Selling homes by showcasing

Homebuilder Matthew Lupton purchased an older house in a well-established Scottsdale neighborhood for $600,000, demolished all but one wall of it and built a lavish new home with an asking price of nearly $2 million.

With that kind of investment, he wants to make sure potential buyers are wowed by the property and eager to make an attractive offer. He recently began contracting with Showhomes of Scottsdale to "stage" his houses.

Because new houses are usually vacant, potential buyers are forced to imagine what they would look like furnished and decorated. Showhomes fully furnishes and decorates vacant houses to make them look more comfortable to potential buyers.

FOR SALE: Home seller Matthew Lupton, left, has his Scottsdale house on the market and is using Showhomes of Scottsdale, a franchise owned by Kathy Haase, to furnish it in an effort to attract buyers.

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SETTING UP: Real estate agent David Griffin takes photos inside a Scottsdale house furnished by Showhomes of Scottsdale.

"Our houses will sell for 10 percent to 15 percent higher, and 30 percent to 40 percent faster than if it was a vacant house," said Kathy Haase, Showhomes franchise owner. She attributes the higher percentages to Showhomes surveys of 1,500 real estate agents at the National Association of Realtors' convention.

"It looks better, and it appraises for more, and it really shouldn't," she said. "(Buyers) aren't thinking 'Well, we're going to go in and low-ball them.' If you walk in here, it looks like someone's put money on staging it and decorating it, so it's not like they're going to come in and offer $500,000 less."

Showhomes' service includes providing a live-in manager who cares for the house until it sells, stages it with new furniture and decorations, and assists buyers in a number of ways.

"I'm actually living here while it's on the market," Haase said. "I brought all my stuff in and staged it."

If a buyer likes the way a house is furnished, he or she can buy all of the furniture and decorations, she said.

"If you have a family coming in ... they're actually able to sit here and talk about living here and really enjoying it, compared to walking in and it's vacant," Haase said. "Walking into several empty houses, you'll remember the ones that are furnished more."

Lupton specializes in major remodelings and additions. His company is Scottsdale-based Equity Homes.

"We just started using Kathy and used her on another project," Lupton said. "That house looked great and was on the market for 30 days. For most houses, the average market time is at least 180 days to a year."

David Griffin, the designated real estate agent on the property, said "staging" a house allows the seller to differentiate it from others. He is with Equitable Sotheby's International Realty.

"Every transaction right now is extremely difficult," he said. "It's complicated because both buyers and sellers are running at a fully charged emotional level. Sellers want to get the highest dollar possible, and buyers don't want to feel like they're leaving money on the table."

Home staging gives a seller a competitive edge, Griffin said.

"You want to be one of the final choices that people keep coming back to, and hopefully you'll be the right one for them," he said.