The grizzly facts about bare rooms - observations of a wild Home Stager
By Jackson West
As a home stager, I secretly growl with frustration when I encounter vacant homes sitting on the market. Many of these listings lie dormant for extended and unnecessary lengths of time. Top Realtors and leading builders agree that selling an empty home is much more difficult than selling one that is furnished. Due to popular home design shows on television, today’s buyer has higher standards and wants a home that is "move in" ready. This has contributed to the success and popularity of home staging in recent years.
For most people the decision to buy a home is complex and is often based upon untamed emotion. Effective home staging ensures buyers identify with the space and aspire to the desirable lifestyle portrayed. This is precisely why builders use model homes and show suites to effectively sell properties. These days savvy Realtors and homeowners realize that in order to maximize selling price, vacant listings must be staged.
If you are selling a vacant listing, bear in mind the disadvantages of presenting empty rooms. Perhaps the greatest drawback to selling vacant properties is that every negative detail is in plain sight. Buyers scrutinize the condition of walls, flooring, and fixtures when there is nothing else to capture their attention. Bare rooms magnify echo and are uninviting. Without structural focal points they appear boring. It is often difficult for potential buyers to gauge the functionality, size and scale of a room without furniture to provide a point of reference. Challenging floor plans can be a deal breaker, leaving buyers wondering about possible furniture layout and available space. Not only does effective home staging make rooms appear larger, it also helps buyers form the necessary emotional connection to their potential home. The streamlined furniture placement employed in home staging guides the buyer and provides a necessary sense of flow between rooms.
Most buyers view several properties before making a decision to purchase. A property that has been properly staged entices buyers to linger, interact, and remember the prospective residence. It is crucial that a space stands out from the competition and remain in the minds of potential buyers if you wish to attract multiple offers. People are often hesitant about purchasing an empty home because they assume that since the owner has already moved they are eager to sell or worse yet that there is something wrong with the property. A vacant listing may also imply that the property has been for sale for an extended period of time and encourages potential buyers to present a lower offer. Bottom line, staged homes sell sooner and for maximum profit.
Still not convinced? Consider this empty living room in a house staged by Jackson West of Reveal Estate Home Staging.
This vacant room lacked a focal point, felt hollow and showed the signs of everyday wear and tear. It is the first room potential buyers viewed as they entered the house and didn’t make a great or lasting impression.
After identifying the demographic of potential buyers, the home was successfully merchandised. Staging created a necessary and inviting focal point, visual depth, and eliminated the cold echo in the room. The placement of simple, quality furniture and accessories added a sense of sophistication and transformed this house into a warm, inviting home.
People don’t buy houses, they buy homes. Consider the advantages of having your vacant property professionally staged.
I think photos are the most compelling way to get it across - as you did, above. A listing presentation that includes "before and after" photos will help tremendously.
Jackson.... nice, clean post..... Great insight on vacant homes & discussing focal points. Congrats on your 1st featured post.....
Jackson,
Greeting from your Neighborhood Realtor in Clearwater Florida....Thanks for taking the time to give such a visual on something we face all the time as realtors - especially here in Clearwater FL where people invested in Real Estate to "Flip it" and have flooded the market - so Stagers like you provide an invaluable service.
Great BEFORE & AFTERS - Keep sharing!
Cyndee Haydon from Clearwater, FL - where it's low 70s today but sunny we had a cold snap it had been 80s - What's it like in BC today?
Jackson - GREAT post showing the difference. What would it run to make over a vacant room like you did in these pictures? Just ballpark number would be helpful.
Thanks for this post,
Ann
Well done Jackson. I hate to list vacant homes and have the seller not be willing to do something. Just as I don't like touring vacant homes. I had one vacant listing with an odd floor plan, but once it was staged it was incredibly different. It's also difficult to list a home that is furnished and then have the sellers move out - people see the MLS pics and then...
Great photos - they really show what you have accomplished.
Jeff
Jackson - I think you are right on target regarding a staged home being more inviting than a vacant home. What we need is "hard data" and/or compelling marketing pieces designed to prove the value of the investment in staging a vacant house to the Seller.
Jackson- What a transformation! The home looks beautiful. When people are looking for homes they are really looking for a certain kind of lifestyle. The space you have created is warm and elegant. I think anyone would love to live there. Great job.
I don't think that any homes look better vacant. There is nothing in them to give people a sense of scale so they often look smaller than they actually are. I think it is a myth that some homes look better vacant.
Jackson,
Great article. Thank you so much. I have two empty properties at the moment and when I do an open house in them I take a truckload of accents just to warm it up! I do know that most people can not envision, placement, etc. Staging is the best way to sell a home and if the seller is truly motivated to sell they will take your recommendations and "show" their home in the best possible light. Keep up the good work!
kathy
Hi Jackson -
Fabulous article! I just worked with a professional stager to have one of my new construction listings staged....what a transformation! I have another new construction but the seller doesn't want to spend the money to have it staged so I'm going to take him by the hand to see the staged property! I want buyers to imagine how they would live in the home and staging does just that!
I just love the before and after photos and I'm going to add staging photos to my marketing presentation!
Staging, to me, is a critical component in selling a home. I would do my best to stage every home I have listed!
You mean the echo of feet walking across a bare room isn't attractive?
You haveto teach the old dogs new tricks.
Excellent blog! You did a great job on that room. The entire feeling has changed, even in just a picture!
Jackson, Nice post. Here is something to go with your catchy title:
Jackson, great post and I agree 100%.
Is very difficult to photograph a home that is empty, specifically in regards to imparting depth / warmth in the photos. I do suggest to clients that they stage empty homes prior to paying me a boatload of money to shoot them.
:)
Cheers, -B
Staging makes such a difference in vacant homes. So does an organization such as ShowHomes of America.
Jackson I agree with you, an empty house stays longer on the market. I just does not feel like a home. At present I have one of those property and I wish I could get the owner to agree to staging.
Great job with the room, I think I will send this to my seller.
Hi Jackson -
I just staged a home and darn it I wish I had taken the before pictures - because I actually remodeled it. Why do these activities occur to us later? It would have been an enormous selling point to show my clients how I really, really provide the best service.
Welcome Jackson and congrats to you on your featured post. We like to illustrate to Sellers that Buyers buy with all of their senses as well as emotions. The key sense of sight is how staging comes into play and it's also bundled up nicely with emotions. People want to feel like they walked into a "HOME" not just a peice of Real Estate. Your post was done like a pro - good job!
Jackson- Great post! I'm very proud to see that more articles are being published by actual stagers and not just those that 'talk the talk' but haven't 'walked the walk' for a while.
Excellent job on the actual staging,too, of course...
Jackson! Congrats on your first featured post!
Oh bearly can stand looking at Vacants.... and they are FUN to stage. But BOY are they work.
Me
OH BOY what you did LOOKS great too.
You're preaching to the choir and I'm enjoying the sing along - it's nice to read the REALTOR comments! Nice job.
This is a excellent subject and can certainly change the whole veiw of a room or a home in getting it sold. By staging it makes the home seem more inviting even if it is only in certain rooms.
Thanks for the blog Jackson. You did a great job on that house. I just finished two homes over 4000 sq.ft. each. There was no way I could completely stage those homes....hi-end furniture is too expensive, and rental furniture is too low-end. My premise is that kitchens and bathrooms sell houses so I staged those rooms to the hilt, and added a table and floral arrangement to the empty foryers. Now when potential buyers enter the house they are greeted with something other than emptiness urging them to look around the room not past it, and the staged rooms invite one to cook in the kitchen and luxuriously soak in the tubs!
Terry Haugen
I have to add to all the glowing comments, GREAT article with many excellent points! I will be watching for your next article. The photos spoke volumes!
Connie King
CK Staging & Design