketing! • Home enhancements to sell your home quickly! -- It's a proven fact. Staged homes sell faster than homes that haven’t been staged. When Coldwell Banker Residential Brokerage in Los Altos, Calif., looked at nearly 2,800 properties in eight U.S. cities in 2004, they found that the staged homes, on average, sold in half the time than the non-staged homes. A potential buyer makes a buying decision within moments of entering a home. A staged home is designed to make that grand first impression to the most people. • Home enhancements to sell your home for extraordinary profit! -- Research proves that staged homes sell for more. The NAR (National Association of Realtors) statistics indicate that staged homes sold for an average of 6.9 percent to10 percent more than the listing price. Staging a home costs much less than having to reduce your selling price.

Home Staging is different from interior decorating. Interior decorating is designing a home to personal tastes. Home staging should leave a home looking desirable to a mass audience. Professional home staging will eliminate distractive décor from the home, such as personal effects. Furniture will be rearranged to be the most functional; rooms will display appropriate and most useful items. Rooms will be strategically decorated to visually enhance their size.