Given the nature of the strong buyer's real estate market that we're currently in, I thought this would be a good time to talk to my own real estate sellers about how to get their listings to sell faster, including addressing the subject of home staging. With that being said, I'm going to be very direct with this post.

Home Sellers, I have to tell you, in this market, it's going to take every tip, trick and bit of advice your REALTOR can give you, in order to sell your house. I've stated this many times in my blogs but I'll say it again. We have 2.3 years of inventory in the Daytona Beach Area Multiple Listing Service (MLS). And the only properties that are selling are the ones that are priced BELOW everyone else. I know this from recent, personal experience. The numbers state the facts. There is no way around that.

Now let's assume that during the course of your home-ownership you have...

• Upgraded to top-of-the-line appliances and granite counters; and maybe you have a 3 car garage, mature tropical landscaping, a brand new roof, new air conditioning, new carpet, fresh paint, an acre of land and your house is located in the best community in your city, (or your condominium is the most desirable building) and you're priced in-line with, or below your competition.
  
• Let's say you also have an aggressive, experienced, knowledgeable, successful, enthusiastic REALTOR (me) who is leading the know-how learning curve as to where and how you should promote and present your listing, to get it in front of potential buyers.
  

After all that, you still have to bear in mind that we have 2.3 years of inventory in our MLS. You need to find a way to make your house remain in the forefront of the minds of your potential buyers... assuming we can even get them in the door! With all the inventory that's currently on the market, (7,000 residential listings) and buyers who are afraid to buy at all, (avg 235 sales per month) due to the negative media reports, then wanting to take their time before making a decision, your house can get lost in your buyer's memory banks. I personally have some ways to help your buyers remember your house, but that's another blog post.

So for the purposes of this post, how do you make your house stand out, ahead of every other one of the 15+ listings your potential buyer has been looking at every day? The answer is Home Staging! A professional home stager can accentuate the positive and eliminate the negative. When your house looks better than every other listing, the buyers will remember it. But the buyer must be able to SEE the difference. Just telling them about your improvements is not enough.

At a cost of approximately $100-150 for the initial consultation with a home stager, it's well worth the investment if it means your listing will sell faster; especially when property values are declining monthly!

Allow me to refer you to another blogger here on Active Rain, who has several posts that show before and after photos of some of her work. Her name is Reese Mack, owner of Simplicity Home Designs.

1. Before and After Number One
2. Before and After Number Two
3. Before and After Number Three
4. Before and After Number Four

I could show you many more examples, but I think you get the idea. Sometimes something as simple as the placement of one piece of furniture can completely change the look of a room.

Unfortunately, Reese is in California, so she won't be able to help us here in Daytona Beach, Ormond Beach, South Daytona or Port Orange, but I personally know several excellent home designers and home stagers in this area.

Part of my job is to help my real estate sellers make educated decisions. At this point I've already provided you with your initial Comparative Market Analysis (CMA) and regular updates since then, and I've gone above and beyond the norm for this area, when it comes to marketing and advertising. Hopefully, you've been reading my blogs and web site updates as well. I'm now asking you to consider Home Staging.

Home Buyers: If you're interested in buying real estate in Volusia County, FL, I currently have listings in Port Orange, Daytona Beach, New Smyrna Beach, Ormond Beach, and South Daytona. This inventory changes constantly as I sell my current listings and list new ones. Check my web site frequently so you don't miss anything.

I can also setup the automated feature of our MLS that will send you new listings within your specifications every morning, as they come on the market. You'll never miss a thing!

www.LisaHillRealtor.com or www.PortOrangeHomeSales.com

View my real estate listings!