Future Interior Decorating For All Your Decorating & Staging Needs
Home Staging is changing the way homes are being sold. It began in the 1980’s and is now becoming a regular component of the home selling process, especially in major Canadian Urban Centres like Toronto and Vancouver.In a 2006 survey conducted by Canadian Staging Professionals ™, 98 percent of the 218 real estate professionals from various parts of Canada surveyed said that the use of a staging professional was a necessity.
Joan Ball, a top producer in London Ontario and host of Real Estate Matters, a half hour daily radio program on 1290 CJBK, has learned that home staging is saving her a lot of money on advertising and promotion, even though she actually pays for the consultation fee. To agents in Windsor, she says “My recommendation is simple; use a Staging Professional for every property that is about to be put on the market and you will NEVER be disappointed.
Remember, there are three things that sell homes: condition, location and price. Sellers always want more than their property is worth and none of us can do anything about where a specific property is located. That leaves ‘condition’ as the one area where we may have some impact”.
Most REALTORS® are finding that homeowners are actually receptive to the idea of staging and also ready to tackle the list of recommendations to get the homes sold. After all, many of them have seen the television shows that demonstrate how staging can make a home much more attractive to buyers, therefore resulting in a quicker sale.
It seems that some REALTORS® in Windsor-Essex County may still be in the mindset that they will be insulting their homeowners if they suggest home staging. One easy way around that is to simply recommend staging at the onset of every sales deal, stating “I recommend home staging to all of my clients”. Then leave the rest up to your home stager, who should be certified and trained in on how to politely insist on certain changes for the betterment of their showings and ultimately, a quicker sale. A properly educated home stager will also understand the delicate relationship between the homeowner and the agent and treat it with respect.
Often times, agents will leave a list with the homeowners, basically it is a generic “to do” list which would apply to all home sellers. Some homeowners follow the list, others don’t, but in any case, such a generic list, while helpful, isn’t nearly adequate. A certified home stager should make the home look pristine. Even if your homeowners have a small budget, it’s often the least expensive changes that can make the biggest differences. Some statistics that will be of interest to real estate agents follow:
From HGTV’s Designed to Sell
· 98% of the houses staged have sold over the asking price.
From a 2004-2006 Stagedhomes.com study
· Unstaged homes sat on the market for 163.7 days
· Houses that were listed without being staged, then staged, sold in 13.7 days after staging
· Houses staged before selling sold in 8.9 days
From Dewey Sadka, Colour Expert
· 40% of paint sold is as a result of incorrect color choice
From a 2004 survey by Joy Valentine – Coldwell Banker Broker on 2772 homes in 8 cities
· Homes that were staged sold in 13.8 days.
· Homes that were not staged sold in 30.9 days.
· The staged homes realized on average a 6.4% increase over the list price.
From CSP™ June 2006 Survey of 218 real estate professionals
· 98% of real estate professionals surveyed believed it was necessary to hire a professional home stager.
From a 2005 National Association of Realtors® survey
· 77% of people view homes first on the Internet. (Staging creates beautiful pictures)
From a 1999 Proctor & Gamble survey
· When deciding to view a house, 78% of objective elements are generally predetermined before viewing: they are location and size – both things are outside of a seller’s control. (Staging affects the elements that finalize the buyer’s decision.)
From a 2003 Home Gain Survey of 2,000 real estate salespeople
· Moderately priced home improvements, ranging from $80 - $2800, made in preparation for sale, yielded the highest returns when a house was sold.
From an April 28, 2006 AOL Money & Finance poll of over 15,000 people online
· 87% of people said that home presentation makes a difference in most sales.
From the 2005 and 2006 Maritz Research staging polls
· 58% of buyers made a decision to buy after seeing 10 properties – (Staging makes your home stand out from the crowd)
· 79% of sellers are willing to spend up to $5,000 to get their house ready for sale (Working with a CSP™ maximizes the value of your return on investment)
· 63% of buyers were willing to pay more money for a house that is move in ready.
· Top three interior features for selling were freshly painted walls, organized storage space and current flooring
· Men (41%) are more likely to place a premium on updated décor than women (30%).
Feng means "wind," and shui means "water" (pronounced fung-shway). In Chinese culture, gentle wind and smooth water have always been associated with a good harvest and good health, while harsh winds and stagnant water have been linked to famine and disease. Therefore, "good" feng-shui has come to mean good livelihood and fortune, and "bad" feng-shui has come to mean hardship and misfortune.
Feng-shui is not a superstition or a set of dos and don'ts. It is the art and science of understanding the forces of nature in order to design houses and workplaces that blend with the environment instead of clashing with it. It aims to help us live in harmony with the world by promoting the flow of positive energy and neutralizing or avoiding negative or destructive energy.
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