A Stager's Commentary

Starting today, it’s another Wednesday series! This time is: Can [this] sell the house?

In a crazy market like this, it is not uncommon at all to use every tactics possible to sell the home. But as the inventory rises, do these fantastic incentives work?

>>Star Power: As you may have seen on Donald Trump’s new show Celebrity Apprentice, in the beginning, the women’s team had lost twice in a roll for failing to use their star power to sell.

Similarly, Brad Pitt is leveraging his own star power to help building home in New Orleans, as you can see on the site Make It Right 9. Merchandise ranges from the hat he is wearing to t shirts are selling out quickly.

>>Celebrity Endorsed Homes: In Asia, it is very common to have celebrities to endorse new constructions to help selling the units. But in America, it is more common to mention certain celebrities live here instead.

Does celebrity power work?

My question is, while celebrity power may help certain products, obviously, even with presidential candidates, but couldn’t it deter home buyers from buying as well? Would you want to live next door to Paris Hilton or Britney Spears, which comes with hundreds of camera lenses pointing at your neighborhood at all times?

What do you think?

Feel free to share your thoughts at the Comment area below. I would love to hear about them! Just scroll down and that white blank box is it!

Cheers,

Cindy

I came across an article by Amy Chorew recently and she literally took the words out of my mouth. This is something every seller & agent should know (I took the liberty of highlighting the key points to look at by underlining the text):

What Do Consumers Want?

Every year NAR publishes its Profile of Today’s Homebuyer and Seller and one section focuses on the “Most Valuable Features of Web Sites” – items consumers demand when they are on your web site. Here is the breakdown:

• Photos: 83% [note how Photos are more important than Property Details!!!]
  
• Property Details: 81%
• Virtual Tours: 60%
• Maps: 43%
• Area info: 37%
• Agent info: 31%

NAR says that 96% of consumers start with a property search. If you don’t have a search button predominantly displayed, allowing the consumer to drive the experience they will search somewhere else. A consumer will stay on your web site for just a few seconds if they can’t find what they are looking for.

When they find listings, do you have the featured items above? If not the consumer will eliminate properties from their home search. If they do a search and half of the listings only have one photo, those listings are eliminated immediately.

Do you have more than 10 photos per listing? Even shoe web sites like Zappos has ten photos of shoes. Shouldn’t your listing client at least enjoy the same amount of photos that a pair of shoes does?

Staging is key with today’s photos. Martha Webb author of “Dress your House for Success” says “With all the emphasis on staging, it’s important to remember that preparing a home for market is a process that starts with the basics of cleaning and uncluttering. Clean, clutter-and-odor-free account for 35% of a buyer’s first impression. This can be accomplished in a few hours and at almost no cost. Next, a coat of paint will create a clean, fresh feeling for minimal cost. These simple steps show buyers your house has been well cared for, and that translates into value!”
Just by uncluttering a listing will make your photos more appealing. You listings will have more staying power on the internet. Take time to revisit your listings and the photos. If your photos need help, consider hiring a professional. If you can, investigate a staging course like Certified Home Marketing Specialist and learn the dialog to help the consumer partner with you to make their home look the best it can in photos.

Twenty-four percent of homes sold last year were found directly on the Internet. That means after filtering through home after home the Internet consumer found the actual house they wanted to buy. They called or emailed you and you showed it to them, and SOLD it to them. The first showing for many buyers is happening on line.

New standards of performance are simple. Give the consumer what they want, photos, lots of them. Make sure they can reach you by email, phone or text messaging – in the time and way they require.

Technology can help streamline your communication process and your marketing efforts. Welcome to the new millennium.

Here is the link to the entire article: New Standards for Modern Real Estate Professionals.

When I first started blogging about real estate & staging, it was only a year ago, and about 80% of the buyers start their search first on the internet before they go to the open house. Now, it’s at 96%!!! If another agent tells me that internet presence doesn’t matter, I would think they are insane!

Like Amy said, staging can help to clean up the online presentation dramatically. Moreover, as stagers, we should constantly think what’s the best photographic angles while we stage.

I would love to hear about your thoughts on this article! Do so by commenting in the white blank box below.

Cheers,

Cindy

Blogging has become the new love and one of the fave past times of real estate professionals, and a lot even swear by it because blogging has helped them getting clients & establish their credibilities. What I would like to find out is that if you blog consistently, do you consider blogging as an income producing business activity?

Oh, if you miss that ongoing poll, feel free to vote below

I posted my previous post Seller’s Over-Confidence Killed The Deal And His Own Pocket on a real estate community called Active Rain (think of it as myspace for real estate but without the porn) and the lovely Marzena Melby of Counselor Realty.com had a comment that captured the post so well that I think it deserves its own post:

Cindy,

In more than 12 years of my real estate practice I have seen many sellers do this. Whether they are selling themselves or with an agent, they self destruct for many reasons:

• “I set my budget at a minimum of $250,000, I know my house is worth that much, so… $235,000 won’t work at all”
• “I know you told me that we should list at $375,000 but that doesn’t give me any room for negotiation, so I want to start at $425,000″!

I could fill a book with examples of conversations with clients (buyers also continue

I caught TLC’s Property Ladder this morning about a 25-year-old seller & first time house flipper T.J. who “hopes to make a ton of cash in just 12 weeks by doing a modern makeover on a classic house. Things go terribly wrong when his loan applications are rejected and he is forced to beg, borrow and plead to make his first $4,800 mortgage payment.” (From TLC website)

Originally, he bought the home at $584,000 and spent $40,000 on renovations. Let’s pretend that he did find a buyer who is willing to pay for an overpriced property, he could obtain a profit at $125,000 if he sold at his asking price. After the price reduction and 2 mortgage payments, his profit became $56,400.

A total 21 weeks on the market (that’s 147 days!!!), he finally received an offer at continue

I still can’t believe 2007 is already over. A year has changed a lot! Pamela Anderson has gotten married… and err.. divorced. Paris Hilton went to jail. Facebook is now yesterday’s Friendster. K-Fed is actually proven to be the “better” parent than Britney Spears. Oh my my!

And these are the staging “Trends” that need to go with 2007 (These photos were pulled from Redfin’s search. The criteria was set at 90+ days on market. After viewing the photos, it’s not difficult to imagine why these properties stay on market for so long):

10. Terrible View

This is really nothing to write home about. Why feature a terrible view that is full of weeds and a shack? Each listing photo should tell a story, what is the story of this one?

Or what is the use for this photo of the staircase? Does vertigo come with the house?

9. Forgot the Outside Curb Appeal

Right, I understand you are selling a house. What house?!

8. continue

Not all staging is created equal and not everyone is into staging like I do. Often times I see sellers or agents are really into the idea of staging and its potential on equity gains, etc., but they do things that hinder the results of staging. Here is my opinions why you shouldn’t stager your listing:

*Reaon #1: If you are going to half-ass it on the marketing. Just because you stage the house doesn’t mean it is going to automatically sell. Most people think that, but that’s not the case.

Staging is about 1) MARKETING, it’s about packaging a product. The home styling part is only the PACKAGING, to lure consumers to buy the product, like iPod has its beautiful design & colors. But if there are no buzz nor marketing for the iPod, they won’t sell like hot cakes like they do now. Staging is also about 2) getting traffic to the doors. Time after time I see listings on MLS with poor or no photos while the home is advertised as staged. Well, what’s the point if you are not going to show a great photo showing off your great listing?
Think as a buyer, if you are surfing the web for listings online to go this weekend to see it in person, which following property would you pick?

a) b)

*Reason #2: If you are not going to believe in the staging. There are a lot of continue