Services > Home Staging > News
Home Staging News
Home Staging In the News
There is no shortage of actual home stagers in Canada. However, they typically work with real estate agents to make a home look more desirable to prospective buyers, removing clutter, adding new furniture and rearranging things so there is better flow.
“Ten years ago this was just a cottage industry made up of housewives looking for something to do,” said Christine Rae, president of St. Catharines, Ont.-based Canadian Staging Professionals / Certified Staging Professionals and co-author of Home Staging for Dummies. “Now there are savvy professionals making a good living.” - Globe & Mail Thursday, May 13, 2010
The Importance of Professional Home Staging Training – Not all Stagers Are Professionals
Over the past few years, home staging has been popularized on television and other media. Seeing TV’s version of “staging” as a fun job, many HGTV hopefuls have become stagers, without understanding the complexities of the profession. It is important for agents and sellers to recognize that not all stagers are trained professionals. It is also essential that home stagers realize the value of professional training, ongoing education and credentials.
Agents were asked how they would look for a home stager. The majority responded they would ask others in their office before searching online. This is important information for home stagers because it demonstrates the importance of building strong relationships with real estate agents. Furthermore, when combining the information from the previous question, it is evident that home stagers with professional training and certification will be the majority of agents’ first choices and will also be more likely to get referrals to other agents in the same office.
What Agents Say about Collaborating with Certified Staging Professionals
Real estate staging has evolved over the last ten years and is the number marketing tool used to sell property. Agents are realizing it is in their best interests and their clients' best interests to work with a professional stager rather than simply giving some tips to get the property prepared for market. Professional stagers have an unbiased eye and are able to prepare the plan to properly market the property.
James Hodgins, broker of records for Hodgins Realty Group in Mississauga, became a true believer after agreeing to have a Certified Staging Professional stage a few homes for him as a test. The homes sold much faster and for better prices than he normally would have expected. The results were indisputable. Most importantly, Hodgins says, investing in staging paid off for his client. He says, "I would say they easily doubled their investment. And they shaved months off their selling time.
Courtesty of Good Life Real Estate Magazine, Mississauga Sept/Oct 2010
Sam McDadi, RE/MAX agent in Mississauga, Ontario knows about hard work, success, and the power of staging. He and his team topple sales records year after year. He holds the most awards of agents in Canada and he believes staging works. “It is a great marketing tool that I was introduced to about two years ago, by a CSP Certified Staging Professional My whole team supports staging; we provide a consultation as part of our marketing package and our home sellers are thrilled. Once we show them the results we have enjoyed they are totally on board and do the full showcasing.
2009 Home Staging Trends in North America with Industry Outlook for 2010, originally published by CSP International Academy, at www.cspiacademy.com and www.stagingpress.com. Please visit the websites for updated industry reports."