Posts Tagged ‘real estate and home staging’

Is it rouge and lipstick?

Wednesday, August 11th, 2010

A good friend of mine just sent me a lengthy email asking me if I think it is price or beauty that really drives sales.  As I started to debate that it is price I began to wonder if it is really the attractiveness of a home that wins out in the end.  And thus the debate began in my own head.  Of course, in the end, price and beauty are tied together.  Sort of.  And that is when it really hit me……I know what I have been accomplishing with my staging all along however I guess I have never really put the right words to it.

It is emotion.  Plain and simple.  Emotion. 

Of course, I find this almost ironic.  A house from a financial standpoint is likely a couple’s (or an individual’s) largest source of debt and biggest asset.  And yet, I cannot think of a single conversation I have overheard from buyers that reflected this in the decision making process.  I always here things like “I looooooovvvvveeee the jacuzzi in the master suite” or “this is a fantastic great room - we could have great parties in here” or “the back yard is amazing - lots of barbeques here in the summer”.  I cannot think of a single time a buyer has asked about the home from an investment perspective.  Questions like “will the pool help us or hurt us when we try to sell in a few years” or “does our proximity to that major highway make this space undesireable to most buyers?” and on and on. 

Essentially, what I am getting at here is that home buying, above all else, is emotional.  Staging plays on that emotion.  Well, good staging does.  I know what is important to buyers at different life stages and at different income levels.  This is key.  Bad staging is worse (in my mind) than no staging at all.  Actually, I guess you could say they are about the same thing. 

And I am sure there are a handful of buyers out there that are unaffected by the emotion of it all.  You know, the buyers that are just buying that apartment in the city so they have somewhere to stay on the weekends when they are in town shopping.  Or flippers or other investors.  But I would venture that the majority of buyers, across the board are considering the quality of their lifestyle in the home before taking the plunge.

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Sloppy Pictures are one of my Biggest Pet Peeves

Thursday, July 15th, 2010


Nothing frustrates me more than agents that don’t understand the importance of quality photos for their listings.  I almost find it entertaining that these agents will demand staging but then when I see the listing online all of the drama is then missing.  So here is my best attempt at converting all of you sloppy picture takers into either budding photographers or agents that hire aprofessional photographer.

First and foremost it is the pictures that drives your showings.  Statistics show that more than 80% of buyers find their new home online.  If they are not drawn to your listing through the pictures, they are not scheduling an appointment for a viewing.  Staging is great but its biggest benefit is making your listing look compelling in the photos.

VS

So what qualifies as a good or compelling photo? It really is not that difficult to take great pictures.  It may however require a smidge more of your time than the snap and go approach.

  1. Try to capture as much of the room as possible. Buyers are always looking for rooms that get lots of light, have a lot of windows, great architectural details, nice floors etc.  I know that when a home is nicely staged you are compelled to simply showcase the beautiful bed in the pictures but that is not going to sell the house or drive showings.  If you do not already have one, a camera with a wide angle lens can make a dramatic difference in your pictures.
  2. Make sure your photos have the right light balance. Dark, underexposed or overexposed pictures are not going to help you get buyers to your listing.  The good news is that you can adjust and correct the lighting with photo editing software like Photoshop.  It is simple and just takes a few extra minutes.
  3. Feel free to remove unattractive elements to take the picture and put them back later.  I have had clients that refused to remove their kitty condos, kids toys, etc.  But that did not stop me from sliding them out of the room to take pictures for the listing and then putting them back.
  4. Take pictures on a sunny day if possible and turn on lamps in the rooms that you are photographing.  Once you do this you will be amazed at the improvement in your pictures.  Lamps especially cast a really inviting, warm light.
  5. Make sure the outdoor photos are the right season. If it is the middle of the summer, buyers will be suspicious about snow-covered outdoor shots.  What are they hiding, they will wonder.
  6. Try taking the photos from many different angles in a room. I often find that photos taken of the room where the furniture is eye-level rather than being looked down on turn out great.  Get creative, don’t just shoot the room from the doorway.  Step into a closet or a corner, take photos looking down from stairways.
  7. Take a lot more photos than you think you need. I typically shoot 100+ photos of a home when I take pictures for a client.  I never know what angle will look the best or which shot will be easy to edit with software later.  It is easier to delete excess photos than it is to make another trip to reshoot the home.

Hopefully, this not only inspires you to take better pictures but gives you some empowering tips to make it happen.

VS

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Broker Open House

Tuesday, July 14th, 2009

This morning was the Broker Open House in Bedford, New Hampshire I co-sponsored with Jeff Meade from Keller Williams and Brian Makris from Residential Mortgage Services.  I have a love/hate relationship with these things.  I love to hear the good feedback but hate feeling nervous and wondering if the feedback will be good.  Even now, with all my staging successes I am still surprised when people tell me they think I have done a good job.

I went early to make sure everything was in place and to chat with Jeff.  The house looked fantastic!  I really like these homeowners.  I honestly cannot figure out why this house was not picked up the day it hit the market.

I brought chocolates and Jeff picked up Panera sandwiches that Brian ordered.  I am way to nervous to eat anything but I pretend to eat a roast beef sandwich.  While we are waiting for people to show up, I am entertaining Jeff by telling him how the rearview mirror fell off in the Audi wagon my husband brought home the other day.  I am driving it for the week and actually really enjoying it.  What I like the most about this now unattached mirror is that it is great for putting on makeup (seriously, who puts on makeup at home anymore?  Right?).  At stop lights I am refreshing my lipgloss while looking in it.  I will totally admit that this is mostly for show because the looks  I am getting from other drivers are hilarious.  Anywho…the first realtors finally show up - people I know….Yay!  They are saying how great the house looks and what a good job I did with the staging…whew!  Huge relief.  I leave before anyone else shows up.

I now need to check the furniture quote that came in, get it on my letterhead, and out to my client along with my pricing for accessory rental and staging.  At this point, I have accessories at so many jobs I am not sure I will have enough left but I guess that is what HomeGoods is for, right?  I am also fielding more calls from people signing up for my class.  Yay!

All of this is great but I am starting to wonder if I am ever going to catch up!  I have to create some kind of roster for the class, still need a location for the class (yikes!), I also need my poor doggie to feel better and ideally stop throwing up (yuck!), I am in dire need of something interesting to post on Twitter, and I know there are about 300 other things on my “to-do” list but since I cannot seem to find the list right now I am not sure what they are.  Oh, and did I mention its 11pm?

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It’s 4pm???

Monday, July 13th, 2009

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Okay so I just realized it is 4pm and I have not even taken a shower yet.  This is why all office days need to occur at either Panera (hello pastries) or the Library.  It is very rare this happens but I had so much to do I hopped right on my computer this morning.  Okay, okay I also took Steve down to Massachusetts so he could leave for the week but whatever. Of course, I really want to be next to the pool with a Pina Colada in my hand but I will save that for another day.

This day has been crazy, I have been on the phone all day signing up very excited people for my class.  It is so cool hearing how enthusiastic people are to take this class.  I am so flattered!!  The good news is that I have been teaching it for three years so I know people get a lot out of it and that it is a lot of fun.  So I guess I can skip the nervous feelings.

I have also been busy shopping online for furniture for this Jamaica Plain job I need to get a quote out for.  The living space near the kitchen is small but overall super cute so I need something that is just right.  I really cannot wait to see this unit when it is finished!!!

So what else is left to do?  Oh, just email the Hippo paper to see if they can include the class in their weekly announcements, follow up with those developers I met last Friday, call back a client that requested information via the website, follow up with a girl from my networking group about a project in Bow she is having me help her with, finalize an appointment for this week for a reshuffle of a 3600sq ft home in Bedford, and find something interesting to post on Twitter.  So far I have only posted this song I am listening to and a blurb about my blog.  Not really a value for the people following me.  Sorry!

Tomorrow is the Broker Open house for that cute house on Back River Road I staged.  It is 11:30am -1pm at 94 Back River Road in Bedford NH.  Lunch from Panera (shocker right?  But really, that was not my idea).  Stop by if you are in the area, this house is great for the price point and for little money gets you into Bedford.

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Friday, July 3rd

Wednesday, July 8th, 2009

southstreetPeople are constantly telling me I have a really cool job.  Yes, I do have very cool and fun job but there are times almost daily that I think to myself “people have no idea this is what I do”.  So I have decided to change my blog format to more of a diary so people can see what I really do everyday.

Friday, I had my first delivery with a new furniture rental source.  I was not sure what to expect but have done a ton of furniture rental deals in the past so I knew I could handle it.

The delivery is in the leather district of Boston which is a very cool, up and coming area with a ton of incredible loft spaces.

I show up ten minutes before my two hour delivery “window” (don’t you just love delivery windows, ugh!).  Luckily the delivery truck showed up about two minutes after me.  Now we just need to wait for the realtor to let us in.  No big deal.

In the meantime, the conceirge comes down and realizes we are doing a furniture delivery.  Unfortunately, he is steaming mad and is speaking with the heaviest Indian accent I have ever heard.  Oh Wow!  I literally have no idea what this man is saying and I feel horrible because he is clearly very unhappy.  I am trying so hard to understand him but I cannot make out a single word.  The poor guy finishes his rant and I have to tell him I have no idea what he said.  He grunts and throws his arms in the air and stomps off.  Nice.  Two minutes on-site and I am not making any friends.  Yikes.  I find out a little while later he is mad because he has to pad the elevator.  Oh, okay that works.

My rep is there to make sure the delivery goes well.  She actually carries my accessories upstairs for me…yay!!!  I am so happy.  Especially because it is 9am and I have parked in front of a huge puddle of swill and want to throw up every time I go back to my truck because it smells so nasty.  Everything is going well except there is no rug.  No problem, she calls the office and is having one sent out.  The only dilemma is we have to wait around for an hour for it to show up.  I get most of the job done and the rug arrives.  All is well in the world.

The only bummer is that I totally underestimated the amount of accessories I was going to need.  I need to bring down more soon to finish the job.  That is doable though.

So now I am leaving Boston without any parking tickets and with a mostly complete job that looks super cute.  Yay!  I am heading north on 93 when all of the sudden a brown baseball-type ball comes from the southbound lane and smashes into the windshield of my truck!!!  What the heck?  Luckily, I saw it coming so I took my hands off the wheel and ducked.  I have nowhere to pull over and I am covered in glass.  Ugh!  The rest of my day is not spent working, but instead spent waiting on the side of 93 for a tow truck, driving to the shop, getting a ride home from my mother-in-law and shampooing glass out of my hair.  Awesome, another productive day here at NESG.

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Real Talk

Wednesday, June 10th, 2009

Being a Realtor in this market can be challenging. Knowing what strategies to use to get houses sold is a key factor and can give you a jump on your competition.  Aside from knowing how to price a house properly in this market, I have learned that it is extremely important to make that house stand out from the rest. Buyers have so much inventory to choose from right now and you need them to be drawn to your house. I have found that professionally staging a home will not only help to get buyers into the home, but can also help to get the home sold quicker. I have even noticed that it can help sell the house for asking price, even in this market.

A company that I use, that I find has a tremendous track record and has helped me stay ahead of the game in this market, is New England Staging Group. Their expertise, professionalism and knowledge of what buyers look for has helped me get my listings sold quickly. Not only does the staging look phenomenal, but they are experts at taking professional listing photos. They know just the right angles and shots to take to make the home look appealing. After all, the pictures are what make a buyer decide if they want to actually go view the house. I have listed houses in this market, both staged and unstaged and I will tell you that the staged houses sell in almost half the time. I want to thank Julie and the New England Staging Group for all of their help and I look forward to growing our relationship in the future.

 

Bill Burke is a realtor with Keller Williams Metropolitan Realty in Bedford, NH. To contact Bill, call the office at (603) 232-8282 or (c) (603) 548-5315. He can also be reached by email at billburke@kw.com. Visit http://www.billburkehomes.com/ for more details.

 

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The “Fake” Out

Monday, June 1st, 2009

Now it is true that there is a market out there for home stagers, but to find the right one, one that isn’t going to waste your time and your money, well that can be a little harder. The last thing that a homeowner wants when trying to sell their home, and sell their home fast, is to waste time and money on a “fake” stager. A homeowner needs to be able to tell the difference between a true, dedicated stager and one that decided to take a class a few hours a week and obtain some fancy initialing after their name. There are some things that can help a homeowner ensure that they are getting their money’s worth when decided to hire a stager.

First, when trying to sell or promote any product, it has to have a professional presentation for itself. A professional stager will have taken the time to invest in their own company.  Look for elaborate portfolios that highlight their talents and work. Promotional items, such as business cards, flyers, and websites. Websites are key. Often if someone is surfing the web, looking for a particular service, they will pick the one that has a professional website, with pictures, testimonials, educational background, over a one page, simple display. Ask for references and evidence that their staged homes have sold in the past.

Second, the education factor. You wouldn’t hire someone who calls themselves an “engineer” to build your house if they don’t have the degree to back it up. Although there may be people out there that have the creative ability to beautifully stage a home, do you really want to take your chances that they will be able to make a big enough impact that results in you selling your house, over someone who has taken the time to focus their studies on the specialty of design and staging? Not only should you hire someone who understands the ins and outs of staging, but you should also make sure that that person understands Design as well. Someone who has educated themselves in the design field, not only knows what things work well together to create an overall appeal, but their schooling has armed them with the tools to design to sell. Engineers can’t just throw up four walls and hope that they will support the whole structure, they need a formulated plan that pulls and supports from many different areas to balance out the entire arrangement.

Thirdly, a stager is not just a stager. A homeowner needs a person that has knowledge of the market, in good times and bad. Just because someone can make a house pretty doesn’t mean that that alone can make it sell.  Houses themselves need to have realistic price tags. Your stager should have an understanding of real estate and the areas that their homes are being sold in. Not only does that help in the design aspect of things but also if you are targeting the right audience.

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Tips Towards Selling

Wednesday, May 27th, 2009

It has been proven and is continuing to be proven that staging your house does help generate a sale. Most realtors or homeowners may try to “stage” a house themselves, but the reason that there is a market for staging companies is because it takes a true professional to know how to take a unique floor plan and mold it into a creative layout that is both functional and attractive. Some staging techniques are obvious and easy enough for the homeowner to implement on their own, but to obtain an overall result, well that is where the professionals come in and bring with them the “less obvious” tools that will really make your house shine. Although it is always best to seek a professional stager to ensure that you are getting a true impartial and well calculated method that has been proven to get results, there are some tips that homeowners can do on their own to get started.

The first thing, and this may be the hardest thing, is to depersonalize your house. The home buyer needs to visualize your house as their own and they can’t do that with photos of an unfamiliar family decorating each room. Next, and this may be the most obvious one, although you would be surprised at how often it goes undone, clean up! Make the beds, clean out closets to contain only minimal clothing items, make sure toilets are flushed and cleaned, and trashes are taken out.

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The kitchen is a good place to focus a lot of your efforts. If getting new appliances and cabinets is not in your budget, try painting the cabinets a neutral color and replacing their hardware, maybe replace old linoleum with new or inexpensive tile.

The outside of your house needs to shine just as much, if not more than the inside. In order to get potential buyers in you need to first get them to the door. You can have the most fantastic looking house on the inside, but if you have an overgrown lawn or unnecessary items cluttering the porch than buyers will pass you by for a more appealing home. After all, the outside is your first impression. Start with mowing the lawn, remove the leaves from the gutters and remove out of date furnishings, such as lights or awnings. Add flowers for color and trim overgrown bushes.

By touching on just some of these changes can help give you an advantage over your neighbor. Think of what would turn you off if you were looking for a prospective home, for everything else, ask a professional stager!

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How is this Possible?

Monday, May 18th, 2009

question-marks1I have been doing some research lately about real estate agents and home staging.  The results of this research are both interesting and disturbing all at the same time.

I have been working with several real estate offices across New England since I first started staging homes about four years ago.  All of the agents I have worked with have been very pleased with the work I have done and their listings have almost always been under agreement in 30 days or less.  However, it occurred to me recently though that I am typically working with only around 5% of the agents in each office.  Now certainly some agents will “stage” their listings themselves and some will hire other staging companies.  Based on the information I have gathered this accounts for roughly another 5% of the agents in these offices.  So what about the other 90% of the agents?  Why are they not using staging to prepare their homes for sale?  I actually found a statistic online that said only 0.4% of real estate agents use home stagers. SERIOUSLY?!?!?!  0.4%  that means less than 1 in 200 agents uses home staging.

U.S. Housing and Urban Development reports that a staged home will sell, on average, 17% higher than an un-staged home.  Additionally, according to a National Association of Realtors survey, homes that sold after four weeks on the market sold for 6% less than ones within the first four weeks!  So with this being said, and given the statistics above, how and why is it that the majority of real estate agents are not having their listings staged?

With all the shows about home staging and home selling on HGTV, TLC, etc is shocking that home staging has not become more of a norm.  I am so curious why it is that it seems the majority of agents are NOT staging their listings.  Is it a hassle?  Is it the fear of offending their clients?

Thoughts?

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