A professionally-staged home probably makes buyers feel a twinge of misrepresentation, but all the more reason to get good help!
http://www.cnbc.com/2016/04/14/setting-the-stage-to-sell-your-home.html
Ask most real estate agents and they’ll tell you that the toughest conversations they have with their sellers are about price and presentation. But let’s put price aside and talk decor.
Everyone is his or her own Martha Stewart, and who wouldn’t want to see beautiful pictures of our loved ones on the mantel? Answer: potential buyers. They don’t want to see your babies, your knickknacks, your artwork or even those adorable macramé potholders you and your daughter made that rainy afternoon a decade ago.
Savvy real estate agents will tell sellers to clean up, clean out and put away most personal items. The idea is that house hunters should be able to picture themselves — and not you — in your house. Odd artwork, even though it’s not staying, is off-putting.
That is why, in a market where picky buyers want move-in ready real estate, staging is becoming more and more the rule.
Staged homes spend half as much time on the market than non-staged homes, according to Coldwell Banker Real Estate.. What’s more, those staged homes on average sell for more than 6 percent above asking price.
The seller “gets probably 10 times what they put into it,” according to Mary Lynn White, a real estate agent with Evers & Co. in the Washington, D.C., area. “I call it aspirational selling,” she added. “Buyers think they’re going to live the way the house is set up.”
The staging is actually more for the pictures than for the people walking through the home. That is because the vast majority of buyers search online and scan the interiors of homes they want to visit. A good set of pictures will draw more buyers, and those pictures should show pretty and pristine spaces.
Read full article here:
http://www.cnbc.com/2016/04/14/setting-the-stage-to-sell-your-home.html
Jim, a trend I’ve detected. People aren’t buying a place for their “stuff.” It just isn’t that expensive to leave behind (instead of moving) the 5 year old couch the dog has adopted compared to having a new couch delivered between 2:00 and 4:00 PM next Wed. No interest for one year.
Staging should be extremely sparse.
You are mind-reading again. Stand by for our latest attempt.
Although I didn’t have my home professionally staged, I did employ some techniques of a professional stager. Then my agent had a professional photographer do the photos. I only had very few photos in view for showings so my home didn’t feel sterile. I accepted an offer only 1.8% less than list price.
I’m surprised more agents don’t use professional photographers, Jim. Some of the listing photos I’ve seen are almost laughable. Sellers need to remember, you need to get prospective buyers IN the front door.
Up very early! Moving into my new home today. Signed closing papers yesterday. One title company was nice to give a courtesy call to other so I could sign all the papers at one place. Took less than an hour…