Have you been selling real estate for a while OR is this your latest but not first home you’ve put on the market? The world changed while you were busy figuring out how to google information on your next vacation. Did you know that in 2010, 95% of home BUYERS look at homes they may be interested in FIRST on the internet? I’m not sure you realize how important that little factoid is, so let me relate a personal story…
My family and I live in a house we bought in 2004. The ONLY way we could see the inside of houses in neighborhoods we wanted back then was to A) get a babysitter, ruin a whole day of our weekend, traipse around in Southern California heat, attend Sunday Open Houses and TRY, TRY, TRY to see past their ugly stuff cuz we had gone to so much trouble; or B) go on a road show with our realtor (we still had to repeat steps 1-3 and 5 in alt A).
Today, the average home buyer looks at 75+ homes ON THE INTERNET before agreeing to see their favorites in person. That means the photos on the internet had better make your home seem like it’s worth seeing in person. If not, all they have to do is click “NEXT”. No multiple inconvenient steps…just a click and your home or listing is as forgotten as that awful lunch you had last week (burp.)
What’s worse is that your competitors have started to catch on–they have great photos and lots of them ( I probably staged some of them myself). That means your listing looks even worse by comparison. OK, you say, I’ll show a (single) picture of the front, back or view from the house. Nobody will notice, will they? The answer: how could they NOT notice! There has to be something wrong and you’re trying it hide it. If it looked great you’d show it off–right?
The Age of the Stager Has Dawned– next up: Why staging is so much more than decluttering.
Thursday, September 30, 2010
In Los Angeles, Staging Is Soooo Much More Than Decluttering...
Let’s talk about what professional staging delivers to sellers, why it is worth the money and what it delivers for potential buyers.
On average, a staged home sells 50% FASTER for 6 to 10 % more money. As a seller, you have already decided to sell and move on to the next phase of your life. Are you interested in dragging the process out and paying more mortgage payments and property taxes than you need to? Do you know that after being on the market for more than 30 days, you are much less likely to get anything near the price you want for your home? The MOST interested buyers will find your home online as soon as it hits the MLS, look at those pictures, and if they are gorgeous (and staged), call their agent and tell him or her, “Get me inside that house TODAY!”
Professional Staging may be 100% deductible off your taxes as a selling expense (IF it is your primary residence AND it is staged the same year it is sold. Please see you tax consultant for more details).
The cost of professional staging is Thousand$ Le$$ than a price reduction.
Great (staged) photos online will get potential Buyers to want to see your home in person. THEN they will open the front door and say, “WOW” or “Holy Smokes” or simply do a large intake of breath. (As a professional stager, I would accept any of the above or their variations–nothing less!)
Can that reaction happen without an experienced stager evaluating layout, styling, emotional touchpoints and flow of your home from room to room for maximum impact? It’s possible, but MUCH less likely.
AFTER decluttering, a home stager makes sure the furniture layout draws buyers into each room in an inviting and comfortable way. Then they make sure to enhance the positives and distract from the negatives of your property with the style of furniture, art, accessories, rugs etc. that is appropriate for the style of the home as well as being most appealing to the target buyer. In my experience, adding even small details for a fresh attitude to even the most traditional spaces increases all buyer’s positive reactions.
The biggest stumbling block a seller has to doing staging themselves is their emotional attachment to their home. “It’s been this way for 5,10, 20 years–I like it.” or “My friends love my home–I don’t need staging” or “an interior designer did my house.” Sorry, the answer to all of the responses above is you still probably need staging! I’m a stager AND interior designer and MY home would have to be staged if I put it on the market! Why, you ask (I can just feel you asking that!)?
Because staging is not about design for LIVING. Interior Design, your personal style, or simply how your home “design” has evolved over time is NOT staging.
Staging is Marketing a Product for Sale. Marketing is the Art of Persuasion. Marketing SELLS. The purpose of staging is to create a warm and inviting environment that makes the BUYER (NOT SELLER) say to him or herself, ”I can see myself living and loving to live HERE.”
Hope that helps. Next up: What to expect with a staging proposal.
On average, a staged home sells 50% FASTER for 6 to 10 % more money. As a seller, you have already decided to sell and move on to the next phase of your life. Are you interested in dragging the process out and paying more mortgage payments and property taxes than you need to? Do you know that after being on the market for more than 30 days, you are much less likely to get anything near the price you want for your home? The MOST interested buyers will find your home online as soon as it hits the MLS, look at those pictures, and if they are gorgeous (and staged), call their agent and tell him or her, “Get me inside that house TODAY!”
Professional Staging may be 100% deductible off your taxes as a selling expense (IF it is your primary residence AND it is staged the same year it is sold. Please see you tax consultant for more details).
The cost of professional staging is Thousand$ Le$$ than a price reduction.
Great (staged) photos online will get potential Buyers to want to see your home in person. THEN they will open the front door and say, “WOW” or “Holy Smokes” or simply do a large intake of breath. (As a professional stager, I would accept any of the above or their variations–nothing less!)
Can that reaction happen without an experienced stager evaluating layout, styling, emotional touchpoints and flow of your home from room to room for maximum impact? It’s possible, but MUCH less likely.
AFTER decluttering, a home stager makes sure the furniture layout draws buyers into each room in an inviting and comfortable way. Then they make sure to enhance the positives and distract from the negatives of your property with the style of furniture, art, accessories, rugs etc. that is appropriate for the style of the home as well as being most appealing to the target buyer. In my experience, adding even small details for a fresh attitude to even the most traditional spaces increases all buyer’s positive reactions.
The biggest stumbling block a seller has to doing staging themselves is their emotional attachment to their home. “It’s been this way for 5,10, 20 years–I like it.” or “My friends love my home–I don’t need staging” or “an interior designer did my house.” Sorry, the answer to all of the responses above is you still probably need staging! I’m a stager AND interior designer and MY home would have to be staged if I put it on the market! Why, you ask (I can just feel you asking that!)?
Because staging is not about design for LIVING. Interior Design, your personal style, or simply how your home “design” has evolved over time is NOT staging.
Staging is Marketing a Product for Sale. Marketing is the Art of Persuasion. Marketing SELLS. The purpose of staging is to create a warm and inviting environment that makes the BUYER (NOT SELLER) say to him or herself, ”I can see myself living and loving to live HERE.”
Hope that helps. Next up: What to expect with a staging proposal.
Bookcase Beautification Secrets from Los Angeles
So many people have bookcases in their homes. Problem is, they are often not sure what to do with them. Bookcases take up a lot of visual weight/impact in a room and should be treated as the major design element they are–not just random storage. There is no reason a bookcase can’t be useful AND look beautiful. Here’s a quick and easy process to get you started.
Step 1: Take everything OFF every shelf. Separate things into piles–small objects; small photos/artwork; medium objects/artwork, etc.
Step 2: Sort your books. Unless you’re still in college–NO textbooks in any room your guests can get to at a party. NO books that are intended for you and your loved one to share PRIVATELY. Put them in your closet immediately! Sort by fiction, non fiction, reference books, picture/art books…I don’t know what you’ve got but use some logic to organize. DON’t put them back in the bookcase yet.
NOTE: THERE JUST AREN’T THAT MANY HOMES THAT ARE LARGE ENOUGH TO HAVE A ROOM DESIGNATED PURE LIBRARY. FOR THE OTHER 95% OF US, PLEASE SKIP STEP 3 AND GO DIRECTLY TO STEP 4.
Step 3: It the room is intended to be pure library–simply put the books back using the new logic sysytem you devised. Organize each group by color or more likely, by height. Not all books have to be upright–some can lay flat stacked with verticals on either side or just one side. Larger books on the bottom. You’re done.
Step 4: The most beautiful bookcases are roughly built third-third-third. One third objects/pictures. One third books. One third…are you ready for it: absolutely nothing. Yes that’s right–space and air is your friend (and not just in bookcases). Less is more. It allows your eye to enjoy every item on every shelf. One of my favorite things to do is to pack away what I didn’t use on my shelves this time, and six months from now switch items out. Fresh look, your own stuff–easy smile, minimal effort.
Now start with a shelf at eye level and create a vignette. Arrange by color and scale of everything you use, or pick a theme. Let’s say travel. Take an object that’s a memento of a favorite vacation, a picture of yourself and friends on vacation and some travel books and mix together. Put the picture on top of a few of the books and an object next to that. Looks goods or do you need more? Add one thing at a time and step back at least 6 ft to look at the bookcase at a distance. Once you are satisfied with that one shelf, pick another at eye level. A visitor’s eye will judge these two shelves together for balance and visual appeal–so keep the first shelf in mind while you are doing this one. If the first has very few books and more objects and pictures–do the reverse. More books, less objects and pictures.
Go up or down a shelf from here, always considering what the previous shelves have on them before arranging the next. A bright color that you repeat in objects, bookjeckets or pictures/artwork works best in threes. Three hits of the same color throughout the entire bookcase NOT a single shelf. Have too much of a single bright color, pack away for the next shelf update. If the color is subdued or midrange neutral, don’t worry about repetition.
Clustering like objects is also fun on a single shelf.
Keep stepping back. Is there lots of air? Is there balance? When I do a big bookcase I often tweak and tweak and tweak the shelves each time I finish a new shelf. And then suddenly it just feels right.
Step 1: Take everything OFF every shelf. Separate things into piles–small objects; small photos/artwork; medium objects/artwork, etc.
Step 2: Sort your books. Unless you’re still in college–NO textbooks in any room your guests can get to at a party. NO books that are intended for you and your loved one to share PRIVATELY. Put them in your closet immediately! Sort by fiction, non fiction, reference books, picture/art books…I don’t know what you’ve got but use some logic to organize. DON’t put them back in the bookcase yet.
NOTE: THERE JUST AREN’T THAT MANY HOMES THAT ARE LARGE ENOUGH TO HAVE A ROOM DESIGNATED PURE LIBRARY. FOR THE OTHER 95% OF US, PLEASE SKIP STEP 3 AND GO DIRECTLY TO STEP 4.
Step 3: It the room is intended to be pure library–simply put the books back using the new logic sysytem you devised. Organize each group by color or more likely, by height. Not all books have to be upright–some can lay flat stacked with verticals on either side or just one side. Larger books on the bottom. You’re done.
Step 4: The most beautiful bookcases are roughly built third-third-third. One third objects/pictures. One third books. One third…are you ready for it: absolutely nothing. Yes that’s right–space and air is your friend (and not just in bookcases). Less is more. It allows your eye to enjoy every item on every shelf. One of my favorite things to do is to pack away what I didn’t use on my shelves this time, and six months from now switch items out. Fresh look, your own stuff–easy smile, minimal effort.
Now start with a shelf at eye level and create a vignette. Arrange by color and scale of everything you use, or pick a theme. Let’s say travel. Take an object that’s a memento of a favorite vacation, a picture of yourself and friends on vacation and some travel books and mix together. Put the picture on top of a few of the books and an object next to that. Looks goods or do you need more? Add one thing at a time and step back at least 6 ft to look at the bookcase at a distance. Once you are satisfied with that one shelf, pick another at eye level. A visitor’s eye will judge these two shelves together for balance and visual appeal–so keep the first shelf in mind while you are doing this one. If the first has very few books and more objects and pictures–do the reverse. More books, less objects and pictures.
Go up or down a shelf from here, always considering what the previous shelves have on them before arranging the next. A bright color that you repeat in objects, bookjeckets or pictures/artwork works best in threes. Three hits of the same color throughout the entire bookcase NOT a single shelf. Have too much of a single bright color, pack away for the next shelf update. If the color is subdued or midrange neutral, don’t worry about repetition.
Clustering like objects is also fun on a single shelf.
Keep stepping back. Is there lots of air? Is there balance? When I do a big bookcase I often tweak and tweak and tweak the shelves each time I finish a new shelf. And then suddenly it just feels right.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)