CORT Launches National Home Staging Services

Furniture World Magazine

CORT Launches National Home Staging Services Helping corporations sell inventory of homes up to 50 percent faster CORT, a Berkshire Hathaway company, announced the launch of a national home staging program to serve businesses responsible for managing the sale of homes. Staging helps prospective buyers envision how they might use the property and highlights the property’s best features. It has proven to drastically reduce the time a property is on the market and limit price reductions needed to generate interest from buyers. Research has shown that staged homes sell for higher prices than unstaged homes. “CORT is already serving as the single source of services to meet the rental relocation and furniture rental needs of the nation’s leading corporations and relocation management companies. Adding the home staging component is a natural extension of these services,” said Mark Koepsell, CORT senior vice president who leads new business development and the rental relocation business. “The housing downturn has left many businesses burdened with an excess inventory of residential properties that are expensive to market and maintain. CORT is leveraging its longstanding relationships with the staging community to bring the home staging program to our partners and help them sell homes faster.” Staging can maintain or increase the selling price of a property in markets where home prices continue to fall and, even more importantly for companies stressed by a growing inventory of unsold homes, reduce the amount of time the house is on the market by up to 50 percent, according to the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. CORT’s own study of 7,800 staged homes finds homes sell in an average of 5.5 months once they are staged, versus 10.4 months for unstaged homes. “Staging continues to prove its return on investment. Staging is successful because it creates an immediate positive first impression and helps ‘de-personalize’ a property for both the seller and buyer,” said Barie Pinnell, ASPM, president of WRE Interiors. In fact, most home buyers decide if they like a property in the first 8 to 10 seconds. Creating a positive first impression is critical to a sale. Staging also helps differentiate a home from the many other vacant properties on the market. Homes that are staged from the time they are put on the market produce a shorter sales cycle, removing the financial burden of unsold homes on a company’s balance sheet. Companies and property owners typically wait too long to fully leverage the benefits of staging, waiting until they decide to drop the sales price in hopes of generating interest. The cost of staging is typically less than the first price reduction on a home. “Working with CORT has allowed me to leave furniture to the professionals while maintaining an inventory of accessories and small items, and stay focused on growing my business. I look forward to expanding that relationship to serve the staging needs of CORT’s business partners,” said Pinnell. CORT’s home staging program provides companies with a total solution managed through one point-of-contact. CORT provides coordinated billing services for all of a company’s staged homes across the nation, a proven network of stagers with local expertise, and the ability to provide these services for one or many properties across the country. With access to a national network of experienced, professional home stagers, the world’s largest inventory of rental furniture, and CORT’s fast and efficient delivery capabilities, the program meets the growing demand for staging services from relocation management companies, real estate asset management companies, banks and corporations that own homes purchased on behalf of relocating employees CORT’s staging program offers three levels of support, all beginning with a needs assessment with a CORT rental relocation consultant and a consultation with an experienced, professional home stager. During the consultation, the home staging professional will visit the property, including a complete walk-through of the home, and deliver a report and checklist detailing suggestions to be completed in order to prepare a property for sale. Companies can choose whether to offer their employees consultation services or full staging support. For companies who choose to have CORT manage the staging process, both occupied and vacant homes can be staged. In both cases, CORT will collaborate with staging professionals in the procurement of any necessary rental items. About CORT: For more than 35 years, CORT has been the nation’s leading provider of rental furniture with a global network of affiliates in more than 50 countries. CORT, a Berkshire Hathaway company, also provides the nation’s most comprehensive range of rental relocation services, including online apartment search services at www.ApartmentSearch.com. CORT’s customers include more than 80 percent of the Fortune 500 companies. For more information, please visit www.cort.com