I was at an open house on Sunday. I don't know if it was staged by the realtor or the homeowner. You could see that the cliché things were done. It was neat and tidy, the lights were on, there was a fire in the fireplace and there was a basket with soaps and wine glasses on the en-suite tub.
However the furniture placement was horrible. The family room had large windows and lovely fireplace. The furniture was placed with its back to the fireplace and the focal point was the large screen TV. I highly doubt they are planning on leaving the TV when they sell, so why not make the fireplace, a feature of the home, the focal point?
There were personal photos and nick knacks everywhere, One of the children's bedrooms had a calendar up that was of a half naked woman. Objects that are distracting or potentially offensive to buyers, should be removed.
The kitchen was neat and tidy, but there were far too many objects on the counter. It lacked decorative touches and colourful focal points that would draw a buyer in.
The home while quite large was painted in very dark colours and the furniture was crowded in to the space available. The square footage was there, but the home didn't feel inviting.
The home has been on the market 102 days and seems to be priced right.
I spoke to the agent and asked her why she thought it was still on the market. She said "Everyone says the house is too big"
I gave her my postcard and a couple tips. On my way out I had to ask her to grab the cat so I wouldn't let it out.
Realtors: What would you need to convince you to try staging?
Stagers: How would you have addressed this situation?
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