So now that we have the standard staging stuff out of the way, in part 1, let's drill down and look at what the "new construction" really means to a buyer.
At the recent International Home Builder's Show in Orlando, FL, a panel of experts discussed the following "wants" surveyed consumers are looking for in a brand new house:
1. A home that accommodates a modern lifestyle. The most important part of that home is the place where family and friends gather, the kitchen and the family room.
2. A home that is flexible for their future needs. Half of the readers on the panel under the age of 43 said they were going to need a dedicated office at home in the coming years, as more anticipate working full-time from the house. One-third of the baby boomers on the panel said they anticipated that their house would have to accommodate an aging parent who would move in in the future, and one-quarter said their house would likely have to handle the return of an adult child.
3. A house that is "special for me." There has been a proliferation of specialty spaces within homes where hobbies and activities take place, and those spaces need organization and storage. Laundry rooms, mud rooms, family rooms and kitchens are all important areas where special touches can go a long way in personalizing the space: built-ins in the family room, restaurant-style cooking equipment in the kitchen, mud rooms with organizational centers and laundry rooms with fold-away ironing boards among them.
4. Green options.
Most of this we realtors & stagers already knew. (though I would debate how serious any American is on Green Options, myself included, compared to the Europeans!) As with all information, it is in its application that it becomes worthwhile. How do we apply this into the brick and mortar, pre-owned structure we're attempting to market?
Here's my thoughts - in tips 5 - 9 - and let's see if you agree with me....
Tip 5 - Illustrate the Modern Lifestyle
Whenever asked to illustrate the "Modern Lifestyle", I think of open floor plans, flex-use spaces, uninterrupted pathways etc. However, the bottom line is that most families live in the Kitchen and Family Room. These 2 rooms have to feel connected, and if not absolutely contiguous (i.e. they share a common wall) then move the rooms around until they do. Connected by color, open (take the door between off) thematic (keep it generic, people... now is NOT the time to indulge your inner flamingo) and intention.
Think about how we all really LIVE... we eat, we talk, we play, we compute, we self-clean and go to bed. Take out washing and sleeping and where do we do the majority of all that? The Kitchen-Family Room, I would guess.
In smaller houses, put the DR at one end of the LR, like an appartment, and make over the Dining Room as a Family Room. It's extreme, and I can hear the young female buyer wistfully murmure "I've always wanted a Formal Dining Room"... the truth is, guys, you aren't going to use it.
In larger homes, make sure that the FR is opne, light, bright, and the most inviting space there is. If you can only afford to paint one room, do the FR. Make sure the sofas are soft, comfy, with thick, luscious throws and soft, cosy pillows. Add items that say "snuggle, read, play, revel, savor " You want to illustrate a life of quiet, unfettered J O Y"
We need to give our buyers rooms and spaces that can accomodate the way those buyers want to live. We're a creative lot, we stagers, we can do this, and we must if we are to maximize the opportunity of the sale (there's a mouthful, huh?!!)
Tip 6 -Outdoor Living Spaces
Let's stay on lifestyle.
Outdoor spaces. Any place outside that you can entertain, enjoy the sun, read the paper... I'm not sure how many people have time to do this, but it seems to be how everyone sees themselves living in an ideal world.
The fundamental impact here is adding square footage of livable space to the home. To add a patio, nook on gravel with bench, pergola... is a lot less expense than an addition, and yet it gives you more places to go "be" in the home. Open grass is great if the home is in an area where families with grade school kids live. However, if you're in a move-up zone, your teens only want to be outside to sunbathe (or worse!) Start carving up that lawn into livable sections of additional, livable square feet.
Tip 7 - Flex Spaces -- Offices vs. BRS
We've people say they want a home office. We've had that for a while, and it's easy to designate a table as a desk on each floor. The need for an adult child to return home...oh please, no!! I can see a parent coming for an extended stay... what are they really asking for? A BR that can be seperated from teh rest of the house? Sounds like an opportunity over the garage.
A 1st floor bedroom? That's what's here at 194 Long Hill Drive, Short Hills, NJ -- a home being marketed at the moment. It's hard to make these spaces look like both alternatives: a lovely big coffered ceiling'd master, or a coffered ceiling's library with full bath replet with soaking tub and twin sinks! Inevitably one compromises, and hope the buyer can see that either one is possible.
The takeaway lesson from here, the message not to miss, I think, is that you show an upstairs bedroom as a flex office-BR always. Even in a 3 BR home. My mother used to have a table that unfolded into a single bed, with springs, quite comfortable. Amazing that the day has come when I really am missing that thing!!
And call it that on the floorplan. (another tip: realtors, always label the floorplan with "/" so that the buyer takes away the options in writing. You've told them, for sure, but it will remind them when they review the floorplan at a later discussion.)
Tip 8 - Special Spaces
This is a 50's bar in a basement that we re-purposed as a kid's ice-cream parlor. Since it was next to playroom, it made sense. Since the playroom was in the basement, this incented our guys to go down there. (This home took awhile to sell because the kitchen was yet to be done. People loved it, and thought it charming, but until it was the category leader at its price, no-one wanted to take it on.)
Special Spaces. A gift-wrapping center. A corner designated "Creation Station" with all of the paints, crayons, Playdoh (.....aaaaagh, don't get me started there....a stager's living DEATH....that stuff gets trodden into everything!) The Appreciation Chair (more to come on that, another day), the sewing machine. The advantage with an owner-occupied home is that all the stuff is already in the home to create these micro-dens for hobbies. Basics, like a Mud Room, space to iron, "organization center"...show 'em off if you've got 'em. If not, that's why the people want to move, no? In vacants, we have to suggest them wtih pieces we're charging out per item. It's a trade-off, but one that clearly speaks to what the buyer themselves state they want.
Tip 9 - The Green Card
This is very simple.
Play up anything green, energy saving, state of the art. Even if it's only a garbage disposal unit, it's an asset, an investment, an "upgrade"...
Remember the market we're in. You're competing against new construction - where upgrades and brandy-new are the stock in trade. Play it back. Replace appliances, shower heads, faucets... anything cruddy, moldy, scratched, etc.
I'm not sure it's ethical to simply switch out the front of an appliance. It's an excellent cost savings, but is it honest? If the thing works perfectly then maybe it's a design decision, but if the dishwasher oozes foam no matter what the cover, the decent thing to do is replace it. (Don't give me a credit a closing... I'll try and take $5K off the price!)
Conclusion
In the end, can it be done? Sure. Do you have what people want, priced correctly? Only you and your realtor know the answer to that one, but chances are, with these 9 tips in hand, you can compete favorably and successfully. At least, now that you know what buyers are looking for, you know the game you're in. Now that you're in it, you can win it.
God speed!
©Juliet Johnson Staging. All rights reserved.
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For these, and more stratgies to sell your home, you can pre-register for your copy of 'The Home Seller's Playbook' at www.julietjohnsonstaging.com.
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