{"id":11190,"date":"2022-03-30T12:15:29","date_gmt":"2022-03-30T12:15:29","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/johntownes.com\/Tree\/?p=11190"},"modified":"2022-03-30T13:20:00","modified_gmt":"2022-03-30T13:20:00","slug":"11190","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/johntownes.com\/Tree\/2022\/03\/30\/11190\/","title":{"rendered":"Making A Home A Stage"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Staging homes for sale is a combination of art and marketing<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

By John Townes <\/strong>– Berkshire Trade and Commerce (April 2022)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For many people, the concept of staging a home that is on the market is limited to tidying up and making sure there are no dirty dishes in the sink when potential buyers come to view it. Or, if the home is unoccupied, leaving it au naturale and assuming buyers can imagine what it might look like when furnished.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

However, for one Berkshire business, Staged Ryte, the process of staging a home for sale is an art, involving a combination of creative design and marketing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe believe that every home has a story \u2013 and you need to tell that story to the potential buyers,\u201d said owner Dawn Trachtenberg. \u201cOur job is to figure out that story and put a persona on the home in a way that enables them to envision living there.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

She added that each home is different, and a key is to match the decor to its unique qualities and attributes. \u201cWe don\u2019t do cookiecutter designs,\u201d she said. \u201cThere\u2019s an art to it.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Trachtenberg said Staged Ryte does some work on homes that are still furnished and occupied, including family estates. In those cases they will help to declutter it and make it attractive.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But most of the homes that her company stages are unoccupied because they are new or the owners have moved out.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Staged Ryte, which was established in 2015, recently took a major step in both making operations more efficient and expanding services by moving and consolidating the company\u2019s inventory and operations into a 5,000-square-foot home staging facility in the Sheffi eld Business Park at 21 Business Park Rd. in Ashley Falls.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The facility serves as a warehouse, showroom and office space.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Previously, Staged Ryte\u2019s large inventory was scattered among several locations, primarily in other storage units in the same business park. Trachtenberg said the new location is a major advance. \u201cIt\u2019s a game changer,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In addition to the creative aspects, logistics is a major factor in the staging business. When
they do a job, they bring in furniture, decor and the other elements of a home. Then, when the sale has been completed, they remove it all to make way for the new owners.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The company has a staff of three. They handle some of the moving themselves, but they generally contract with moving companies to load, transport and unload the items. In either case, being able to quickly find and load specific items is critical.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Storage is another challenge. Staged Ryte (917-543-4590 or www.stagedryte.com) owns the furniture and furnishings the company uses in staging. In order to handle the diverse requirements of homes, it has a large inventory with the capacity to be used in as many as 15 homes simultaneously.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe handle many different types of homes, from newly built contemporary ones to historic properties,\u201d said Trachtenberg. \u201cSo we have to have a diverse inventory.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Staged Ryte owns over 10,000 pieces of furniture and accessories, including about 30 sofas plus other furniture, kitchenware, 1,000 books, 500 pillows, and 450 pieces of wall art (including 200 original works),
among other decorative elements.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Having inventory in different smaller facilities was challenging, to say the least, according to Trachtenberg. For a staging job they had to locate and pull out the selected furniture and other furnishings from tightly
packed spaces.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI can\u2019t tell you how many times we\u2019ve had to remove eight sofas or multiple tables and chairs to access the one particular piece we needed,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

With all of this centralized into one large facility, they are able to do these tasks much more efficiently.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cNow we can see everything at a glance and have access to it without having to move things around,\u201d
she said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The facility also enhances their marketing and sales, and their ability to plan home staging and design projects.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

While there are other staging professionals in this area, Trachtenberg said it is less common here than it is in an area like New York City. So they have placed an emphasis on marketing, and informing brokers and
sellers about the role and value of professional staging.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cOne advantage of our new location is that we have a showroom, and we can invite brokers and others in to demonstrate what we can do,\u201c she said. \u201cOften, when they see it in person, they\u2019re amazed.\u201d
<\/p>\n\n\n\n

City-country balance<\/strong>
Trachtenberg lived in New York City, and she and her husband have also had a part-time residence in the Berkshires for over 20 years. Since the COVID pandemic she has basically lived here full time.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe still have a home in New York, and I go down there for business and when I need a city fix,\u201d she said. \u201cBut I\u2019m basically a country girl at heart, and this is where we prefer to live.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

She got into the staging business after looking at homes in the Berkshires as an investment with a business partner, Nancy Rumando. Trachtenberg said they were taken aback by the manner in which homes were being presented, with little attention paid to staging.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe saw a need for that, so we switched gears and started this business,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Rumando still serves as a consultant with Staged Ryte, but she is now focused on other
aspects of interior design, and Trachtenberg is the sole owner of the company.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The company does staging both in this region and in the New York metropolitan area and New Jersey. The ratio was once more even between these markets, but the vast majority are now in Berkshire County and surrounding areas.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe\u2019re currently working to expand our business in Columbia County in New York and Litchfield County in Connecticut,\u201d Trachtenberg noted.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

She said that she had been wanting to reorganize their physical setup for a while and had considered various alternatives. Rather than divide their storage and operations with an additional facility in the New York\/New Jersey area, she decided that consolidating in one location here was preferable.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThat made more sense than separating it,\u201d she said. \u201cWhen we do a job down there, we can just have the mover go there, and factor the transport cost into the contract.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Staged Ryte gets about 60 percent of its business through real estate brokers, and the
other 40 percent comes from sellers who contact the company directly. This includes
occupants, developers and home flippers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Staged Ryte is actually retained by the sellers of properties, who contract with the company for its services and pay for the staging.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Trachtenberg said a majority of their clients are selling homes in the market above $350,000. Many are second homes. \u201cIf someone is selling a home for less than $350,000, they may be less inclined
to pay for our services because the fee is a larger portion of what they can make from
the sale,\u201d she said. \u201cBut for homes that are selling for a higher price, it\u2019s an investment
that makes sense.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Their fees range from about $5,000 to $35,000, based on the size of the property,
the number of rooms that are staged, and other factors. \u201cWe approach each staging as
a project and develop a proposal and plan it on that basis,\u201d Trachtenberg said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The contracts are for a designated period of time, usually from three to six months, and
cover all design, furnishing, transportation and other costs associated with the staging.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If the home has not been sold by the end of the contract period, the company can arrange
a rental agreement for the furnishings on a month-to-month basis.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Design methodology<\/strong>
Trachtenberg noted that, when setting up a home, they handle it as if it is an occupied
space. \u201cTheoretically, someone could live in it,\u201d she said. \u201cWe even look at small details.
We might, for example, place a set of reading glasses on a table.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

She said the company\u2019s role is similar to an interior designer, with one important
difference. \u201cWe are not designing an interior based on the tastes of the client, who we might never
even meet,\u201d she said. \u201cWe\u2019re designing it to appeal to potential buyers.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Trachtenberg said that they are oriented to removing all of the furnishings after the
contract. Nevertheless, occasionally a home buyer will request that they leave a piece of
furniture or other item they like.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe\u2019re not in the business of selling our inventory,\u201d she said. \u201cBut if someone really wants something, we may do that on a caseby-case basis.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

When they receive an initial inquiry, the company will visit the property and put together a proposed concept and price. Then, if the client agrees, they do the staging by completing the final design, transporting the items and setting them up on site.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Because time is of the essence in real estate, Trachtenberg said they respond quickly. \u201cWe\u2019re able to do the visit and make a proposal and start the staging within about two weeks,\u201d she said. \u201cDepending on
the job, we do the actual staging in a day, or within a few days if it\u2019s a bigger, more complicated job.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

One source of business are homes that have been on the market for a while, but have not
been sold. \u201cSometimes homes don\u2019t get any traction,\u201d she said. \u201cIn those cases, we can
come in and stage it as part of relaunching it on the market.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Trachtenberg noted that staging has become more important with the changes in the
nature of the real estate market in recent years. The appearance and feel of a home when
prospective buyers visit it in person is still a key, she said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

However, the shift of buyers to online browsing of properties through pictures on websites and video tours has added to the importance of presentation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cToday people are doing their initial viewing and screening of properties in a more instantaneous way,\u201d she said. \u201cThey\u2019ll go online and swipe through photos of homes and decide right away if it\u2019s something they want to look into further or not. Or they\u2019ll take a video tour rather than go to a home in person.\u201d
<\/p>\n\n\n\n

That increases the value and importance of quickly making a good impression, she continued.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIt\u2019s more difficult to envision a home in a photo or video,\u201d she said. \u201cBy staging it attractively, we\u2019re helping a home catch people\u2019s attention right away, to convince them to take the next step.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Trachtenberg said it is difficult to exactly quantify the number of stagings the company performs in a year because they occur in phases. Typically, she said, they do an average of 15 to 25 homes in a year, with between eight and 12 in rotation at any given time.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Ironically, while real estate activity in the Berkshires accelerated during the pandemic, it caused a dip in Trachtenberg\u2019s business. \u201cInitially our business slowed down because the market was moving so fast there
was a lack of inventory to meet the demand,\u201d she said. \u201cProperties were being sold right
after they were placed on the market. In that environment, I think people didn\u2019t see a need for staging.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

More recently, she said, that seems to be shifting, and that frenzied dynamic seems to be subsiding.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI believe the market may be shifting,\u201d she said. \u201cI feel the demand for our services picking up again, and we\u2019re getting more calls.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

For one Berkshire business, Staged Ryte, the process of staging a home for sale is an art, involving a combination of creative design and 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