A Dream Staging and How I Would Help Get It Sold In a Down Market
All homes deserve to be shown in their best light, whether they’re a luxury home in the high 6 figures or more, or a 3-bedroom ranch in a modest community.
Whether it’s a seller’s or a buyer’s market, or a down market, a property is like any other commodity that needs to be (to quote Barbara Todaro ) marketed like you mean it.
My ideal listing would be an owner-occupied ranch with 3 bedrooms and 2 bathrooms; roughly 20 years old, and in an established neighborhood.
So what would I do to help get it sold?
1. First, I would make sure the sellers understood what needed to be done and why.
When I staged homes in 2008, many buyers were reluctantly selling their homes. If they don’t buy into what you’re asking them to do, you have an uphill battle.
My job was to show them that to get what they wanted for their house, the buyer had to see the perceived value in it.
2. Ask their agent what the demographics of buyers were for this property.
This is why you want to work with an agent who knows the community. An agent I worked with knew that buyers for a luxury condo were looking for a particular type of flooring. The seller had the budget to change it out, as well as other minor changes.
3. Address the presentation of the property. This would include repairs, deferred maintenance, painting, updates, and anything else that would detract a buyer from seeing the value of the home.
You have to stand out—whether it’s a buyer’s or a seller’s market. Buyers need to see the value in your home. If they notice that the appliances or flooring need to be replaced, the kitchen needs updating, or even the hardware looks dated, the perceived value of the home drops.
It also means addressing the exterior of the property. If there’s a pool, it needs to be sparkling clean. We spend a lot more time enjoying the deck area so it needs to be staged just as if it were another room in the house.
When a potential buyer walks through the property, a mental calculator is adding up everything that will have to be done to the property. This comes into play if they decide to make an offer.
4. Make sure the property is better than clean and can be seen!
Before cleaning, I would mention the dreaded word declutter. I would explain why and what specifically needed to be edited. I would also recommend storage facilities, rather than shoving things in the garage.
Cleaning would mean everything behind, on, over, in, under, and around everything.
5. Show the sellers how to maintain their home for showings and what to do before the buyers arrive.
When you have a busy family, especially one with children, it’s hard to keep every room show-ready. Buyers have higher expectations now…so no dishes in the sink or garbage cans left out.
This has been part of our weekly Zoom Call, in which we were asked to write about a dream listing and what 5 things we would do to help get it sold in a down market.
I took it from the perspective of a home stager and was inspired by a home I consulted on in 2008. The seller had an offer within 2 weeks!
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