Local home staging company prospers in down market

Park City, UT (Grassroots Newswire) March 15, 2010 – Last year was a bleak year for business.

But, one national home staging company, Showhomes, which has a business that serves the Park City area, bucked the downward trend and posted sizable gains in the 2010 report.

The national company moved up from the No. 13 to the No. 6 spot in the exclusive Franchise Top 50 ranking and ranked No. 3 in the real estate franchise category. Showhomes placed behind real estate category leader Sotheby’s and ahead of Coldwell Banker for the second year in a row.

“What’s great about our parent company is that they see the down market as an opportunity to grow and provide valuable services,” said Katja Cain, franchise owner for Showhomes – Park City. “We are very proud of our company’s accomplishments, which have allowed us to thrive in today’s harsh real estate market.”

Franchised businesses, which typically outperform independent small businesses, were not immune to the downward pressure on businesses in 2009. The Franchise Business Review (FBR), which surveys individual franchise owners in franchise systems all over the country, reported that overall satisfaction scores dropped from the previous year.

Kyle Stites, FBR marketing manager, said many of the 500 franchises surveyed are struggling in the down economy, so Showhomes stands out among the rest. “This is an outstanding showing for Showhomes,” Stites said. “They’ve earned some bragging rights.”

Of the 500 franchise companies surveyed, only 133 made FBR’s list of winners and only a handful placed as high as Showhomes.

Stites sees a pattern among franchises on the rise. “The best franchises communicate well,” she said. ”They beat the competition by reaching out to franchisees, and by continually striving to get better through innovation. They are honest with themselves and embrace anything they can to continue to get better.”

Franchise Business Review, a New Hampshire-based franchise market research firm, is the only organization that publishes a rankings based on overall satisfaction of franchise owners.

“We’re extremely proud of Showhomes rankings, especially since Franchise Business Review has such a strong emphasis on performing businesses,” said Bert Lyles, CEO of Showhomes. “We believe we have positioned our franchisees to best help the huge number of stressed home owners in today’s market and our results helping them beat market conditions and sell homes today is proof of our success.”

For more information about Showhomes – Park City, please contact Katja Cain at 801-647-5399.

About Showhomes
Showhomes is a home staging business with a twist: the company uses live-in caretakers to manage vacant homes while they are on the market for sale and offset a home owner’s expense to stage a home. The innovative marketing strategy has been producing results since 1986 and the company has helped over 25,000 homeowners sell vacant houses valued at over $8 billion.  For franchise opportunities and more information, please visit www.showhomes.com and www.showhomesfranchise.com.