Welcome to the August 2006 issue of Staging
Strategies! This month, we'll continue our look at
the TOP 5 Decorating
Mistakes clients make, and what you
can do to recognize and address them in your own
listings.
Your clients aren't experts at
decorating any more than they are experts at knowing the
real estate market. To them, it's home...and it may look
perfectly fine in their opinion. However, as you well
know, appearance is crucial when
selling. If a room is not pulled together
correctly, buyers may not understand why it's
not right...they might just very well respond by saying
they "don't like the house". And once that happens,
you've lost your sale.
By knowing what to look
for in your listings, you can take proactive steps to
avoid some of the most common mistakes that
homeowners may have made. It's understanding what
to do with what you've got that creates the
impression that will help sell the
house.
Hope you are having a great
summer!
Sincerely,
Andria Wallace, IADA,
RES
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TOP 5 DECORATING
MISTAKES | |
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Missing or Weak
Focal Point
When pulling together a room, it is
important to help the buyer know where to direct
their attention when they enter the room. This
focal point should be the center of attention,
anchoring the other pieces around it. When a
room lacks a well-defined focal point, it
leaves us uncertain where to look, and this
can lead to a feeling that the room is
not "comfortable".
One of the
differences in the focal point of a house on the
market compared to that of a "home" is that if
the room has architectural selling
features, those need to be the
focus rather than the homeowner's
furnishings. How many times have you walked
into a room and the big-screen TV is the
first thing you notice rather than the
fireplace?
Buyers are much more
interested in features they will actually be
purchasing, such as fireplaces, windows with a
great view and built-in bookcases. It's not
enough to simply have these in the room...you
must draw attention them. By orienting the
furniture arrangement towards a focal point, you
help buyers picture their own furnishings
in the room within that
context.
The solution:
Define the room with a
strong focal point, helping buyers know how
to make sense of the space.
When available, base this on
selling features of the room rather than on the
seller's belongings.
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Quick
Tip:
Does your client have a lot of small
items out, such as remote controls, coasters, pencils,
etc.? Many clients are reluctant to put away things they
use every day, or they don't have a handy place to put
them near where they are needed. Decorative photo
storage boxes with a lid, which can be purchased
inexpensively at craft stores, can be a great way to
hide the
clutter! | |
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Coming Next
Month:
Two down, three to go. How
are your listings doing? Will they be guilty of
the next in our list of Top 5
Decorating Mistakes? Stay tuned...another
one comes your way in
September!
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Want to make the most out
of
your marketing time and efforts?
You may
only think of "staging" in terms of rental furniture for
a vacant listing, but you can also stage your
furnished listings to give them a stylish
and updated look that leads to better showings and
faster sale!
Staging is more
than just "moving the couch". Not only are rooms
displayed more attractively, but strategic placement of
furnishings makes better use of space and shows off the
house from a buyer's perspective, helping them more
easily imagine themselves in the house.
Why
invest money in printing feature sheets, spend your
valuable time at open houses, and expend efforts in
promoting your listings before they've
been prepared to maxmize their appeal to buyers?
Let us help you prepare your listings so you can focus
your expertise in what you do best...marketing the
property to get it SOLD.
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For more
information on how these services can help you move your
listings, please call 314-359-9127 or
visit our website at www.contentedrooms.com/realtors. | |
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Using the art of
decorating to make the most of your listings for optimal
showing, buyer appeal and faster
sale.
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