The Benefits of Vacant Staging

Vacant houses sell better. That’s a fact. Vacant, staged houses sell the best. That is also a fact. Putting those two factors together will definitely help sell your house the quickest and for the most money. 

In Portland and Seattle we have found that some people are unwilling to leave their home while it’s listed due to a number of reasons, and with the current state of the pandemic it may feel impossible to move out while you sell with so many obstacles. Fact of the matter is buyers don’t gravitate towards homes that are occupied. Now more than ever, buyers are less motivated to visit an occupied property because of safety concerns for themselves and their families. 

Snohomish home fully staged by Spade and Archer

Emotionally speaking, walking through someone else’s home while they are living in it is confusing. It makes the buyer feel like a house guest and not a house owner, even if it’s clean (but especially if it’s not!). They see all the current homeowner’s furnishings and subconsciously feel like an intruder, making the experience neither welcoming nor exciting. This is why so many realtors opt for home staging. The goal is to have their clients be able to envision themselves in the home without compartmentalizing current furnishings. With occupied listings, the  emotional disconnection between the buyer and the home results in less interest and less momentum for the sale. 

With a professional home staging, Spade and Archer give a blueprint of what a space can look like, how it can function and what furniture will actually fit. A buyer is able to “mentally imprint” their furnishings on top of ours and know immediately if this space will work for them. Professional staging installed by designers provides scale and dimension unlike homeowner furnishings, home staging isn’t mired down with a personal agenda. A buyer isn’t interested in collections, memories or travel knickknacks. When shopping for a home, buyers want to see only themselves living there, the longer they fantasize about their future the more likely they are to buy the home.

When a home is staged, every last detail is designed specifically for the demographic we have determined to be the most likely buyer. It is designed top to bottom with one consistent design philosophy and we create a space that is cohesive and relatable to all types of people. If the house remains occupied by the seller, we must make concession after concession to assure that the home meets the seller’s needs while living there. With every concession there is a reduction in appeal to the potential buyer. Moving out of your home before putting it up for sale not only removes the stress of having to live in a staged home, but it allows the entire listing team to focus on their number one goal of selling your home. 

Vacant staging in Snohomish by our talented team in Seattle

Vacant, staged homes provide the perfect atmosphere for a potential buyer to see all the possibilities of a space. Without having to think about who lives there now, a buyer is free to imagine and dream about their life and not yours. There’s a reason vacant homes -- and especially vacant, staged homes -- sell faster than occupied ones. It is a space that is cleared from someone else's mental clutter and is a fresh start in which to create. Give yourself and your home permission to move on.

Concerned about staging and want to talk about it? We'd love to offer insight and discuss your needs. Give us a call, and feel free to give our Instant Pricing a test spin online to see what our staging options are for your project.

Prassede Kemp on Working with a Real Estate Social Media Strategist

This episode, we sat down with Prassede Kemp, M.A., founder of Numinous Creative, a company focused on helping business owners (and more notably real estate agents) harness the power of social media, digital marketing, branding and content creation to help their business grow.  

Check out Prassede’s Company Numinous Creative for assistance with social media marketing and management, branding, and content creation.

The relationship between real estate agents and their social media platforms can potentially be a complicated one. With the majority of the agent’s day being spent giving their clients the best and most memorable experience while commuting from location to location and writing contracts, this leaves little time left for self promotion. In addition, someone with no experience in social media planning, this task can be daunting as it asks the person to be a proficient copywriter, photographer, and content creator. Even if the skillset is there, it doesn’t mean they will enjoy it or find the time! This is where companies like Numinous Creative step in. Their involvement is dependent on where the specific social media needs lie, and what role the agent would like to play. To help you get started, we’ve covered a few topics that will greatly help anyone on the brand building journey. 

To start, before creating any type of content, identify who your audience is and what demographic they fall in line with. As Prassede so aptly put it,  “It’s necessary to niche down.”  As you start out as a new agent, it’s easy to want to try and reach every person that comes across your page. Over time you will find that it is impossible to serve everyone when finding and using your voice. Inevitably along the way, you will need to let some people go as hard as that may be. Identify your perfect client, label their interests and behaviors, and tailor your content accordingly. Identifying who you do not want to work with will help guide your brand as well. Many of these realizations come with time and plenty of experience with various clients. Newer agents may have a tougher time knowing their exact audience right off the bat, though as they continue on it will become easier and easier.

Next is finding your voice. This can be tricky as it has the potential to be vulnerable and awkward getting started. It is no secret there is a specific kind of pressure that comes along with posting among those who seem to have a natural knack for this kind of thing. One way to start would be to decide what level of professionalism you want to carry through your brand. As new real estate professionals get into the business, there is a stigma around professionalism and how one represents themselves. Though, if you think back to our first point of deciding who your audience is, you should be able to determine what kind of person that audience would like to work with and project that energy through your brand. The goal here is to get to a place where you say what you want to say in the way you want to say it without second guessing. 

“A brand is an experience and it is yours to design.”

— Prassede Kemp

The final step we will be discussing is patience and consistency. As you shape how your brand is represented by the colors, content, and voice that you choose - consistency is absolutely key. Social media success is a long game. It takes time to build relationships and trust with your audience as they get to know you, especially if you’re starting from bare bones. As your channel evolves, some experimentation in the types of content is necessary to find what performs well, and with that unfortunately will come posts that underperform. Analyzing what works and what doesn’t is just another step towards a successful channel. So far, TikTok has been stated to be the easiest platform to go viral on, though it’s also important to note that the fame is extremely fleeting. Identifying your audience, building your voice, and bringing a level of authenticity is a great place to start your journey!

Listen to our full episode here!

Get your instant home staging price now by clicking here.

SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA'S GABRIEL CRUZ PEREZ ON HOW TO BUILD A TEAM FROM DAY ONE IN REAL ESTATE

At 23 years old, Gabriel Perez started as a client in commercial real estate when starting his first business owning a Crossfit gym. His agent, who exhibited great client relationship skills with his various holiday treats and greeting cards, managed to eventually convince Perez to become an agent himself. 

As he embarked on this full-time real estate effort, he knew he had some hurdles to overcome. He had a healthy roster of potential clients through his years in the fitness sector, but with his know-how running a business, he identified the need to gain just as solid of a reputation in this new field.

He launched his business not by immediately prospecting or poaching a potential sale, but by sharing his success stories. He kept an approachable and thoughtful positioning with his network of clients and peers to build trust, and focused on teaching rather than selling. That slow and steady approach resulted in a strong foundation to build upon. With that solid base established and his proven integrity as a thoughtful agent, he was able to continue in the ideal trajectory of onwards and upwards.

"By nature, I'm a builder….The smaller the start, the better. I love the idea of building a company, building a team, building a brand, that before you know it, is bigger than you, and it starts to carry its own personality." 

With Gabriel's ability to humbly take those steps back and study the things he is aiming to achieve, he found that putting himself in the lime-light was not necessarily the way to go. 
"We tend to think that our brand is the hero. ...But if you really look at good stories that have been told ...you look at all these things, the hero is usually lost, and there's a guide that shows them what to do so that they can have success. ...I think very early on, I told myself, 'I'm not going to put myself in front of everybody as the hero; I'm going to offer myself as the guide, and every client that I help is now going to be the hero.'"

Furthermore, Gabriel looks at the entire client journey and obsesses over the details which include the little personal touches such as greeting cards and 'thank you' gifts. He understands that to bring that human aspect back into the mix makes a huge difference.

He also brings a full package deal with his listing agreement. In his preference to maintain his brand with options on vendor resources and a reliable listing team, he shows that he knows what works and what can really provide a standout experience for everyone involved -- buyers and sellers alike.

Gabriel has demonstrated success with a steadfast approach to launching a solid real estate business and has shown just how valuable building trust can be. His listing package bundled together through strong vendor relationships has truly reflected a strong and supportive foundation. It's another healthy example that there is no "I" in "team."

Visit Gabriel at theperezrealestateteam.com.

Get your instant home staging price now by clicking here.

Behind the Yard Sign: Chad Hinke, Creative Principal

In episode 9, Justin and Kelly interview one of our very own, Chad Hinke. Our Creative Principal shares his educational journey, his early experiences in the design world and the itch to create that kept beckoning him back to design, along with some of the ups and downs of home staging. Chad plays a key role at Spade and Archer in all three locations, working with the staging designers to finalize each project and maintain the brand aesthetic.

Coming at life in what most would consider a practical approach, Chad didn’t begin his education in the design field, rather he was a pre-med bio student at UC Santa Cruz. Feeling as though this was not the right fit, he started down another path leading him to study social psychology and economics. After working and living in San Francisco, boredom set in and that little burning desire to create started getting hotter. Yet again, Chad went back to school and this time it was for interior design.

Chad is busy everyday reviewing home staging project like this one in Portland before the staff completes work.

Now holding three degrees, Chad started getting more involved in design and working on a number of collaborative projects, though primarily focused on hospitality design. He even landed a fantastic project, working on a penthouse suite for the Ritz-Carlton with a budget that had no limit. Moving on, he worked on other high-end hospitality design along with his own independent design ventures. The biggest revelation taken from these jobs though was the sense that interior design had such an emotional and psychological aspect to it, tying his educational background to his design skills to invoke specific emotions. With his experiences in high-end design and an education in economics, Chad soon learned how to create beautiful spaces on any budget.

Soon after, fate intervened in the form of a mutual friend, bringing Justin and Chad together while Justin was looking for a Creative Director. They chatted, got along, and ta-da! Chad became the Creative Director for Justin’s new Seattle location. It was a perfect match, bringing Chad into the world of real estate and home staging. 

For the first few years he led and grew Spade and Archer’s Seattle office, and now leads the Portland, Los Angeles, and Seattle Spade and Archer offices, overseeing every home staging project. He speaks on the ups and downs this position can bring, the logistics of operations, “putting out fires” as he says, and the aspiration of being the best boss he can be. 

Having to work remotely now with three design firms in three different states, and the glorious challenges of COVID-19 of course, Chad has to spend a lot of time video chatting with all the different designers. This has become one of his favorite things, like a multi-state, home staging video game. Seeing the staging projects through the lens of a screen actually helps immensely in visualizing what the photos will look like, as it is all about the photos.

Listen to Chad’s entire story on Episode 9 of the Behind the Yard Sign podcast.

Get your instant home staging price now by clicking here.

Behind the Yard Sign: Creating a Rock Star Listing Team by Vetting Vendors for Your Clients

On Episode 14 of Behind the Yard Sign, we interviewed Gabriel Perez — one of our favorite clients in Southern California! As a newer agent with huge goals, we wanted to talk with him about how he builds a successful listing team right from the start.

Within the real estate industry, agents have all a multitude of ways to become successful in developing their business.  With the multitude of tech tools, business partnerships, and marketing skills out there at the ready, many agents have found out how to stand out and offer a unique flare. One ingredient that can easily be overlooked is something we as a home staging vendor take great pride in… vendor and client relations. 

You might immediately identify with this and understand the significance of that dynamic. For the agent who is more of a vendor concierge for their sellers, you know this involves a bit of some hand-holding and project management. Though once you've gotten into the flow and have found the right people, the process can be seamless.

The ease of this route starts with finding vendors that value the same principles as you do for your business. With that, you know your clients can relate to them in the same or similar way that they do to you, and your brand or business is not compromised in the process.

Spade and Archer Home Staging in Portland

Do you aim to be on time? So should your vendors. 

Do you value quality and good taste? So should your vendors.

Do you offer honesty & professionalism? So should your vendors.

Can you accommodate when the going gets tough? So should your vendors.

Spade and Archer Home Staging in Seattle

Your vendors should also be your professional besties, or in other words, they should not be viewed as "the help" but rather as members of your team. A listing team goes well beyond your in-house coordinator or project manager. It also includes the cleaning crew, the landscaper, the electrician, the home stager, and so on. Each of those service providers exists to support the efforts of the others, and if that is taken for granted or abused, it is not going to be of help in the long run.

One great relationship can generate a ton of new interest and potential success, so why not consider your vendors -- who all work in and around the same industry you do -- as an asset and contributor to your product? It's also just good business to maintain these great relationships… because, as the saying goes, you get more bees with honey than with vinegar.

Get your instant home staging price now by clicking here.