Times have definitely changed.  Long gone are the days when sticking a sign in the yard manifested a quick sale.  All you had to do was think about selling your home and a full price offer would slide in from under the front door.  Back then a staged home had a significant impact on the price the home sold for.  In fact, a staged home almost always assured a seller the top selling price recorded at the time, not to mention record speed.

Today a home seller in the market place is trying not to lose his shorts while waiting and waiting and waiting for someone, please anyone, to make an offer.  Month after month not even one showing.  With each passing day sellers ask themselves ‘will it ever sell’ or ‘do I lower my price’?  Why?  Sellers think that by lowering the price they just might get someone to walk through the front door.

It’s frustrating for everyone, even home buyers!!

When buyers walk through yet another front door they’re overwhelmed by all the homes they’ve been looking at.  They’re begging to see that one home that will blow them away.  After all, how many homes can they possible see when the sea of homes is enormous?  Plenty, that’s how many.  Confused, tired and memory overload are the usual signs of a home buyer today.  Just imagine how grateful you would be if you could finally end your search with a home that speaks to you in such a way there becomes no reason to keep looking.

If you want to have a ‘sold’ home in today’s market you need to put yourself in a buyer’s shoes.  Realize that doing everything, and I mean absolutely everything to sell your home, is a necessary requirement if you expect to get results.  They want the best.  After all it’s a buyers market and they should have it.  When your home sells you may just be a buyer too!  So here’s what their looking for…..PERFECTION!

That’s right all buyers want perfection these days and here’s how you give it to them……

Make sure your priced right.  Lowering the price on a unprepared home won’t get you a sale you’ll be happy with.  Having a well priced perfectly staged and maintained home will.

While selling your home it’s best to enjoy the holidays away from home especially if the holiday is religious in nature.  Why?  We don’t really know who’s going to purchase your home or their religious preference so keeping the decorations out of sight will help you appeal to everyone.  The best part about this tip is you can get away on a short vacation or enjoy your aunt Betty’s apple pie.

When I entered this once empty elegant living room I found the fireplace and it’s amazing mantel very imposing.  What I mean is….as beautiful as the majestic fireplace was, it was overwhelming the space partly because of it’s size.  The best way to downplay a wonderful feature like this without losing it’s importance is to add a little drama.

From the foyer you can see the measurable size of the mantel

In a nearby tree I found the exact amount of drama I was looking for.  Why drama you ask?  By adding some worthy drama I downplayed the size of this magnificent fireplace but didn’t take away it’s relevance.  Now buyers can take in the windows, custom cabinets and molding, hardwoods and last but never least the chandelier too!

A little drama can sometimes go a long way

And now the ‘big picture’…….

The end result was a living room that displayed all of it's beauty!!!

Presto, a buyer can now love it all.

HomeGain Survey:  Home Staging Top Priority for Sellers

HomeGain recently conducted it’s third Nationwide home improvement and home staging Home Sale Maximizer survey to reveal the top 12 do-it-yourself (DIY) home improvements for people getting their home ready for sale.  Nearly 1,000 Realtors responded to the survey.

To read more just go to the link below.

http://tinyurl.com/yeaxzct

Have you ever notice the buying experience a shopping mall provides consumers? Let’s take the gallery of a mall lined with storefronts who’s window dressing is the invitation to take a closer look. Each store competes with the other to lure the shopper into the store to get better acquainted with each department. If the shopper is convinced by the window dressing to take a walk inside they will see more of the same window dressing at the front of each department with mannequins dressed in the best the department has to offer. Of course the retailer is hoping that all of this marketing is enough to cause the register to ring and the consumer is happy to accommodate provided the retailer has done their job.

The exterior of your home or the curb appeal is the window dressing from the street just as the gallery of a mall is to the retailer. If your curb appeal is more appealing then your competition you’ll find a home buyer in your home before long. Once in your home your rooms are the departments in a store and they need to be attractive if you expect the buyer to linger and ponder over the purchase of your home. The more attractive you make each room the more likely you are to hear the cash register ring.

Retailers have understood the power of marketing for decades and today home staging is impacting our real estate world in a way unlike ever before. For the first time a niche industry is coming on strong to bring an otherwise outdated marketing concept in the real estate transaction up to date to meet consumer demands. This is especially good news for home sellers who while in need of selling their home are in more need of securing a price sold that will benefit their bottom line in the least amount of valuable time.

Home Staging Tips

Home Staging is one of the most important things a seller can ever do to help sell a home. The word is out about how important Home Staging is but many sellers often don’t know how to do it properly. While it’s important to seek the services of a professional Home Stager here are some Home Staging tips to keep in mind:

• Depersonalize- you must remove any personal décor or style from the home. This can turn off potential buyers that don’t enjoy your style. Instead, you want to work with neutral décor that is devoid of a personal taste and will appeal to a wider range of potential buyers.
• De-clutter- When a family lives in a home, they move in their personal belongings which give the home that “lived-in” feel. When Home Staging you need to be as clutter free as possible. You want the potential buyer to feel like they can live there and not you.
• Make sure each room has a purpose. Often when a family has lived in a home, they find a better use for a room turning it into something it’s not. When Staging your home each room should have an individual purpose that is designed to meet the homes attributes.
• Crank up your curb appeal- We hear this phrase a lot but it’s one of the most important things you can do. A home needs to look appealing enough from the street to invite a home buyer in the front door for a closer look. So your lawn and your front door need to be inviting.
• Add complementary accessories- While removing the clutter is very important; you don’t want an empty room either. Accessories that complement the furniture and the architectural elements of a home are essential to catch the buyers eye and even guide their eye to an all important home feature.
• Fill empty spaces with furniture that is new or in great condition- Old, used or worn furniture will detract from the home leaving the space feeling tired and old. This reflects immediately on the condition of the home from the buyer’s point of view leaving emotions at a low level of excitement.

With these tips, you can see how important Home Staging is and the role it plays in a higher sales price and the quick sale of your home. Staging your home yourself is possible with proper DIY instruction but be sure to follow the instruction to the letter to complete a professional job or you risk convincing potential buyers, which ultimately costs money and opportunity for every seller.