5 Questions Staging Answers to Help Buyers Feel Comfortable Enough to Make an Offer

Home buyers always walk into any showing or open house with a list.  You know the one – it’s that mental list of their must-haves, nice-to haves, and deal-breakers for any home they’re viewing. But, as any agent knows, that list is almost never firm and buying a home is an exercise in trade-offs. 

But what’s behind the list?  What’s the driving force that makes a buyer either put their stake in the ground and stick to the list come hell or high water even if 99% of their wishes are satisfied (“This house doesn’t have a steam shower?!  I’m out!”) or come back and make an offer when the home only fulfills half of their desires (“I know there’s no room for my mom to come stay and the kids may have to share a bedroom, but maybe that’s a good thing?!”)

The answer lies in how buyers FEEL when they’re in the home.  While “the list” is all about logic, buying decisions are based primarily on emotion.  Make a buyer feel comfortable in a home and their eyes will be opened to a wider range of possibilities than they ever imagined.

As stagers, it’s our job to make buyers feel comfortable in a home.  One of the ways we do this is by anticipating the questions and potential objections buyers will have and answering them before they ever set foot in the house.  Here are the 5 most common questions buyers have that influence how they feel about a home – and what we do to help put them at ease:

1. WHAT CONDITION IS THE HOUSE IN (IE: WHAT’S HIDING BEHIND THE WALLS)?

If it appears the current owners haven’t invested in their furnishings in a while, it brings into question the overall condition of the home – and what else they may not have invested in.  The last thing you need is a buyer wondering if the home has missed the routine maintenance that would prevent big expenses for them down the road, or even right after closing.

Conversely, just because a home is new construction doesn’t mean buyers will assume it’s a high quality build.  A new home with lower quality staging will bring into question the quality of the craftsmanship (because if they skimped on the staging, what else did they skimp on?) A buyer who thinks the builder may have cut some corners is either going to put in a low-ball offer, or no offer at all.

High quality staging takes these thoughts off the table – because when what buyers see looks great, they assume the rest is great, as well.

2. WILL I NEED TO SPEND MONEY ON UPDATES OR CUSTOMIZATION?

Everyone wants a home that fits their personal style.  Staging can show buyers how they can have the look they love in your listing, even if it needs a little TLC.  While making cosmetic updates before listing the home will result in a higher return, bringing in high quality staging can uplevel a home and take the heat off of things like older kitchens and bathrooms.  This shows buyers how they can comfortably live in the home as-is, allowing them to invest in the home now and the updates later.

In new construction, high quality staging helps your listing stand out – because, let’s face it, new construction buyers are seeing much of the same thing in every home they tour. Here in the Greater Boston area, new construction homes are typically either modern farmhouses or ultra-contemporary homes.  These two architectural styles have very different buyer profiles, resulting in new construction buyers who are either seeing a bunch of modern farmhouses or a bunch of ultra-contemporary homes – and it starts to feel like Groundhog Day.  This can leave buyers feeling like they need to make a number of changes to the home to make it feel less like all the rest and more like “them”.

High quality staging brings personality into the home, identifying the target buyer’s preferences and bringing in furnishings specifically designed to reflect those preferences.  The result is a home that speaks to your target buyers and already feels personalized before they move in.  The more connected to it they feel, the fewer changes they will perceive as necessary – and the better their offers will be.

3. DOES THE HOUSE MEET OUR BASELINE REQUIREMENTS?

There’s more to demonstrating how many people a home can comfortably hold than just the number of bedrooms, en-suite or otherwise. 

Some of the most basic questions buyers will have are not things found on a listing sheet and are never officially on their list (as mentioned above) but they’re precursors for whether the items on the list even come into play. Namely: where will the TV go, where the bed will be placed, and where will we eat?

Staging can provide what seem to be obvious answers to these basic questions – but, in reality, they’re not obvious at all. Most buyers don’t have “vision” – whether it’s for how they’d use a space differently or how they’d fill a blank space. This creates an underlying feeling of discomfort when they’re viewing your listing – and when buyers are uncomfortable, they won’t make their best offers.

So how do you take away that discomfort? 

• Show them where they’ll put their television with a literal (albeit prop) television – and show them that there’s enough space for their whole family to sit comfortably around it. 

• Show them exactly where they can put their king-sized bed in the primary bedroom to make it feel as spacious as a suite at the Mandarin. 

• Show them at least as many seats in the kitchen as there are secondary bedrooms - and how their kids can eat breakfast while their lunches are being packed. 

High quality staging will show your buyers that the home makes LOGICAL sense for their family – because, without that, all the pretty things in the world won’t be enough to make them want to make an offer.

4. WILL WE BE ABLE TO LIVE OUR DESIRED LIFESTYLE HERE?

One of the keys to a highly successful staging is creating a clearly defined target buyer.  Knowing who they are, where they’re coming from, what they like, and how they want to live is critical to our ability to clearly demonstrate how the lifestyle they crave can be found in your listing.

Once we have this profile established, the staging plan follows suit:

• If the target buyer dreams of hosting friends and family, entertaining spaces are styled to demonstrate how the buyer can host enviable dinner parties, holidays, and football Sundays – both indoors and out. 

• If they likely work from home, office spaces are created to either integrate seamlessly with the rest of the home or allow for a clear division between work and family.

• If they are family, playful spaces are created to allow buyers with small children (and teens) to visualize how their kids will have plenty of room to play – but still under a watchful eye or ear. 

Staging to the lifestyle allows buyers to dream – and when they’re dreaming, they’re hooked.

5. WILL THIS HOME MAKE OUR LIVES BETTER?

High quality staging answers this one overarching question that all buyers have.  All of the wish lists, all of the must-haves, and all of the questions really boil down to only this:  Will this home elevate my life to where I want it to be?

When your staging both matches or exceeds the net worth of your target buyers AND is dialed into their lifestyle desires, the answer will always be YES.    

THE BOTTOM LINE

Helping your buyers feel comfortable in your listing is not only desirable, it’s necessary to ensure the home sells quickly and sells high. By anticipating and preemptively answering the questions we know your buyers will have, we create comfort for them - and when we create comfort for buyers, we create profit for sellers.