North Shore Views

Home Staging Works. Here’s Proof

If you are planning to sell your North Shore home and wondering if spending money to stage it first makes sense, you might want to take a look at the report issued annually by the Real Estate Staging Association (RESA), the home staging industry trade group. The report looks at how long a staged home takes to sell vs. an unstaged home. The conclusion: staged homes sell around 75% faster. Granted, this is not a representative sample of homes across the US, and there is no way to have a side by side comparison of homes that are exactly alike in all respects except whether they are staged. Still the huge difference in average time on market does make a pretty compelling case.

Here are some of the highlights:

After being on the market unstaged for 277 days on average, vacant homes then sold within 63 days after being staged.

After being on the market unstaged for 233 days on average, occupied homes sold within 53 days after being staged.

284 homes that were staged before being listed sold in 40.5 days.

You can read the  full RESA report here.

If you’d like to learn more about staging your home to sell, please give me a call at 847–687-5957 or email me.
I am a certified home stager and staging is part of my service for all of the sellers that I represent.

Related Articles:

• Beyond Cleaning and Decluttering
• Painting Your House to Sell

Tags: home selling tips, Home staging

Beyond Cleaning and De-Cluttering: 7 Staging Tips You Haven’t Heard

Any North Shore homeowner who is planning to sell their home has heard the mantra: Clean and de-clutter.  For sure those things are critical, but hardly constitute a news flash. Here are seven things to do in addition to cleaning and de-cluttering that will help sell your house:

1. Spend your money where you can see it.

When you go to sell your house, you normally have a long list of things to do to get it sale-ready. Some of these are fixes, some are updates and some are replacements. If anything is broken or damaged or not working properly, you need to get it fixed. Otherwise it will show up on the inspection report and could end up costing you the sale or dragging out the negotiation. But beyond the fixes that are absolutely necessary, you need to be strategic about what you do and where you will get the most bang for the buck. Spend your money on the things that the buyer will see. Don’t replace the hot water heater (unless it’s broken) or put on a new roof (unless it leaks) or buy high-end bathroom fixtures – because the buyer won’t know the difference between the $150 faucet and the $800 one.

Instead, spend it on removing the wallpaper, repainting, or on new knobs to replace the dated hardware on your kitchen cabinets. Spend it on curb appeal: mulching and edging the beds, planting flowers, painting the front door. Spend it on the things that will help your house win the beauty contest. Spend it on the things that will make buyers feel good.

2. Don’t offer credits.

Short of remodeling the kitchen or putting on an addition, don’t expect your buyer to do anything you don’t want to do. In a nutshell, your buyer doesn’t want to trade their dirty carpet for your dirty carpet. And (unless they are dyed in the wool do-it-yourselfers), they will have a hard time imagining that a house with peeling paint and stains on the carpet could be the kind of house they want to pay good money for. They’ll reject your home and move on to the next one. There are plenty to choose from right now. Besides, you will probably end up spending more on credits than you would if you went ahead and got the work done yourself…and the buyer will still make their offer based on the current condition of the house. So you pay twice.

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Tags: home selling tips, Home staging, preparing your home to sell

Top 10 Paint Colors to Sell Your North Shore Home

Yesterday I shared some tips for picking wall colors if you are painting your home to sell. Today I’ll share some of my go-to wall colors that will make any home more appealing to potential buyers. I tend to use warmer neutrals in the main “social” areas of the house, because warm colors tend to stimulate the senses and elicit positive emotions. I use cooler neutrals in bedrooms and bathrooms because they tend to soothe and relax.

Warm Neutrals for Main Living Areas

Benjamin Moore Powell Buff (Hc-35)
A warm & rich neutral that works well with greens, browns and reds.

Benjamin Moore Lenox Tan (HC-44)
A mid-tone neutral in the Pottery Barn collection.

Benjamin Moore Windham Cream (HC-6)
A very subtle yellow that feels warm and works well with other colors. This is also a great color to brighten up hallways with little natural light.

Benjamin Moore Hepplewhite Ivory (HC-36)
A creamy butterscotch that is warm and welcoming.

Cool Neutrals for Bedrooms and Baths

Benjamin Moore Stratton Blue (HC-142)
A muted blue-green that’s neither too bold nor too bland. It’s great for a master retreat, a beach house or a west-facing room that needs cooling down.

Benjamin Moore Nantucket Gray (HC-111)
A soothing gray-green.

Benjamin Moore Gray Owl (2137-60)
A pale, soothing color that’s a little more sophisticated than blue. It works with almost any color scheme.

Benjamin Moore Rosemary Sprig (2144-30)
A sage green with a hint of yellow.

Trim Colors

Benjamin Moore White Dove  (OC-17)
A warm white that’s not too gray, not too yellow.

Benjamin Moore Cloud White (OC-130)
Works well with warm neutral wall colors.

These have worked well for me. Anyone want to add to my list? I’m always looking to try colors that have worked for others.

Related Posts:

• Painting Your House to Sell

Tags: Home staging, interior paint colors, painting your home to sell, preparing your home to sell

5 Things to Do Now to Sell Your House in 2010

If you are thinking of putting your house on the market next spring, don’t wait until then to start getting it ready to list. Traditionally, Super Bowl Sunday marks the beginning of the spring selling season in real estate, which means you’ve only got about three months to get your house in shape. Start now so that you can take advantage of the surge in buyer interest come next February.

Here are five things you can do right now to get ahead of the curve and ensure your home is ready to hit the MLS next spring:

1. Cut the clutter:

If you’re like most people, you’ve accumulated a lot of stuff over the years. Moving provides a great incentive to finally get rid of the junk you’ve been hoarding. Starting now will give you ample time to take that trip down memory lane as you go through old papers, letters, photographs and other mementos. If you set aside a couple hours to do this each weekend, by February you will have weeded out a lot and moving will be much less stressful.

2.  Improve curb appeal:

Your yard will still be frozen on Super Bowl Sunday, so it makes sense to get some of those outdoor chores done now, while it’s still relatively mild out. Clean up the yard, edge the beds, fertilize the lawn and plant clusters of bulbs for a show of color in the spring. Make sure your front entry is as inviting as possible. Give the door and door frame a new coat of paint, polish the door knocker and make sure the house numbers, mailbox and porch lights are in a consistent style. In addition to making the house more attractive to future home buyers, you’ll also impress your holiday guests.

3.  Paint the interior:

Nothing will give you more bang for the home improvement buck than a fresh coat of paint. Keep your potential buyer in mind and go for a neutral palette. Using the same color family in adjoining rooms will improve the flow of the house and tie everything together. And remember, neutral does not necessarily mean white or beige. In fact, white can be quite stark and cold, while beige can be boring and blah. Go for warmer tones in the main living areas to make the rooms more inviting.

4. Donate to a good cause:

This is the time to edit your wardrobe. Take everything out of the closet and force yourself to let go of those 80’s outfits and anything else you haven’t worn in a year. Be ruthless about what you get rid of. You will thank yourself when it comes time to move. This is also a great time to collect all the winter coats, boots and gloves your family has outgrown and donate them to the needy. Several organizations do winter coat drives for the homeless this time of year and would be thrilled to have your cast-offs.

5. Make a list of needed repairs:

Go through your house, inside and out, and look at it objectively, as a buyer would. Write down everything that needs fixing. These are things you simply must take care of before listing your house. Otherwise, buyers will see small problems and wonder what bigger problems await them. Call a handyman and get those repairs done of by the end of January.

There will be lots more to do when your listing date gets closer, but taking care of these things now should make the whole process less stressful.

Tags: Home staging, preparing your home to sell, Real estate, selling your home