Over 80% of buyers first go online to start their home search - and get this, they spend an average of only 15 seconds looking at a listing! What does that mean? If your house does not look appealing online (bad photos, lots of clutter, too dark, etc.) they will click on a botton and move on to the next one!
Chances are, if your home is not properly represented online, buyers won't even bother making an appointment to see your home. And if they do, they come to your house with the mindset of "getting a bargain" because your home appears to be in bad shape - and that means low ball offer for you!
All of this can be easily avoided! Just like we detail our cars when we are trying to sell them, a house should receive the same, actually a lot more, care - we are talking about a "product" worth several hundreds of thousands of dollars here. And that's where most sellers go wrong - they love their home, understandably, and automatically assume that potential buyers will love "the sellers' way of life" as well. What happens is that buyers get so distracted by everything we accumulate and get used to over the years, that they can't really see the house for all the stuff!
I personally don't list any property without "staging" it first. And please don't misunderstand the term "staging" - I don't mean "hiding defects" or "making things look prettier than they are". Staging to me means paying respect to the buyer by offering him a clear and unobstructed view of a HIGH VALUE COMMODITY. And a buyer can tell the difference and will appreciate it, a house that shows off all its benefits, is clean, uncluttered and well maintained, will definitely stand out in his/her mind.
Just to give you an example, which one would you rather look at:
or
And I think the answer to "which one would you pay more for" is pretty obvious too ... Studies show that the majority of buyers are inclined to pay more for a home that is move-in ready.
So, if you are serious about selling your home, feel free to contact me so that I can give your home the WOW-EFFECT. And here is the best part - Staging for occupied properties is FREE when you list your home for sale with me.
For more details and to see my work, please go to http://www.serenefoundations.com/
I hope you enjoyed my blog! Have a wonderful day!!!
Sincerely,
Stephanie Frymyer
Your Local RE Specialist
