Staging Your Home for a Quick Sale, in any market!

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I was recently asked to contribute to an article on "how to sell a house more quickly in a down real estate market by sprucing it up to specifically appeal to pet owners". During that process, this question emerged:

Should we re-frame our staging standard and market homes specifically to one person?

We are always trying to suggest that houses can be all things to all people - creating the most appealing home in the Generic category. "Pottery Barn with a Neiman Marcus twist" if the home is $1 million++; "The Pottery Barn Look by Walmart" if you're in the lower price brackets and pure PB if you're in the middle.

Of course, that was when there was a different market. We were then expecting (often realistically) multiple offers. That goal of "as many buyers as possible" worked to the seller's advantage. Sellers could relax knowing that they could not under-price their home and be forced to sell at that number. The market itself would drive the price to its correct place, and the seller would do well.

Not so now. There are buyers about, but few are prepared to dive in and "part with coin" (as we say in the Olde Country!) They don't know where the bottom is, and are terrified that had they only waited the price might have dropped even lower. What if, now that there's little to no possibility of multiple offers, we take this notion of "all things to all people" off the table and "niche down"? Each house-for-sale needs only one buyer. What if we identified a target buyer with complete specificity and then "staged", and more importantly "marketed" the property looking for that one family, man or woman?

What sounds like looking for a needle in haystack is actually, in my own experience, much simpler and easier to do. It's using laser focus and mastering the smallest nice possible. It's identifying the most special aspect of a home and making sure that everyone and anyone who might want or need that feature gets to know about the property's availability and gets in to see it!

Examples like:-

- perfect for dog owners (i.e.within walking distance of the dog walking park)
- absolute prototype of an American Bungalow style home
- Very high ceilings, and strangely highly placed counter-tops (ideal for 6' + folks)
- Strong colors in all rooms (great for renters coming off all-white apartments

I had surprising success this January with a house that sold for $3 million after only 35 Days On the Market! An Arts and Crafts new-build that was decorated in mostly-Mission-eclectic style. We made it perfect for a specific niche, and the place sold!



The web is such a huge help here. A golfer's ideal home would be marketed to golfers online, in their publications, and in places where you would characteristically find them. Some homes look ideal as bachelor pads, and there might be all sorts of interesting places to market them! Which brings me back to "sprucing up your home to appeal to pet owners".... did you know there are 7 million dog owners in this country?

Friends, read this from Alison Rogers - a NYC realtor and blogger on Inman. It's an amazingly effective tactic when marketing a listing-

http://www.inman.com/buyers-sellers/columnists/alisonrogers/finding-nifty-50

I know it is the very tactic that was used to sell a large $2.3 million Tuscan-style manse in an unpopular, poor-ish, rotten-commute-to-everywhere rural area this Spring... in 53 DOM... after I had discouraged the realtor from spending their own money on staging it. I never imagined that house in that location would sell at that price!

Hah! Shame on me for my lack of faith; kudos to the realtor and well done on a great sale and an impressive deployment of a superb tactic.

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There are only 6 things we do in our homes. When you go to sell that home, you need to make sure that you have offered inviting spaces to do each of them. Staging CAN be as simple as that.

What are those 6 verbs that describe all that we DO in the place where we live?

1. Eat
2. Self-Clean
3. Sleep
4. Play
5. Work
6. Relax

So says Ann Maurice of the BBC television program, House Doctor. It is Ann Maurice who is credited with taking the concept of home staging from California, its alleged birthplace, to the UK. That debate is not important. At least, not to those of us staging homes professionally, realtors trying to get homes sold and sellers presenting their biggest asset in the best possible light. What is important is the simplicity and beauty that this list offers for dealing with the task at hand.

Cover all of those functions and your house looks full, easy to live in and tempting to buyers.
Whenever faced with an potential problem, use one of these 6 verbs to reframe that possible negative as an asset.

For example:-
POTENTIAL NEGATIVE
A Large Tree in the backyard, that blocks out a lot of sun and takes up a huge amount of space.

Reframe: PLAY
%u2022 Throw a rope over a strong branch and create a swing.
%u2022 Put a blanket underneath with a book and a picnic basket.
%u2022 Maybe a "lookout" as far up as you can get by ladder

POTENTIAL NEGATIVE
An odd hallway, with an open bit, that reads as wasted space
Reframe: WORK
%u2022 Add a small desk, area rug and chair to suggest a quiet nook to read email, pay bills, keep the family calendar

Use the "6" as a checklist, and remember you do not always have to be literal about the illustrations. Within a side yard, is there somewhere you could fit a hammock, or a bistro set for a glass of iced tea -- this way you could have covered relaxing, eating, working or playing, no?

You see, home staging is as much about HOW to really "live" in a house as it is about illustrating all the plusses of how to live in THIS one!

And now I'd like to invite you to claim your free copy of my Summer Selling Tips for Home Sellers at http://www.JulietJohnsonStaging.com/tips

Home Staging Secrets - 7 Tips On Marketing To Younger Buyers

Home Staging Secret:- Marketing to Gen X and Y is NOT about speaking ebonics! It's just like staging itself; it's about recognizing the "preferred settings" in their lifestyle and making home buying fit into that particular paradigm.

Here are 7 tips to help you hip up... or zizz it, as my 16 year old cousin in London says! (and for the rest of this article Gen x and y will be lumped together into one generation... because I'm old enough now that I can do that!)

1. WEBmaxxed

This is a generation that does EVERYTHING online. They grew up on it, understand it, and begin every chapter, every challenge that way. make sure the listing is findable. Findable in lots of places and findable without the realtor. Each hit should link to the listing realtor and the listing should be clearly identified with the lister. So, realtors: make each listing findable without you, but easy to get in touch with you once the buyers are looking at the page.

2. On Demand

Anyone see the article on Yahoo! about people cramming 30 hours worth into a 24 hour day? This generation is all about immediate accessibility. To capture them, you need to have your house ready for showing whenever...before work, after, before school, on lunch, weekends, Mondays, all of it! I recently had a young investment banker client who didn't get home until 10:00 p.m. every night and worked weekends. We compromised with 9:00p.m. appointments. They were brutal, but the only thing that fit his schedule. If I wanted his business....

3. Buy It Now

Young people want instant gratification. Duh!
"Quick and efficient sales are important to young people who have enormous demands on their time and little patience" says Karen Gravelle of DigitalCustom "to make a decision, they need to have an efficient presentation of options, understand the pricing factors and be able to complete the sale as as quickly as they would like."
Many realtors will have monthly payments factored out, with 3 different %s down and have that sheet available at the showing. I recommend going one step further. Include all the costs, and then annualized the payments. e.g. This home will cost you $24,000 a year - $500 a month in utilities and $1,500 in mortgage payment. Also included should be:-
*- Name and # you call for this mortgage
*- Calendar/Timeline with attorney review, inspections, deposit due and closing date all marked out in # of days (sign today and you can close and move in on "May 31, 2008")
*- Name and # at Moving Concierge who will transfer all of the utilities into your name, including the landscaper, cleaner, etc.
*- Name and # of local lawyer, dentist, ob-gyn, tax person, pizza delivery guy, hair person, drycleaner, etc. (a "welcome wagon" one-sheeter) all presented at the time they walk into the house, so that the whole thing is turn-key.

4. Color It Mine

A simple design, a clean clear message of what is being offered, amplified with color and whimsy. Look at catalogs like West Elm and you'll see neutral colors on all the big stuff and some serious "punch" coming from vibrant accessories. (in groups of 1,3 or 5). Have the brochure lady photoshop the pictures of the rooms in 2 other color ways. If the room is beige with chocolate brown and red, show it white with cobalt blue and pale maple or cream with apple green and mahogany. Think Web 2.0 and allow the buyers to instantly see how they could customize this very look for themselves.

5. Destination

If Starbucks, Borders, Barnes and Noble and Neiman Marcus can teach us anything it is that in the retail world, the more successful stores are the destination ones. So make the home a destination. Have a coffee pot ready to go, snacks in the fridge, speakers and presentations held at the Sunday Open House...performances even. Retailers and event marketers can teach us a lot about experiential marketing. After all, we want a buyer to really experience the house, not just wander through it like an art gallery.

6. Analytics/Metrics

I notice the younger realtors I work with have formulas for things. Makes sense - there's so much information easily available these days, it makes sense to speak in metrics. "This house is 87% bigger than the others on the block, it has a 95 Hot Buy ranking from the top 20 realtors in our area, its Value is in the number of bedrooms to baths and the depth of the back yard." Yes, buying a house is an emotional decision, but these kids know that and want to have some metrics to back it up, so that they're not being ripped off.

7. Meet the Parents

When I was a realtor, the #1 enemy was the best friend. She/he was the Professional Objector, more than a total PITA, she was the Deal Buster! (I used to take a buddy of mine out with one client so that my buddy could distract and deal with my client's "helpful friend.") It would be logical therefore to think the parents would be the same killjoys. They tend not to be. And... they will often chip in.

And now I'd like to invite you to pick up your free copy of my Seasonal Showing Tips for Home Sellers

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