Welcome to the August 2007 issue of Staging Strategies! Most sellers leave their rooms arranged exactly how they live in them when they put their house on the market. But in order to get the most when showing, rooms need to change emphasis from "living" to "presentation". This month we're going to take a look at a family room that demonstrates some of the most common adjustments that need to be made to transform "home" into "house ready for buyers".
Sincerely,
Andria Wallace, IADA, RES
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From Family Room to Show Room
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Most clients still think about their house as "home", even when it goes on the market. "Home" is where your favorite recliner has the best view of the TV. "Home" is where the sofa has been ever since you had it delivered from the furniture store. "Home" is the silk flower arrangement you made at the craft class on the coffee table. "Home" may be comfortable and familiar, but it's typically not going to get you the best results when it comes to attracting a buyer. Take a look at the following two before photos of a family room:
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Ask yourself what are the selling features of the room? In this case, the room has a fireplace and wall of windows overlooking a beautiful garden. Now ask yourself what are you doing to show those selling features off to buyers? The answer should NOT be recliners that take center stage and a sofa blocking the windows! Here's how we addressed the issues: - Move the sofa so that it directs the eye to the windows instead of sitting in front of them. Not only does this showcase the yard, but it lets a lot more light into the room.
- At this listing, the sellers were flexible enough to be willing to move the two large recliners out of the room. At a minimum, see if you can move them so they are not the first thing you see in the room, and are not detracting from the fireplace.
- To further highlight the fireplace, we added some color to the mantle display to help draw the buyer's attention to the room's focal point.
The result? A much more open and spacious room that highlights what's important to buyers trying to decide if this should become their "home".
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By helping buyers focus on what's important to them, furnishings can be used to help positively influence their response to the rooms, and ultimately their response to the listing. Make sure your listings are working to display rooms to their fullest advantage.
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Featured Listing:
This cute 2-bedroom 1.5-bath condo is located near Page & Schuetz in the Westport area . MLS 657988. Check out the virtual tour here. Thanks to Mary Lou Hudson of Prudential Alliance for recently having this vacant listing staged by Contented Rooms.
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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 expensive rental furniture, but there are cost-effective ways to stage both furnished and vacant listings to give them a stylish and updated look that leads to better showings and faster sale!
Vacant listings are more difficult to show because it's hard for buyers to see the rooms as inviting and functional. Yet filling them with rental furniture is an expensive proposition. A cost-effective alternative is "Focal Point Staging", which creates vignettes, or focal points, to add warmth and purpose to each room, suggesting to buyers the room's potential without trying to recreate a fully furnished house.
When your clients are still living in their house, staging can also be a great boost to increase the listing's visual and emotional appeal to buyers. 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 marketing, 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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