Staging education for agents just got a lot more competitive…
Alright, a play on words here (as usual for me) but I’m really talking about a woman I know named Andy Capelluto who is a former interior designer turned staging coach extraordinaire. We met a few years ago when I took a class of hers about staging properties for real estate listings.
I’ll admit that I went to the class not only for the clock hours but also to do some R&D. You know, rip off and duplicate. I wanted to see her ideas and get access to her contacts for certain kinds of work or rentals that I might need in my own staging work for clients. What she didn’t know till after the class was that, back in the early days of my career, I’d worked in retail - specifically, 3 years as a manager of a retail furniture business (3 locations and 1 warehouse) where we had to merchandise room vignettes on a daily basis. Plus, in my current real estate business I’ve been providing staging services as part of my regular services program and have so for several years. At the time I attended this class I was upping the ante of the kind of staging I would supply and Andy’s class was a good forum to get those ideas and tips. We ended up hitting it off very well and we have stayed in touch since that class.
A few months ago Andy contacted me to say that she was partnering up with firm called Realty U, based in California. They have taken her class content and turn it into an online clock-hour course and designation called AHS or Accredited Home-Staging Specialist. This is going to make Barb Schwartz, the real estate agent turned staging entrepreneur, work harder for her money. She’s had a monopoly on this kind of training material for some time within real estate circles so Andy is taking on a big player, and one who has been making a lot of money on her 2-day courses. Barb started out as an agent and turned into a staging coach/instructor - Andy did the reverse by going designer first and then seeing the potential in the real estate market for her craft.
The fun bit for me is this, I now have this designation from Andy’s school and I’ll be supplying some photos to their program to use on the company website showing the power of staging. It will be fun to have some of my work highlighted on a “national” site and to have it promoted among other real estate professionals.
Do I worry that I’ll have some folks critique and criticize my work? Maybe a little. But the bigger plus is that it will get people looking, talking, and working harder to do a great job for their real estate clients. Professionalism is something I’ve promoted the past 5 years I’ve been in the business and this is one more way an agent can do that. We see hundreds, if not thousands, of homes each year and we know what looks good and what doesn’t. We should be able to bring that expertise into a client’s home to help them make the best of their home and how it is seen as a product - which is what it is when it goes up for sale.
Do you think staged homes are “worth it”? Give me your feedback if you think it’s junk or if it’s a great idea. To what lengths would you go to stage a home?
In a future post I’ll provide some of my classic before and after photos for you to judge and compare…
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Pingback by Real Estate - Information on Real Estate » Staging education for agents just got a lot more competitive… — January 25, 2008 @ 3:03 am
Hi Reba,
There are TONS of different types of staging courses out there now. I previously worked for Barb and StagedHomes as their director of marketing. I left in Sept 2006 and started the Real Estate Staging Association. We are the trade association for professional stagers in North America.
Staging has come along way from the original classes promoting wicker furniture and sheets over kitchen tables. Staging has grown into a viable industry that has concrete value to the agents, sellers and buyers.
In a market when everything sells staging will draw in multiple offers and often sell over asking price. In a slower market or a completly dead market like where I live in Stockton CA staging will get your listing exposure on the internet, and yoru flyer boxes will empty every single week. Un-staged listings will not get that kind of attention.
I strongly encourage agents to work wtih professional stagers and stage all their listings. Most agents dont have time to stage on their own and it can be difficult to wear both hats as agent and stager. Many listings just need the agent to provide check lists and advice to the seller and many need the agent to work with a stager. Stagers do this for a living and have access to everything that is needed to make the transformation and they have ways of getting the homeowner to make those changes without offending them.
Staging Works!
Comment by Shell Brodnax, President/CEO RESA — January 25, 2008 @ 12:12 pm
Hi Shell, it’s not that there aren’t other types of classes but those don’t usually have a designation associated with them that agents can use as a marketing or sales tool. I agree that staging makes a big difference and it’s why we work with it on pretty much all of our listings unless a client tells us they don’t want it done. Which I can think of only 1 person in 5 years who felt that way.
Comment by Reba Haas — January 25, 2008 @ 5:34 pm
My course is primarily for RE Agents, but I especially delight in welcoming stagers with other designations. Does the fact that they’re coming to my classes mean that they are simply continuing their education ( which is how it should be) or is it that they still even after paying mega bucks for their staging credentials don’t quite the know how to stage a home. Whoever it is that is teaching these ‘professional’ stagers - is also convincing them that they are the only ones who can stage a house. They honestly believe that Real Estate agents cannot and should not stage - well why not? Staging is not brain surgery and the fact of the matter is that every seller is not necessarily going to pay extra for a ‘ professional stager just because he took an expensive course. He is however going to list with an agent who has taken the time and trouble to study the art of staging, and who has the skill to guide him as to how best to present his home. Yes there are a myriad of courses out there and yes each person thinks that their education was superior, but the only way anyone can comment on the courses with any authority is to take all the classes available. Of course , the agents can call in the pro’s who’ve taken expensive courses especially if they’re madly busy, but in this slow market many agents have free time on their hands and what better a way to spend the free time than by empowering yourself with continuing education. Take Reba, a madly successful ‘STAGENT’ who does both jobs well. We’re proud and honored to have the fabulous Reba Haas as one of our graduates. Even though she came to us with pre-existing talent, she has taken her abilities to a whole new level by performing her magic on every listing!
Comment by Andy Capelluto — January 27, 2008 @ 8:37 pm
I do think staging works, of course, I am a little biased
I think staging works in ways that can not only increase the marketing edge of a listing, also the edge of an agent. I have had agent clients who are hired by sellers because their previous listings sold for more money in less days after staging.
I think this is an interesting article about the designation. I have heard comments go both ways. Ultimately I feel that there are enough businesses out there for everyone, we all cater to many different clients. More healthy competitions ultimately is better for the economy and industry.
Just my 2 cents,
Cindy, Staged4more
http://www.staged4more.com/blog
Comment by cindy*staged4more — March 3, 2008 @ 3:50 pm
[…] Education Reba Haas from Team Reba Real Estate talks about Staging Education for Agents Just Got A Lot More Competitive…. I think it’s a very interesting article about staging educations and competitions. In my […]
Pingback by » Blog Archive Carnival of Real Estate Home Staging Ed #12 » staged4more.com Blog — March 3, 2008 @ 4:11 pm
It sounds like Reba is one of those gifted people who is able to work in two worlds well. My hat is off to her because I would never be able to do both real estate effectively AND coordinate multiple Staging projects per month and stay sane! I know a small handful of realtor/stagers who can do this well and they command my respect.
Staging is part science and part intuition. The science of staging can be taught in a class but the intuition of what to do in challenging rooms or coming up with a critical staging element created out of…well… basically nothing, is where inborn artistic talent makes the difference between the professional and the semi-pro.
Intuition is the right-brain part of the job and the best stagers and realtor/stagers I have met usually have past experience in some art form.
Just as I go nuts when I try to understand spreadsheets and bookkeeping, I believe a lot of people are challenged when it comes to artistic projects.
When a Realtor doesn’t function well with right-brain tasks and does not have the high visual acuity it takes to stage a home properly, that is the time to call on a professional.
One example I see frequently that demonstrates questionable artistic perception is “stretched” pictures of homes for sale, uploaded to the RMLS by agents. We see them time after time but how many of us even notice?
I have my doubts that people who CAN’T see the difference between “landscape” and “stretched portrait” shots will be able to stage skillfully and intuitively. If they don’t see what is wrong with those really bad pictures they have uploaded onto the internet to market their clients’ homes, how can they stage those homes properly, and then take pictures that will compel potential buyers to come take a look at the home in the real-world?
I’ve re-staged properties before when clients are not satisfied with their initial staging. This is not a good situation for a realtor whose client has a more highly developed sense of style than the realtor. When this happens, the client may have lost that critical window of time when the home first goes on the market with sub-standard staging.
In a nutshell, if a realtor has great right-brain skills, is fond of hauling furnishings in and out of homes every month, if they like to exercise their project management skills in organizing bins, scheduling furniture rentals, power shopping at 1am at Walmart, dealing with movers, UHaul trucks, and then doing all the things they need to do on the real estate end of things, by all means, they should take a class and become a Real-a-Stagent!
If, however, they think that the main things they will be doing are placing some towels in the bathrooms and sprinkling silk plants around the property to “warm things up a bit”, they might want to think again….
…then look for a stager who has a portfolio that impresses them and a website that demonstrates that the stager has been in business long enough to be a professional at what they do…just like the realtors they serve!
Comment by Janis Gaines — March 4, 2008 @ 1:52 am