Staging Trends 2011

The San Francisco Bay Area

The fog is rolling over the Golden Gate keeping  the real estate market damp but the sunshine is breaking through.

Kerry Roth,  President of Decor Staging - Home Design and Renovation is a certified staging professional who has distinguished herself from her competition with her creative flair and custom-build design components.  She specializes in renovation design and staging that maximizes the return of investment for her clients.  Her background in furniture design and construction as well as wood and glass work give her the creative edge in design challenges.  She works with house-flippers,  renovators,  investors, estate attorneys and homeowners.

The nine counties that make up the Bay Area are slowly showing signs of activity. Distressed sales accounted for just over half of the Bay Area's resale market in February of 2011. Investors and cash buyers made up 23.4% and 30.9% , respectively, of all sales during this time, according to DataQuick Information Systems. Fewer homes were sold due to "moving up". Higher end homes are hardest hit with tight lending and a general trend to downsize.

We are seeing an upswing in the rental market. Homeowners are selling and entering the rental market. Higher end homes can be cheaper to rent than own. This has been beneficial to our business as sellers are hiring us to help them with the challenge of decorating a rental home. In fact, the decorating side of our business has seen a significant increase this year.

The Bay Area has always been on the forefront of home staging. The primary change in the last two years has been how the foreclosure and short  sale markets have influenced home staging. Most Realtors are strongly encouraging staging while homeowners already struggling with economic issues can be at times hesitant. Owner occupied homes are more common with homeowners less likely to carry two mortgages. However, vacant home staging is still 50% of our staging business  with impact rooms being  the primary focus.

We have seen 2 significant home staging business trends in the last year. First, the continued economic downturn combined with a large overhead has contributed to the closing of several larger staging companies. However, staging businesses with a moderate inventory and lower overheads have not been as affected. Stagers without furniture inventory have a challenge in bidding, given their rental hard costs. It is a competitive market with all staging businesses feeling the downturn and economic challenges.

Secondly, homeowners are requesting multiple bids which has lowered the staging fees in a competitive bid to win a job. I am seeing a larger disparity between staging bids and the individual businesses. Small start-up staging business are popping up working out of garages. Homeowners need to be sure that they are hiring certified, insured and licensed individuals with CSP membership. Checking references, websites, credentials and portfolios are due diligence. Pricing should not be the sole factor when making a hiring decision.