March, 2010
The following are five reasons to show why, especially in today’s market, it’s more important than ever before to stage a vacant home:
* Homes that show well are the ones that are warm, inviting, and make an emotional connection with the buyer. Vacant homes rarely accomplish this goal.
* Without furniture, there is no frame of reference, making it difficult for buyers to tell the scale and size of the room. Will the master bedroom fit a king size bed? How about the great room – it looks too small for a sectional. When buyers have to start questioning . . . they normally walk away.
* When homes are vacant, every flaw is exposed. Normal wear and tear, a chipped tile or small crack will be magnified. This will cause buyers to focus on the negatives . . . rather than the positives. A professional stager knows how to redirect a buyers focus, emphasizing the positive features of the home while visually diminishing, but not hiding the negatives.
* Only 10% of buyers can visualize, so when they walk into your home, 90% won’t actually be able to visualize the home’s potential.
* A vacant home will send a message to buyers that the seller is desperate to sell. Right or wrong, knowing the seller has already relocated gives the buyer a distinct advantage when negotiating, often submitting a lower offer.
The fundamental thing to consider when deciding whether to furnish a vacant home is price. And statistics have shown that the ‘price’ of leaving a home vacant can be a lower selling price and a longer time on the market. You must ask yourself if this is a price you can afford to pay?
The following house has been on the market for the past 6 months with very little action. After a new realtor and working with Austin Simple Staging, these home owners are thrilled as they received an offer within 2 weeks of staging the home! They scheduled a two hour consultation where we went room by room and strategically staged each area. Buyers were having a hard time envisioning themselves living in the home. We rearranged furniture, set up a few vignettes to draw out emotion and it worked! You can check out the after photos below! If you are interested in Austin Home Staging services give me a call.
*Photography by TourFactory
This is such a tough time of the year for curb appeal. As it isn’t quite yet Spring, curb appeal suffers. There isn’t a whole lot you can do to spruce up your yard besides put new mulch in all plant beds. Make sure all outside lights are on for showings and have some patio furniture sitting out. Purchase a small fake plant for your patio table. Buyers will never know it isn’t alive but it will add a fresh and lively feeling.
Staging a kitchen. Purchase a fresh rug for in front of the sink. Kitchens are nothing but wood, tile, back splashes and counters; all hard textiles. By placing a rug under the sink and a small plant next to the sink, it softens the kitchen and adds some texture.
I wish I had a before photo of this room. We completely rearranged the furniture which better utilized the space. It made the room much more inviting and welcoming. Make sure all blinds and shades like the ones above are pulled evenly and open for both photos and for showings. The more natural light the better!
When staging this home, I suggested painted a few niches to break up all the white paint. Look at the result above. What a big difference a neutral color makes in the niche. All buyers are attracted to neutrals because they view it as a clean slate. So if your house needs a little character to help it stand out from competition, find a few small walls or niches that can be painted an accent color!
What a bright and airy bedroom! We removed the valances from the window which opened up the window and allowed more light in. When decorating a home window treatments work wonders; however, for staging a home, window treatments often time keep natural light out. If you need help deciding which window treatments to keep up or take down, call and set up a staging consult!
All large bathrooms that house a jacuzzi have some sort of ledge attached. Don’t leave the ledge empty! Roll a few fresh towels as pictured above or place some candles or a small green plant on the ledge to add a little character and life. When staging a home be sure to have fresh towels in the master bathroom. I advise almost making the bathroom look as though it is unused! It works wonders!
After: Living Room
After: Kitchen
After: Dining Room
