Today I went on the Broker's Tour in Silicon Valley's west valley areas of Los Gatos, Saratoga, Monte Sereno, Cambrian Park (part of San Jose), and Campbell. There's always a variety of homes available - big and small, elegant to simple. Most are well staged and prepared. But each week, I see some homes where I just have to wonder why the sellers didn't do this or that. Today was no exception. I saw a home that was great on the inside (in fact, I intend to show it to my buyers). There's peeling paint and other problems along the front of the house, though. And it's listed at well over a million dollars!
Of course, I've also had seller clients who didn't want to do the staging work I've strongly recommended at times, so I do understand how those agents feel when they tell their clients. "You need new carpet and paint", and the sellers just won't do it.
Selling a property always comes down to price, condition, and marketing. Agents only control the marketing part of things, but we can advise on price and condition. It's easier to be convincing with price because there are sales (or lack of them) to indicate an approximate range. Numbers make it easier to convey. Condition is tougher. Sellers don't want to hear that their out-of-date bathrooms or kitchens or decor is going to hurt a home's sale price. Agents know - we are "in the trenches" and hear buyer comments so realize that even if it's not always easy to measure, the impact of good staging is huge.
Today I looked at the ratio of homes selling in various parts of the west valley and discussed some basic staging tips on my Valley of Hearts Delight blog. If you'd like to see some of the data and a few general tips for staging in a tough buyers market, please have a look at that post:
Stage Your Silicon Valley Home Like Your Sale Depends On It!
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