-------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Welcome to Home Staging News Behind the Stage July 15, 2008 Vol 1 Issue 1 Dear Friends,

 It is now mid July and many people are enjoying sailing on the water. Summer home sales are in full swing. Are your clients "sailing" towards a new or existing home? StageStruck can be that rudder that steers your clients to that home. Staging and Redesign in a nutshell. Let me define these two terms for those who don't know what staging and redesign are. Staging has been described as a "defluffing" of a home that is going on the market. In other words, stagers take the best features of the home and repackage them in a way that will appeal to the broadest range of buyers.

Redesign is taking what the owner already has and rearranging it to fit the use of the room and the lifestyle of the owner. We"shop" in the owner's home looking for things to be used in the reconfigured room.

Benefits of Staging for Agents Home Staging has many benefits for both the seller and the real estate agent. For the home seller the benefits are: faster sale of the home, more money from the sale of the home, homes that are staged can sell for 6% more than non staged homes. According the the International Association of Home Staging Professionals, about a quarter of homes nationwide were sold last year after being staged by a professional stager. This is up from 10% five years ago. A nonstaged home will help to outsell the competition. For agents, staging can lead to more commission. National statistics imdicate that staged homes net 3% to 10% more on average than non staged homes. Staging is a value added service. For example, if the median price of a home is $241,00 and you the agent sell it for 3-10% more, this equateds to a $7,230-$24,000 equity gain or an average of $15,665 (based on a statistical study from 2004-2005 of staged properties nationwide). An investment in staging the home or listing it is less than a price reduction on the home or listing. This gives more money to the agent and the client. Also, the average real estate agent has 5 seconds to sell a home and 5 seconds to make an impact on the buyers when they first walk in the door. Staging ensures that the impact is a good and lasting one.

 Home Trends for fall According to Maison & Objet, the salon of home decor, some of the trends we will see this fall are: 1. Bursting Roses everywhere. The bigger and redder the better. 2. Purple is out and Fuchsia is in. 3. Text Messaging words are in. They are on everything from pillows, wall lights, and candles. 4. See through structures. Steel wire chairs and furniture that look like bicycle baskets, and furniture made of cane weave with port holes are the new trends. I don't know about you, but if you sit on these in the summer, your back side will look like a belgin waffle from the imprint. 5.Strong yellow. Yellow anything as long as it exudes and screams, "Not pale yellow." The deeper the color the better. 6. Fractures. These are geometric shapes in an irregular pattern. Something like a honeycomb. These fractures are made into vases, tables, etc. Some of the patterns look like they are diamond shape or made to look like they are shattered. The texture emerges from the ridged pattern and not the material. 7.Ibride. This is part portrait and part furniture. They are married together to form one piece. 8. Aquatic themes; especially in lighting. These don't actually scream starfish, or plant. They are subtle images but you know they are supposed to be starfish. 9.Missoni. This is comic book style, over the top, and graphic. This fabric can be used as a sofa slipcover. To see any of the pictures of the above items, click on pointclickhome.com and type in fall trends in the search box. It will bring up a slideshow of the trends.

I hope you enjoyed this first edition of our newsletter. Continue to look for it around the 15th of every month. Sincerely, Sheila Swanson StageStruck

www.mystagestruck.com (574) 674-9764 Cell: (574) 252-1480. The owner of StageStruck, Sheila Swanson has been decorating for 20 years. She attended the Sheffield School of Interior Design and is also a graduate of the Staging Diva's online staging course.

 Save 10% off the price of a consultation for your client when you set up their appointment. Agents, if make an appointment for yourself, you get 25% off the price of your consultation. Offer Expires: Sept. 15, 2008