Real Estate Blog - Deciding to Wait it Out?

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Deciding to Wait it Out?

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It's something I've heard many times over the last 6 months or so from prospective home staging clients from around the Atlanta area:

"We've decided to just to wait it out to see if the market gets any better."

I suppose if you aren't in a dire need to sell your home then this would make sense...the market has to recover to some degree and at some point, right?

I remember reading an Active Rain post months ago by someone who referred to people using their equity as an ATM machine. It was a brilliant analogy. If you know who wrote it, let me know so I can link it...it's worth a read by everyone.

As a home stager, when I conduct consultations for occupied homes, I always make suggestions to improve or update certain aspects of the house that will make it more desirable to prospective buyers. While most clients are willing to make the changes/updates there are always some that will be resistant to wanting to put any money into the house because they are selling it. The common response is often why should they be spending money to upgrade when they are not doing it for themselves or they are not going to enjoy it. And, they are not wrong...I totally sympathize.

Why are people still waiting to make these changes? They wait until they list the house to find out that the average buyer doesn't like the countertops or the flooring or the paint selections, etc. Time=money, so money was just wasted learning what a home stager could have prevented, or tried to prevent. Why not be proactive about it, especially if they are going to hunker down and ride out this market for awhile?

A proactive seller will take the time NOW to work on making those upgrades and changes before they are ready to list the house. It'll be easier on the pocketbook because they can spread the projects out over time rather than getting them all done ASAP. It'll also give the homeowner time to actually ENJOY those upgrades and changes before they move out and not feel like they are doing all that work for someone else.

So, while waiting it out, consult with a professional home stager and invest in a home staging consultation. Take time to get those upgrades and changes done so when the market finally bounces back, the house will be prepared to pop that For Sale sign in the front yard.

Posted by Abby Reilly, Staten Island Home Stager on 10/29/2008 02:15 PM

Comments (15)

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15 Comments on Deciding to Wait it Out?

OCT

2008

Well said Abby ! It is never to early to prepare your home to sell. An early consultation can give you the time to do it right and reduce your DOM !!

Abby ~ I've been seeing a lot of "as is" homes being sold on our local MLS, and, of course, the price reflects that. So there are some great bargains to be found here because people won't be painting out the dark purple bedroom, or fixing the hole in the ceiling, or taking up the carpet the dogs utilized as their toilet.

have you considered rewording this to a more politically correct version and send it out to homeowners. it is a little rough , but with some fine tuning this could be a kick-butt sales letter.

Thanks for commenting Wendy.

Hi Kathy, I know what you mean; there's a lot of those around here as well and same issue. Thanks for commenting.

Thanks for commenting Benita. Not quite sure what you mean about PC, though. Feel free to elaborate.

Nothing serious, what i meant is tone it down so that they don't feel so bad about procrastinating. we wouldn't want to sound like we are preaching to them about what they should be doing with their property. part of our job is educating people on the reasons why they need staging and why it works if used properly (as you stated, Before a home is listed). my clients are sometimes overly sensitive and i always try to remember that when writing my sales material. unfortunately we do find the folks that want to wait it out and our concern for them falls on deaf ears.

OCT

2008

Hi Abby! Good thoughts - transition is difficult for everyone. Sellers are vulnerable and Staging is the line in the sand for motivated Sellers!

Thanks for your input, Benita.

Thanks for your comments, Margaret. ooo, I like that 'line in the sand' reference. =)

Hi Abby, I like your article. The market isn't very good right now. So, if homeowners are waiting it out they should consider consulting with a Home Stager. Preparing their home so that when they list it will be looking top-notch so they can hopefully sell quicker and for the highest possible price!

OCT

2008

Great advice Abby! By being proactive they can hit the spring market running.

You nailed it! It is still about educating the average home owner about staging and it is becoming more and more recognized. Start the work well before you are forced to do it and it will be a much smoother transition.

NOV

2008

As I read posts like this and posts about how to get sellers to price their homes to the market, I start thinking - they're not listening to us! Sellers, more than buyers, seem to want to discount what the selling professionals suggest. It is all on us (real estate professionals) to learn how to convey our value so the sellers realize why they need to heed what we tell them.

NOV

2008

Very well written Abby! Kudos to you!

NOV

2008

Amen Abby! Here's to proactive sellers and great stagers like you.

"Waiting to sell" is the current refrain. You have successfully shifted marketing focus in keeping with the times - kudos! Be proactive, do it now, enjoy it now, be prepared to sell when the time is right. Thanks for a lesson we can all use! - Leah

NOV

2008

Suzanne, Michele, Lisa, Lynn, Cathy, Jackson and Leah:

Thanks so much for taking time to read and comment. Maybe there will be light at the end of this tunnel for all of us, sooner rather than later, but in the meantime, we have to keep on talking, even if it means changing our message from time to time. I hope this message makes sense to others as well. =) We would all benefit.

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