STAGED HOMES SELL FASTER
An Interview With Luke Parle From Portico

When the subject is property, we all know London is one of the most frenzied markets in the world.

To stand out in such a competitive market, Real Estate agencies offer a range of differentials to sell or rent more, and faster.

With that in mind, Portico and its 18 London offices and 100+ employees have stayed on top, not only winning awards and selling properties across London, but also keeping customers happy with their unique services.

One of their most popular features is the Concierge package, which is a property dressing and staging service. Before sending in their professional photographer, Portico’s in-house tradesmen will ensure the property is in tip top condition. They will then cover the cost of providing an external property consultant to stage the property and optimise its appearance by providing furniture, mirrors, artwork and soft furnishings that will show it to its full potential.

We spoke to Luke Parle, Portico’s Sales Manager at the Clapham Office, to learn more about their Concierge service and how people have been responding to their home staging offering.

Home Staging Association – Are your clients usually familiar with the home staging service when you offer it?
Luke Parle – Yes and no, frequent sellers like developers and investors are usually aware staging is available, but they’re often surprised to hear that at Portico we include it in our Concierge Sale Package which commonly gets a good reaction. Other sellers like first time sellers, are pleasantly surprised to hear about home staging and it usually becomes a hot topic upon a valuation or telephone call.

HSA – Are they welcoming of the suggestion or they hesitate to see it as a beneficial service?
LP – Most sellers are hesitant as they think it will be an expensive add on, but once they discover the benefits that home staging offers as well as how much it can add to the sale price of their property, they often change their minds.

“Staged homes increase the number of viewings dramatically, which in turn translates into a quicker sell.”

HSA – Why do you offer your concierge service? Would you say that’s your main differential?
LP – At Portico we like to be genuinely useful and offer services our competitors don’t, which is why we offer the Concierge package. Our clients pay us to either get the highest price for their property or sell within a certain timescale. When a seller wants to achieve the biggest price, we know our Concierge Service will achieve that for them. Including home staging in our Concierge Sales Package certainly sets us aside from some the most of our competitors, however it is one of many differences. We also offer other unique services like our Portico Handymen Team and Portico Host – a fully managed Airbnb service.

HSA – Do staged homes sell faster? If you have any data, please feel free to share.
LP – Absolutely. Staged homes increase the number of viewings dramatically, which in turn translates into a quicker sell. We’ve staged a few properties which we had started off marketing on our Comprehensive Sales Package (which is our standard service without staging), and viewings had been low. After the staging, we saw viewings levels increase dramatically and a sale agreed within 10 days on one and 14 days on the other.

HSA – Do staged homes sell for more money?
LP- Staged homes sell for an average of 8% more than un-staged properties – which is why our 2% Concierge sales package is certainly worth the money!

To learn more about Portico and how they maximise a property’s potential with home staging and styling, please visit their website: www.portico.com