BLOG: To Stage or Not to Stage?

Have you ever seen the video, Commanding Heights? It is the story of how the
free market system works and how it has worked in a few countries around the
world. A couple of things really came out strong in this video. One is that
free markets can be painful. It takes a while to work out and some suffer in
the process. The other is that it really works. For all their problems, look at India who has adopted capitalism. Before adopting capitalism they built one
government car and had little industry. Now India competes in many industries
and is taking jobs from us. One South American country (I think Argentina?) had terrible shortages of all goods, even food. Upon adopting capitalism, the
economy began to flourish. Many goods that were completely unavailable to the
public began to show up in abundance in neighborhood markets. It turns out that the public had been hoarding many things because of government control of goods and prices.

The real estate market is a free market (except when the government violates sound principles of qualification and...I had better stop.) It responds to market
forces and buyers demands. Buyers, not Realtors or sellers, control the market. This puts power into the hands of the homeowner who can help market
his or her home. Staging is one thing that really pays off. My daughter worked for two years for a major "flipping" company. Over and over again, the properties that were not selling would be staged and almost immediately receive offers. Today, I was hosting an open house in Laguna Niguel. While the home owners did not use a professional stager, they did a fantastic job of staging their home. They really took my advice to heart. The home was so clean you could eat off the proverbial floor. They removed most personal pictures and many non-essential items to make the home look larger. They had good smells, cookies on the table and much more. Professional stagers offer a variety of services from advice on positioning your furniture to full-fledged staging of an empty home down to the coordination of the magazines with the wall hangings. It really works. Sellers should remember that buyers are your clients so do everything you possibly can to please the buyers and make them feel the love in your home. The free market will reward you.