A Small Staging Factor That Makes a HUGE Impact

I began my real estate career as an investor. Initially, the reason I decided to become an agent was to gain an understanding of what factors in a home matter the most to tenants and buyers. After showing hundreds and hundreds of homes to many different types of families, I’ve learned quite a bit about what matters most to people in our market. The factor that surprised me the most happens to be something that is an easy fix for any landlord or seller...the thermostat!

South Texas is hot nearly all year long. During the busiest real estate season, San Antonio is consistently over 100 degrees. How does the inside of a home feel when the air conditioner has been off for weeks in this weather? Yes, it’s miserable! Think about it for a second--most agents will arrange several showings for a prospective buyer or tenant in a row. Now we’re all walking through the heat into a home, and then through the heat back to hot vehicle that doesn’t get anywhere close to cool before stopping at the next home. Even when homes are at a reasonable temperature, everyone is sweaty during the showing process. So when we open the door and a home feels like a sauna, chances are we aren’t going to spend long there.

Yesterday after a round of showings, I asked my client which houses they liked and didn’t like. One of them said, “I didn’t like the second house.” When I asked why, she responded (after a pause), “I don’t really know. I guess it was so hot that I just couldn’t even concentrate.” I had shown her a beautifully flipped home that met all of their standards exactly, but they were going to pass on it because the sellers left the AC off.

She isn’t alone. I decided to write this blog post after I realized that out of all of my clients, exactly zero of them have chosen a home where the AC was off during a showing. None! It makes perfect sense though. A tenant or buyer isn’t just saying yes or no to your listing in a vacuum. They are comparing it to many other homes. At the end of the day when they are making their decision, if they associate your home with being miserably hot, chances are that you’re going to lose out.

The biggest reason that owners don’t want to leave the air on is obvious. They don’t want to pay the electric company $150-200 to cool an empty house. But think about it...if your $1000/month property stays vacant just one extra week because it’s not showing well, you’ve just lost $250! That sounds like a no-brainer decision to me. If you are a flipper, you’re probably paying several hundred dollars to have a home staged, so all you have to do is think of air conditioning as a part of the staging. You want the home to look, smell, and feel perfect. Don’t work hard on the first two and lose the sale on the last!

I'm only familiar with a warm climate, but perhaps the opposite is true for investors up north? Please comment if you share this experience!