We knew this gem wouldn’t last long! We fell in love with this property even before staging it. Our client renovated this property from top to bottom, removing all interior walls on the main floor. During the renovation they unveiled the chimney and decided to keep it. What character it adds to the space! Our client’s vision was modern rustic, which we agreed was perfect for this property! It was listed on Friday and they had an accepted offer on Sunday.
We were so excited to hear from our clients and realtor that they had an offer the first day of going on the market! We loved this house too so we weren’t surprised. What’s interesting about this one is that we’re told the buyers were looking out in Tantallon and other outlying areas of the city and had viewed over 40 homes at the time. This home is located in the Purcell’s Cove area, near the Dingle. The day this one came on the market the buyers viewed it and offered immediately. We’re told they offered $5,000 less, but the sellers countered at full price and the buyers agreed! We love what we do!
We were so happy to hear our clients received multiple offers and sold in 6 days! The owners had already moved into their new home leaving this property vacant. We worked with the clients existing walls colours and brought in furniture and decor that transformed this small living room space into a modern, yet cozy hip space that had people bidding against each other. Home staging really does work!
We’ve been staying busy staging homes. But we’ve also been very busy de-staging a lot of home after quick sales! Here’s another example of a happy customer. This property was a gorgeous ocean front property that was sitting on the market for approximately 6 months. The owners had been relocated to the US for work and were not able to successfully sell their home before their relocation date. After they moved it then sat vacant on the market. Vacant homes can be even harder to sell. The US relocation firm for the company worked with the real estate agents to have the property staged as they needed to have it sold asap. It was listed just under $1 million dollars. That’s a hefty mortgage to be sitting on!
The living room was exceptionally large and overlooked the ocean. The room also had a double-sided. We created two seating areas in the living room, one focused around the gorgeous fireplace. We brought in a leather chaise closer to the window to create a lounging or reading area overlooking the ocean view. Imagine your self sipping coffee or reading a book from this spot.
The photos that were on realtor.ca before staging showed the home filled with very eclectic furniture and artwork. It was a bit over the top. That’s fine for living in your home, however, when you’re selling you need to appeal to the masses. With a beautiful view like this a subtle, calm but sophisticated room is what will sell. We used modern contemporary furniture and décor to compliment the home and show case it at its full potential.
We were excited to hear that they had an accepted offer 14 days after staging the property. We’re asked all the time if house staging really works. The answer “Yes, good home staging works!” Give us a call today!
Another happy client! We received a call from a homeowner that had a second property that he desperately wanted to sell. After almost 6 months on the market I could sense his frustration. In fact, he told me how frustrated he was! He was now turning to us for help in getting this property sold quickly. He hadn’t heard of home staging, and unfortunately his agent hadn’t told him about it.
It was sitting vacant and vacant properties are very hard to sell. It really doesn’t matter how nice the property is, a vacant property has no warmth, character or wow factor.
We staged the main rooms, the living room, dining room, kitchen, master bedroom and bathrooms. The client received an offer very quickly but turned it down as it wasn’t high enough. We were really excited when we got word from the client that they had another offer which they had accepted. Sold in 13 days our client was so relieved and we’re so happy to have been able to help!
There are thousands of condos on the market in most cities. Standing out amongst the competition is important and condo staging is a must! When a condo is vacant there’s a few problems with that. First of all, the condo will appear smaller than it is, there’s nothing in the room to give proper depth perception. Buyers struggle to know if their furniture will fit in the space, or how to arrange it. Buyers also struggle to make an emotional connection.
Having too much furniture in a room is also a mistake some sellers make, it will make a room appear smaller. It’s really important to have just the right amount of furniture and to allow for good flow from room to room, and to create conversational areas that are intimate.
Using white furniture in this up-scale condo still allowed the view to take center stage and created a beautiful, soft contrast that really made the water pop out in the photos. Incorporating natural wood elements in the room, such as the live edge coffee table brings warmth to the condo. I often find that some condos that are staged are quite masculine and sometimes feel a bit cold. This live edge table is always a hit with the men as well – even the rough and tough tradesmen!
Using a glass dining table kept the space feeling open, and doesn’t constrict the space…it feels quite large in the photos and in person. The base of the table is chrome adding to the modern feel. Industrial stools were used at the island, and small touches in the kitchen were added. Less is always more when staging – you want clean and uncluttered.
I love how this condo turned out, after I staged it I really didn’t want to leave!
Photography by Chris J. Dickson, Halifax DIGITAL Imaging
Listed at under $500,000 this up-scale condo in Kings Wharf Aqua Vista building provides luxury condo living at an affordable price. The property initially went on the market un-staged. When Tony Zareski of Century 21 Trident Realty took over the listing he called me in to have it staged. Having worked with Tony in the past he knew the difference staging could make in the presentation of the home. With numerous other condos listed throughout HRM it’s important to stand out! I think you’ll agree that this condo will stand out against others, especially those sitting vacant!
Do you have a condo you’re putting on the market? I’d love to help you with all your home staging, or should I say condo staging needs!
Photos by Chris J. Dickson, Halifax Digital Imaging.
Homes that are staged before listing spend considerably less time on the market before garnering a sale, no matter what the price range. Consider these statistics from the Real Estate Staging Association study conducted in the U.S.A. in 2013:
HOMES IN EXCESS OF $1 MILLION
HOMES PRICED BETWEEN $500,000 and $999,999
HOMES PRICED BETWEEN $300,000 and $499,999
HOMES PRICED BETWEEN $100,000 and $299,999
These are extraordinary statistics. Equally dramatic examples from my own staging experience include a home that sold in 5 days for $10,100 above the asking price, and a home that had an accepted offer in less than a day. I sold my own home through my realtor of trust of course, a modest split entry, during an all-time low in the Halifax, Nova Scotia housing market of 2013, in two days. At the time there were numerous others for sale nearby including a larger two storey with garage on the street behind me. It sat on the market for several months, finally going for just a couple of thousand dollars more than my own. I have no doubt that, if properly staged, it would have sold much quicker and at a price closer to its true value, which was certainly much more than mine.
Obviously there is much more to property sales than simply staging, nonetheless, home staging or the lack thereof, is a common denominator in all of them. They merely serve to highlight the power and importance of professional home staging. Home staging isn’t an expense, it’s an investment, especially when compared with the loss in profit as a result of a price reduction, excessive time on the market or the necessity of holding a second mortgage if you’ve already made the move to your new home before selling your previous one.
You’re thinking of selling, and like everyone, you want top dollar. Staging your home can be the ammunition you need to make your home stand out amongst the competition, and result in higher offers.
In a recent study by the National Association of Realtors® 2015 Profile of Home Staging, 49% of surveyed realtors who work with buyers believe that staging usually has an effect on the buyer’s view of the home. Realtors on the buyers side that took part in the study believe that staging makes an impact in several ways:
Top producing realtors understand the importance of a home looking great in order to market it more effectively and to bring in offers quickly. Many realtors that I work with provide a home staging consultation for every listing, as well as suggesting staging to their clients. In the study the majority of realtors that work with sellers were found to utilize staging as a marketing tool in at least some of the instances, with 34% utilizing staging on all homes.
In addition to attracting potential buyers more quickly, staging can increase the value of your home and bring in offers above asking price. In the study two realtors groups within the study believe that buyers offer above asking price for staged homes as follows:
Every location and market is different, however, no matter what the market, it’s clear that staging your home for sale can be a factor in selling your home more quickly, and possibly for more. To read more about the study click here.
What exactly is staging? Well, it’s more than just decluttering, and cleaning. Staging includes ensuring that each room in your home is being used in a way that is ideal for selling conditions, that furniture layout is optimal for great flow throughout your home, as well as prepping or lightly decorating your home to show well and create a must have.
If your home is vacant it’s even more important to stage your home. Vacant homes can be very difficult to sell. When you’re home is vacant, its void of character, rooms look smaller, the home feels “cold”, and I don’t mean temperature wise. There’s also nothing to focus on, so buyers focus on all the imperfections. Even if you’re still living in your home your goal should be to have buyers focusing on the beautiful décor – not the flaws.
To view a portfolio of my staging click here.
Call me at 902-830-3170, or email me at joanna@stagedforupsell.com today for a consultation to stage your home for sale. I’d love to help you sell quickly and for top dollar!
Less is more is a phrase I use often when doing a home staging consultation. When a home is completely vacant besides buyers having a hard time visualizing the true size of the space, or how they would fit their furniture, they also see every flaw. There’s nothing else for them to look at or to distract their eye so they hone in on all the little flaws! On the other hand, if there’s too much clutter or a home is over decorated they don’t know where to look and can’t see past the clutter. If there is too much furniture the space will actually appear smaller.
Decorating to live is much different than staging to sell. When your home is on the market it’s important that potential buyers can see themselves living in the house – not you and your family living in the house. That means removing personal items, family photos, collectibles, trophies, etc.
Home owners tend to not notice their own homes any more. They’ve looked at everything so long they don’t see what other people see. A home stager can look at your home with a fresh pair of eyes and they’re trained to notice everything.
Storage areas and closets are important to buyers so make sure you purge these areas as well. Buyers are going to look everywhere in your house so don’t kid yourself that you don’t need to clean and de-clutter your closets. You also need to clean and de-clutter garages and sheds. Every inch of space is valuable when selling your home!
If you’re not listing your home for a few months use the time to start de-cluttering and sorting through those closets now rather than waiting until the last minute. You’ll be really glad you did! It will also give you time to sell any unwanted items, that’s always a great bonus.
On average a home owner should pack away approximately 30% of their belongings. Using a storage container such as PODS is a great solution for removing excess furniture, personal items and storage from your property. If you do use one make sure you have PODS store it for you off your property while your home is for sale. You don’t want to advertise to potential buyers that you don’t have sufficient storage or space in your home! The other benefit of using a POD container is that you’ve already got some of your packing done for when you move to your new home. You can have PODS deliver the POD container to your new home.
All this said, there is a fine line when it comes to staging a home for sale – you want to remove all the clutter, but you also need to add or keep a little bit of decor. For example, I hate when I see a kitchen table without something on it. Add floral or a beautiful decor piece that will accentuate the space, and add decor to a coffee table. Décor also adds softness to a room, a stark room is uninviting and cold. Adding the right décor and artwork to a fireplace mantle and arranging furniture the right way can create a beautiful focal point in the room. It’s knowing what to take away and what to add or leave that makes a space amazing and keeping in mind that less is more.
