I love this business! Even in a "down" market, houses that are presented well do sell! We Staged a house about a week ago that was probably in its hey-day in the 80's. The yellow-gold-brown tile on the floors and kitchen counters gave the age away of this lady that was trying hard to fit in with the younger look of today's houses.
The seller (flipper/investor) convinced himself that the 80's look would help bring a buyer - which just made our job as Stagers even more rewarding when we were able to transform a dated dame to a classy catch! His budget was limited (of course) but we worked our magic anyway and brought out the highlights of the house.
The house SOLD to the VERY FIRST PERSON that saw it and fell in LOVE with it!! House priced $12K above what the Realtor/Seller originally told me - and SOLD at full price! YES!! This client - also with a local news station - said his wife was "stunned" at the transformation of her old digs. He said, "you are amazing!" And of course a news feature is next!
Oh - and I don't want to forget to mention the average days on market for a house in this price category are about 60 days. For a median priced home - expect 120 days on market. So this is not a "hot" market by any stretch of the imagination and still houses that are presented well, are selling. We just de-staged 2 houses today - both sold in a less than a month.
Happy Staging!
Jennie Norris, ASPM, IAHSP - Owner We Stage Sacramento
Congrats. You did a wonderful job, and the photos show the magic. I am seriously considering using staging in one of my new listings. 1 day in this market is impressive.
Thanks for sharing
Sharla Rossini
Great to hear, job well done, looks great. I to am a firm believer in staging a home as it has helped several of my clients in the past. Even they doubted that it was worth the $ but were proven wrong in the long run.
Congrats on th sale
You did an amazing job. Isn't is easier when you are working with empty homes? I have had homes staged where people were in the homes, and ---- the next time you are in the home, everything is cluttered up and the out of date furniture has found it's way back into the mix! People don't understand the concept but nearly every home could do better if it were staged.
Yes - to all those that commented above - Staging helps best present any house to market. Get your listings staged - Realtors - this gives you an edge in your market. Sheila - in Fresno, probably less than 10% of the market is Staged -which would give your house an immediate 90% edge!! For vacant houses - putting in furnishings helps give perspective to scale and size of the rooms and helps a buyer mentally be able to place their own furniture in the rooms. And, we give our occupied home sellers a checklist of what to do daily to keep their house in Staged condition. When they are motivated to sell, they follow-it because they want their house to look good.
Thanks for your responses!! Happy Staging!
- Jennie
Great story. Keep the good work. Do you only stage in Sacramento? How about Solano County? If not can you recommend someone as good as you.
Thanks
Hi all - thanks again for your positive posts - this is what this site is supposed to be about!! We go all over the Sacramento region and have Staged as far away as Modesto, Madera, Davis, and Fairfield. Give me a call or email me - if I cannot personally do the job I will find someone to refer you to AND I won't charge them or you a referral fee - as my only goal would be to make sure that you have a Stager of quality working with you.
- Jennie
Jennie - very nice. I like the idea of using two hassocks for a coffee table in a small space. I agree that putting in furnishings helps give perspective to scale and size to rooms. Your living room looks almost identical to the condo that I staged. That property had been marketed for several months as a vacant and after staging, sold in less than two weeks. There is a lot to be said for staging and the success that it provides. Good job.
Hi Cheryl-Anne,
Thanks for your feedback. . . this house was pretty small in square footage (about 1100) - and was an attached home - like a duplex as it had a common wall with the neighbor's house. Stirke 2 against it (the dated interior was Strike 1). Overall it really did turn out nicely, and the seller/flipper/realtor said that he would never sell another house without first Staging it. To hear him say that means I have done my job as the Stager to help him truly see the benefit! And his mouth and excitement over what we did and his quick sale will be the best form of advertising I could hope for!
- Jennie