"To date, the largest economic effects of the United States' financial turmoil appear to have been on the housing market, which, as you know, has deteriorated significantly over the past two years or so."

Ben Bernanke Federal Reserve Chairman

October 7, 2006

STAGERS ENTER THE HOME SCENE
In a slower real estate market, some sellers--even builders--are turning to staging experts to try and gain an edge

By Mary Umberger
Tribune staff reporter

Andrea Osterkorn was very specific: That White Sox poster had to go. And so did every trace of the much-loved Daisy.

Erik Blitvich, meet tough love, real estate style: If you're trying to move a property in a slow market, you're not only going to have to clean it, you also might have to stage it, too.

"Six months ago, we would say `staging,' and you would get that look of a deer in the headlights," said John Vaile, a former investment banker who in March 2007 founded Staging Chicago, which works primarily on North Side condos. "This is no longer the case."

Vaile said interest picked up when the market dropped off in the last few months. He said he's hearing from builders whose spec homes aren't getting much attention and from anxious sellers who want to cut the number of days on the market instead of cutting their asking price.

"The staging dollars you put upfront are usually less than your first price reduction would be," said Osterkorn, another stager, who said staging in Chicago could range from a few hundred dollars for a consultation to many thousands.

"We've used stagers, and sometimes it's justified," said James Kinney, president of Rubloff Residential Real Estate in Chicago. "But I caution people that they shouldn't bring someone in to stage a house just to justify an overpriced listing."

"I wasn't thrilled when they told me to pack up 80 percent of my 5-year-old daughter's toys or to move my comfortable La-Z-Boy recliner out of the family room because it was taking up too much space," said Chip Wagner, a Naperville appraiser who conceded that staging probably speeded his home's sale last summer.

Blitvich of the Sox poster said the process was less intrusive than he expected.

"I can see where some people would be uncomfortable with this," he said. "I came home, and it didn't feel like it was my home anymore."

But he said he realized that's the idea.

"I'll do whatever is going to make it sell faster," Blitvich said. "I need to have somebody walk in and want this townhouse pretty quick."

----------

mumberger@tribune.com
Copyright (c) 2006, Chicago Tribune