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Canadian Home Sales: It's a Buyer's Market Again Which Means Staging is Even More Important!

By
Home Stager with Dezigner Digz

An article published in this morning's edition of The Toronto Star: Canadian Home Sales, quotes recent statistics from the Canadian Real Estate Association.  Existing home sales were down 2.6% in April from March of 2010.  Increasingly, there are more homes coming onto the market which in turn, is choking the recent seller's market.  In fact there has been a record number of new listings - up 0.9% month over month.  

Now that there are more properties available for sale, buyers are getting the upper hand as they have more to choose from.  What does this mean if you are selling your home right now?  It means that your home has to really stand out from the others if you want to see a 'SOLD' sign on your front lawn.

What can you do to make your home special?  Consider hiring a Professional Home Stager to do a walk-through of your property.  He or she will provide you with a lot of great tips and advice on what you need to do to get your home first in line with potential buyers.  

Which home do you think a potential buyer would be more interested in purchasing?

This home:

or this one:

Nothing speaks louder than a visual.  I'm sure you'd agree that the second photo showing the same property after home staging would be more appealing to buyers.  If you're unsure as to where to locate a professional Home Stager, contact your REALTOR.  He or she may be able to provide you with the name of a Home Stager.  You can also visit the Real Estate Staging Association's website to search for a reputable Home Stager in your area.   

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Dezigner Digz is Burlington Ontario's premier home staging, styling and redesign firm and services Ancaster, Hamilton, Burlington, Waterdown, Stoney Creek, Oakville and surrounding areas.  The owner, Charlene Storozuk, is a member of the Real Estate Staging Association and currently serves on RESA's Executive Committee as Regional Vice-President, Canada.  Her work has been featured in the book FabJob Guide to Become a Home Stager, 2009 edition.  Charlene has written several articles on home staging, some of which have been published by the International Business Times and the Women's Council of Realtors.  She is also a Contributing Blogger for REALTOR Magazine.  For more information about us, visit our website at www.dezignerdigz.com

   

Show All Comments
Jo-Anne Smith
Oakville, ON

Charlene,

Staging is an advantage no matter what the market, and as you've pointed out, now it's even more important with so many competing listings.

Jo

May 18, 2010 12:59 PM
Michelle Minch
Moving Mountains Design Home Staging, Pasadena, CA - Los Angeles, CA
Home Staging Los Angeles and Orange County, CA

Charlene: My husband (a commercial airline pilot) had a layover in Toronto, so he brought me a copy of the paper and I read this article. I'm always interested to read about the real estate market in other places. Hopefully this will make it easier to convince home owners and REAs about the importance of home staging in the Canadian market.

May 18, 2010 01:28 PM
Sally Weatherley
EXIT STAGE RIGHT - Vancouver, BC
Vancouver Home Staging, Home Stager Vancouver, B.C

Your absolutely right, Charlene, there are so many homes on the market right now - the average price for a small bungalow on the westside of Vancouver is 1.5 million!  It's just crazy.  Competition is fierce, so it's important to stand out and look the best.

May 19, 2010 03:02 AM
Cheryl Cudmore
Sapphire Staging - Brantford, ON
CSP, Brantford to Burlington ON

Charlene, I don't get the Toronto Star so thanks for keeping me aware of this change in the market. Love the visuals, too! They make quite a statement. 

May 19, 2010 03:12 AM
Leslie Godbold
WZGM AM1350 Independent Asheville Radio - Asheville, NC
Motivation Speaker, Radio host "Positively Living"

Charlene,What a difference you have made.  The "before" room is blah. But A potential buyer could easily fall in love with the "after" room! Professional staging works!

Leslie

May 19, 2010 04:09 AM
Janice Ankrett
Burlington, ON
Staging Professional

Excellent post Charlene. I couldn't agree more.

May 19, 2010 05:50 AM
SHARON CHARBONEAU
UPSTAGING YOUR HOMES - Sechelt, BC

Great article Charlene,

The stats in the article are pretty much reflecting what is happening on the Sunshine Coast.  More properties are crowding the market and sales are slow.

I am called in to a consult, then zip.  The sellers are concerned about what their property will sell for, knowing that it is now a buyers market.  Not sure if & when our market may do a turn-around?

Rather than repeating myself, I am taking advantage of the down time to spend it on my retail outlet.  We are having a flea market on Saturday, so I am going thru my inventory and pulling things that I have used or may not use to put into the flea market.

Now we just need the weather to co-operate and not rain!

Also, my mind is drifting to my upcoming trip back east to Ottawa & Toronto June 24 - July 8.   I will take your number & see if there is time for us to make contact during my time in TO, Oakville & Muskoka region.

Best wishes from the West Coast,

Sharon

May 19, 2010 11:03 AM
John Marion
RE/MAX Town & Country - Canton, GA

Thanks for posting this, Charlene.

May 23, 2010 08:41 AM
Charlene Storozuk
Dezigner Digz - Burlington, ON
Home Stager - Burlington Ontario

Hello Everyone. I apologize for my tardiness in replying to your comments.

Jo-Anne - Very true.

Michelle - I always like to keep apprised of the real estate market in other areas too.  Next time your Hubby is coming to Toronto, why don't you come with him. I can play tour guide and show you around!

Sally - The market in B.C. is so different to Ontario.  You're right, the higher the price point, the more a property has to stand out.

Cheryl - You're welcome and thank you very much for your kind words.

Leslie - Yes it does! Thanks for your kind words.

Janice - Thank you!

Sharon - I'd love to get together with you!  Give me a call.

John - You're welcome.

May 31, 2010 05:42 AM
Kathy Clulow
Uxbridge, ON
Trusted For Experience - Respected For Results

Charlene - Real estate is Local and the press loves bad news the good news for home sellers across the GTA (still not local but more so than Canadian stats) is that sales were actually up in April over March and are up considerably over April of 2010. We certainly were not into a buyers market in the GTA as of April.

That being said there is an indication that the market may be changing, with the sales to new listings ratio dropping, as more homes enter the spring market. This is a good indicator of a more stable market and the leveling off of price increases. If it continues it may well turn into a buyers market but we are not there yet.

The possibility of rising interest rates may well be all the incentive that is needed for some who are sitting on the fence to jump into the market. Only Time will tell!

Jun 01, 2010 03:37 AM
Charlene Storozuk
Dezigner Digz - Burlington, ON
Home Stager - Burlington Ontario

Kathy - Very well put! You're right, the press does love bad news. 

Jun 06, 2010 06:18 AM
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