I like to keep track of what is happening in the home staging industry globally and the following article by American Home Staging Expert, Alice T. Chan arrived in my inbox today on this very topic so I would like to share it with you.

Don’t Make Your House Appeal to the Masses

By Alice T. Chan – Setting the Stage

On a recent episode of HGTV’s Designed to Sell they said something that really made me think about the mis-perceptions and old school and ineffective guidance that surrounds the home staging and real estate industry.

The person said, “you should make your home appeal to the mass market”

Let me be the first to tell you that that is 100% WRONG!!

You don’t want to appeal to the masses because that’s not who is going to buy your house.

Think about it. A young family is not going to be interested in purchasing that 1 bedroom condo in the city. In fact, they are probably the sellers of that property, so “staging” that condo to include child friendly features would not make any sense at all. In fact, it would be confusing to buyers and may even be a turn-off to most.

What you need to do is appeal to your ideal target buyer. Who is most likely going to purchase your home? Based on your neighborhood, your price range, your school district and many other factors, who is your home going to appeal to? Is it a young family? A bachelor or bachelorette? A wealthy executive family? or is it seniors?

What has been taught and preached over the years is that you need to depersonalize your home, you need to make it appeal to the general public, and the list goes on.

Unfortunately, what’s happened is that we end up with a flood of boring, cookie cutter, generic houses on the market.

Yes, you should remove YOUR personality from the home, but your home still needs A personality.

Consider this, white or beige walls, white cabinets, white countertops, beige flooring, no photos, no color…BLAH!!! How memorable is that? It’s not! And remember, when buyers are out seeing 10, 20 or hundreds homes, what is going to make your house STAND OUT from the rest and be memorable…it’s not the boring vanilla box you created that’s for sure.

Also, neighborhoods tend to attract a specific type of crowd. Homeowners generally know what that demographic is because they are that demographic or was at one time. Design a lifestyle in your house to attract that specific demographic.

Don’t get trapped in the other mis-perception which is that you just need to make your house pretty. Sorry to burst your bubble again, but pretty doesn’t sell.

Your home should tell a story about the ideal homeowner…make that story count!

So…for a truly effective home sale, really consider who is most likely going to purchase the home and upgrade and showcase your home with the features that will attract those buyers – appliances, flooring, colors, room use and more.

Oh, and one last thing…get away from the mindset that you’re going to put the cheapest products in the home to get it ready to sell. I hear it all the time…you don’t care because you’re not living there. When that is the energy that you’re putting into preparing the house to sell, you will invite the same type of energy back with home buyers who give you lowball offers. It’s an energetic exchange..be careful what you put out there.

I would love your feedback and welcome your comments on this article.

Real Estate agents are being quite restrained in reporting the fact that there is “softness” in the auction clearance rate.  The truth is the nation’s capital city auction clearance rate fell to 46.2 per cent last week from 48.6 the week before.  This time last year the national auction clearance rate was 60.6 per cent, which is 14.4 per cent less.

While an auction does give the vendor a marketing campaign that results in an unconditional sale over a set time frame, the reality is whether the house is marketed by auction or private treaty, buyers can’t afford to put their homes on the market looking half-baked.  It is a buyer’s paradise out there. They have so much choice and if a home doesn’t grab their attention, they will just shrug their shoulders and keep walking.

RPData have just released an article Premium Housing Markets Plundered where they have reported that many of the higher priced capital city regions have recorded a significant decline in median house prices whereas the more affordable markets are recording better housing market conditions.

The truth is, it doesn’t matter which end of the market your house sits in, low medium or high.  If the vendor fails to

• Present it to its best potential
• Price it realistically according to the current prevailing market (declining)
• Use a professional Real Estate agent who is prepared to go the extra yard in marketing and negotiating

then vendors need to be prepared to have their house sit on the market for months on end with no offers and risk losing thousands of dollars in the process.

Despite the gloomy outlook I’m pleased to report that my clients are still getting great results.  I recently worked with a vendor whose 6-bedroom home needed a few finishing touches before going to market. He had already engaged an agent who decided to conduct a 4 week auction campaign.  After assessing the property and making a few maintenance and upgrade recommendations, my client heeded my advice about giving the buyers what they want, and delayed putting the house on the market for a couple of weeks.  In that time he

• Revamped an ugly bathroom
• Painted the rear of the home
• Installed some new exterior screen doors
• Installed some new plants and garden mulch in both the front and rear garden
• Patched and painted two of the bedrooms
• Removed some ugly lace curtains
• Tidied up the back garden
• Dressed up the front entrance with a welcome mat and potted plants
• Pressure cleaned the pavers and concrete driveways around the house
• Finished the house off with furniture and accessories styling from one of my team to enhance his existing pieces

My client was well rewarded for his efforts.

I was there to watch the auction and inspected the house along with the large number of attendees who showed up on the day.  The house looked stunning and had a great atmosphere.  One lady commented to me during the walk through “the house has been beautifully maintained”.  There were 9 registered bidders at the auction, an amazing turnout considering the above statistics.  Although the auction was a bit slow to get moving, in the end there were 3 keen bidders and the house sold for $664,000.  $14,000 above the advertised price!

The property was featured in the real estate section of The Advertiser on June 11, 2011 as one of the Top 5 Auctions in Adelaide for the weekend.

It is possible to do well in this market. Just give the buyers what they want!

Charyn Youngson

Professional Home Stager | Property Renovator | Author

• They want to sell fast
• They want to sell for top dollar

But in reality these most sought after outcomes are hard to achieve for people who really don’t have the expertise to market their own home to potential buyers because they

• Can’t remove themselves emotionally from their homes
• Don’t have enough time
• Don’t have the necessary skills to undertake upgrades and repairs
• Don’t have an action plan
• Fail to address obvious flaws
• Don’t have a clue where to start
• Don’t research the current market
• Fail to give the buyers what they want

A professional home stager will

• Make your selling and moving experience LESS stressful
• Give you advice on what areas in the home need to be addressed in order to correctly prepare your home for sale
• Prepare an Action Plan with a priority list of jobs to do
• Advise on where to invest your makeover dollars for the best return (within your budget)
• Make recommendations on paint choices, bathroom, kitchen and storage upgrades, landscaping and everything in between
• Know when to replace or update items and recommend what needs to stay and what needs to be packed up
• Work with you to transform your home into a “ buyers magnet”

The most fulfilling reward we get from working with home sellers is the “aha” moment when they realize that the home makeover ideas we have shared them are things they would never have thought of doing in a million years but they are simple and easy for them to implement. Less STRESS!

When you work with an expert in their field, you can expect to make your property more marketable and to reduce the time on the market. In the current “buyers market” sellers owe it to themselves to seek the best advice available on pre sale home makeovers to make their homes stand out from the crowd.

Home owners  receive outstanding results with Houses to Impress “Sold for Top Dollar Transformation Packages” so if you have any interest in attracting a premium price for you home when you sell, please call Australia’s Leading Home Staging Experts.

Charyn and Kate Youngson

Authors | Professional Home Stagers | Property Renovators

I recently started writing articles as an industry expert for The Saving Money Expert digital magazine.  The online magazine was created for Australian consumers to discover ways to become better, smarter, consumers and by providing news, articles,guides and how-to’s they educate their readers about how to save money.

My first article is Prepare your House for Sale by Getting Dressed for the Occassion.

In the article I share my Top Six Makeover Strategies to Add Massive Value to Your Home

Read More

Charyn Youngson

Author | Professional Home Stager | Speaker | Mentor

The recent RP Data – Rismark Home Value Index Release landed in my inbox this week and the news for homeowners around the country wishing to sell their homes in 2011 is not great.

Capital city (-0.2 per cent) and ‘rest of state’ (-0.1 per cent) home values both fell in seasonally-adjusted terms in November. In raw terms, the declines were larger (-0.6 per cent and -0.8 per cent, respectively). RP Data & Rismark expect further weakness in 2011 as rates rise.

Christopher Joye, Rismark’s managing director, stated “We believe that there is a risk of at least three cash rate increases in 2011”,  in which case he predicts there will be little-to-no nominal dwelling price growth over 2011, with a chance of small nominal declines.

What is happening in today’s real estate market?

A slow real estate market is called a “buyer’s market” because there are lots of homes for sale and fewer buyers fighting for them. With a glut of houses on the real estate market pushing prices downward, buyers have more power in any negotiation. They know the seller needs to sell their house more than they need to buy it. The perceived pressure to make a quick buying decision is gone and buyers have higher expectations than ever before. They demand value for money and will walk away if a property fails to impress. Houses that don’t appeal are left languishing on the market dropping in value with each passing week that they sit there.

How can sellers improve their bottom line?

Home staging right now is more important than ever because of this shift in the balance of power from sellers to buyers. With house prices trending down, it means home sellers have a greater need for home staging services to preserve their equity and help them make a faster sale.  The current statistics for average days on the market is 120 days or longer – that’s 4 months! What is it worth to you to sell your home fast and to achieve the best possible price?

I am happy to report that even in this downward market, my clients have been achieving great results. Some are still selling on the first open which is the absolute perfect time to get your highest offer when buyers are first exposed to the property and there is the highest level of interest. If you are contemplating selling your home any time soon then take my expert advice.

Charyn’s Top 3 tips for Selling in a Buyer’s Market

1. Be realistic about price – face up to reality and accept that if the market has dropped in your area, you will have to lower your expectations. Do your research and compare similar house sales in your suburb. Go out to open inspections and get a feel for what buyers are looking for. Make mental notes of the best things that appealed to you and see how you could improve your home in a similar way. Listen to what buyers are saying at open inspections – you will be surprised at the things that they don’t like and won’t compromise on.

1. Change your mindset about spending money on a pre sale makeover – There is a big difference between something that “costs” you money – you understand the money has gone and that’s that. But when you make an “investment”, you plan to see a return on your money. Home Staging is an investment in your single largest financial asset.

1. Put in 100% effort. It may sound like a no brainer, but unfortunately not all of my client’s fully embrace the recommendations that I make to prepare their home for sale. Some only put in 50% effort and therefore they end up with 50% result. This is your largest asset. Get off your rear end, put in the hard yards and you will receive the best possible outcome. Remember like all things in life – you only get out what you put in!

Happy Selling

Charyn Youngson

Professional Home Stager, Property Renovator, Mentor, Speaker

Author of Sold for Top Dollar.

Do you want your property to appeal to a wider range of buyers?

Do you want your home to stand out from the crowd?

Do you want cost effective solutions to your home presentation problems?

Home Staging and Cosmetic Renovation techniques by Houses to Impress will help give you a unique selling point to present your property so it’s ready to sell! Irrespective of the extent of the project, our attention to detail delivers results to our clients that are absolutely outstanding.

Our professional online home staging consult will help you plan a cost effective home makeover that will reap you thousands of dollars PROFIT when you sell. Imagine what you can spend that extra $20,000, $30,000, $40,000 or more on …….

• Your new dream home
• A brand new car
• A family holiday
• An investment property

Don’t just take our word. Read a testimonial from a Real Estate Specialist who regularly recommends our services to her vendors.

“As real estate salespeople, our number one job is to achieve the highest possible price for our vendors. Unfortunately our best efforts can sometimes be hindered by a seller who is unable to view their home objectively. What may seem “attractive” to the owner may look vastly unappealing from a buyer’s perspective. A seller who lives in the home twenty-four-seven, can often find it difficult of see the woods for the trees. Houses to Impress know how to present your home in such a way that buyers have to have it! I would estimate that I have never yet met a client that would not have experienced great benefit from Charyn and Kate’s expert home staging transformations.”

Rebecca Foster – Real Estate Specialist – Ray White Northgate

Waiting for your house or any piece of investment property to sell can cause a fair amount of stress and headache on your part. And not getting decent offers despite your property being listed in the marketplace for months can be a terrible ordeal, right? Well, I believe so, too.

Good thing you don’t have to go through all these – if you plan on having your house or investment property staged, that is.

Why go for home staging when you can sell your house as it is? Well, the answer is really quite simple. Staging homes can make your home sell fast and for a far better value.

As with a lot of things, in selling real estate properties, first impressions count – a lot! Research proves that most buyers usually make up their mind whether or not they are going to buy your house within 15 seconds of walking up your front door. So, it’s up to you on how you can make the most of it, or lose it. It’s your choice.

Now, if you’re ready to take the first step to working that magic called home staging, here are some tips that can help you snag that sale even before your buyers walk through your front door. Start by creating an irresistible curb appeal that your buyers will love! Here’s how you can do it in 4 easy steps.

1. Clean up and de-clutter. Don’t hide your property’s full potentials. Trim overgrown bushes and mow the lawn. Scrub mildew and molds off the sidewalks and that nasty oil spill in the driveway. Get rid of all clutter and unnecessary items, too.
2. Paint it. If you can afford it, why not apply a fresh coat of paint? It can make your house look more appealing to buyers. However, you may want to stay on the conservative side and avoid using very strong colors. Remember, you want your house to appeal to the most number of buyers and strong colors may only turn some people off.
3. Consider landscaping it. Now, if your budget can still accommodate it, you can consider adding fresh sod or some live plants and other interesting focal points to your home’s exterior. Or alternatively, you can remove some elements to improve the looks of your property. Are there any trees or shrubs that are overshadowing some attractive features of your house? Take them off and see how it improves your property.
4. Prettify your front door. Ultimately, all attention leads to your front door. So, why not further improve your chances of closing a great deal for all your efforts? Prettify your front door! You can consider installing a new custom-made door, if your budget allows it. Otherwise, you can consider using what you have and improving on it. You can repaint your existing front door, or flank it with an interesting molding. Or you can simply polish your door fixtures or install coordinated light fixtures and accents to do the trick. Try to be creative and explore all the possibilities!

Staging homes effectively can help you sell your house fast and for far better value than leaving it as it is. Home staging does not need to be expensive or extremely time consuming, as these tips on improving your property’s curb appeal show. You have nothing to lose and everything to gain. Now, are you ready to get your house staged?

Here’s a video that talks about creating great curb appeal and how it can help sell your house.

Video. Home Decorating and Staging Tips - Curb Appeal