News & Articles

Effective, Affordable, Professional Home Staging for the 21st Century... No Moving Furniture Required.

by Rhapsody | Wed, 03/17/2010 - 18:41
Professional home staging can truly be considered an art form, and one Pacific Northwest Company has taken it to a whole new level. Combining traditional real estate marketing and cutting edge technology, Rhapsody Marketing presents Rhap! See-Through Staging, a virtual home staging service that is positioned to completely change the industry.
Home staging has been a staple of the real estate profession for decades, but while the market has changed, home staging hasn’t. Technology has created an online marketplace where just about every prospective buyer has access to the complete inventory of available homes right in their living rooms, offices, parks, coffee houses, etc… By simply logging on to the internet prospective buyers can search for homes, see property descriptions, and view pictures.
 
While a staged home does indeed provide better pictures, is it really necessary to pay thousands of dollars to have furniture sitting in a vacant house for better pictures? Rhap! says no.
 
Without ever moving a stick of furniture, Rhap! See-Through Staging (STS) provides a complete professionally staged appearance for vacant homes at literally a fraction of the cost of traditional staging. Because all of the staging is virtual, STS is actually able to go above and beyond traditional staging by hanging artwork and flat panel televisions on walls without doing any damage. Pool tables?  No problem. Patio furniture?  Done! Fire in the fireplace?  Of course.
 
“92% of all buyers are shopping for homes online, so the pictures agents and sellers place on the MLS and company websites are the first impression those buyers are going to get. With the amount of available inventory, those homes have to stand out for buyers to want to go take a look. If you don’t get on their ‘must see’ list, they aren’t going to take the next step to physically tour the home” says Kirk DeLaurenti, Director of STS.
 
Because STS is a product of a full-service advertising agency (Rhapsody Marketing) each staging package is also built around a complete marketing campaign.  Along with virtual staging, all of the packages include complete professional photo shoots, printable flyers, interactive virtual flyers, e-blast campaigns to local relevant real estate professionals, and mounted oversized glossy posters of the staged rooms with display easels to place in the homes.
 
“The posters have been a fantastic part of the overall package. When prospective buyers tour one of our Rhap!’d homes, they are treated to the staged appearance, as well as a clean, expansive vacant home where they can picture their own furniture. Traditional staging just can’t provide that.”
 
 Real estate professionals, builders, and home owners throughout Western Washington are discovering that for thousands of dollars less than traditional staging alone, they are able to get the same benefits as traditional staging like quicker sales and higher sale prices than unstaged homes. Better yet they also get a complete marketing package, and the peace of mind knowing there is no risk of damage to the homes from moving furniture around or possible theft of staging furniture just sitting in a vacant home.
STS says to the art of home staging…”Welcome to the 21st century.”

A New Twist on an Old Idea

by Rhapsody | Wed, 12/09/2009 - 08:59

See-Through Staging, STS, is a new twist on an old idea. Home staging has been a staple of the real estate industry for years, and certainly has had positive results. STS is able to take the most positive aspects of traditional staging, package them with full marketing campaigns for listed properties, and offer it all at a fraction of the costs of comparable traditional staging alone. US Housing and Urban Development states that staged homes sell on average for 17% more money than un-staged homes.  Staged homes also spend on average 50% less time on the market before selling than unstaged homes.  Staging is one of the most powerful tools available to real estate professionals and sellers.

 
However, traditional staging has a few drawbacks.  The most notable, being that it can be very expensive. Almost cost prohibitive is some cases.  Depending on the size of the home, and the scope of the staging services provided, initial consultations and design can cost from $1500, up to $3000 and beyond.  There are also typically rental charges for the furniture and accent pieces which can cost as much as $500 or more per month.  Obviously, these costs can really add up, which either comes out of the agents commissions, or gets paid by the sellers themselves.

Another undesirable byproduct of traditional staging is the potential damage to the home from moving large furniture in and out. This is especially problematic for new construction homes.

Along comes See-Through Staging.
Today’s buyers are very internet savvy. According to Realtor.com, 92% of all home searches begin online before the potential buyers ever consult a realtor. Homes are placed on their “must see” lists based almost entirely on the photos and information available on the web. Laptops and PC’s are the forum where real estate first impressions are made.

STS has developed a virtual staging platform which eliminates potential damage to homes, and is available at a fraction of the cost of comparable traditional staging, while still creating the dramatic impressions for online and print marketing that gets listings on buyer’s “must see” lists. STS also provides complete marketing packages which include interactive virtual flyers, e-blast campaigns, and professionally designed flyers.

Possibly the best part is STS handles everything from the start of a home’s marketing to the finished campaign.
The professionals working at STS provide high-quality photos, and then, using photos of actual furniture from their seemingly limitless catalogue, create the “virtual presence” of a fully decorated, professionally staged home. To finish off the effect, they provide beautiful oversized glossy prints with easels to place in the rooms so both the staged and expansive impressions are made to potential buyers as they tour the homes.

With so many benefits, and a price that is realistic to all price points of the real estate market, STS stands to become the standard within the industry. With the real estate market constantly changing, and buyers becoming increasingly savvy, it is refreshing to see a modern adaptation of traditional staging that brings it up to date with a bang!!