There are a number of reasons why you should never try to sell an empty house, however even if you're home is in supreme condition or even newly built this is one fly in the ointment that will surely add to a rocky sale...
I recall receiving a call from a builder who had been trying to sell a home for almost 11 months. Despite trying to sell during a time when the Toronto real estate market was HOT.. multiple offers... homes selling well above list...etc. this home would not budge, not one offer..
So I went to have a look. My initial impression of the house was it had been painted a dark peach... Peach?!
Can you believe this person had painted their home to resemble a PEACH?!
I thought no wonder this builder had missed the hot housing market opportunity in Toronto, he has painted his house peach!
Fortunately when I stage a home I have special tools that allow me to measure colour. My colour swatches were indicating the colour was tan, but in this light it kept resinating as peach. It didn't matter what room I went to in the house every room appeared peach yet the home was actually tan.
The builder, who had been reluctant to stage in the past because he didn't believe it truly worked and was an unnecessary expense was desperate to try anything, so we entered into a staging agreement and I staged the home.
After staging the home.. adding furniture, area rugs, and more lighting the walls transformed and appeared a neutral tan... hmmm..
It then became clear to me this was the effect of an often overlooked Metamerism.
Well this home sold within a month with 2 offers. If you are trying to sell your home, especially in the Toronto real estate market it is important to keep your colours neutral and never underestimate the effects of metamerism.
The morale of this story is.... Metarmerism is defined by the appearance of surface colour impacted by lighting. When a property sits vacant, the shadows cast on surfaces such as the floors and the walls can alter how a person perceives the colours and can even make a wall look peach or even mauve. This alone can cause a buyer to walk away.
By staging the property with furniture, it minimizes the shadows and alters the light perception being cast so that buyers are less likely to be turned off by this effect. Buyers can now imagine a place where it is bright and open to whatever colour they decide.
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