How does home staging work? Why is it worth the money?
Home staging is all about the best marketing of your home. Once you’ve decided to place your home on the market the next step is to make your home look as appealing as possible to potential buyers to get as much foot traffic to your listing as you can. The more people that view your home, the more potential buyers!
A home staging professional’s goal is to sell your home for the best possible price. We aim to extract the most equity possible out of a seller’s home, and to do this it needs to not only have what the buyer wants, but look immediately appealing to the buyer’s sense of style. This is increasingly important as more and more buyers view things online before going in person to the home.
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Actually, 92% of potential buyers preview homes on the internet before going to see them. Having a professionally staged and photographed home are critical to driving traffic to your home. It makes it more appealing to buyers on its first impression and makes it more likely they will take the time to see the property in person.
At Décor Staging our designs are geared toward the overall style and flow of a home, the architectural features, the potential buyer’s age and income, the first impression and photographic appeal and the use of color as a psychological component.
Having been in the home staging market for many years I can personally attest and give examples of how staging a listing can increase market value and return on investment. Contact me at kerry@decorstaging.com or 650-619-9052 and I can share more information with you!
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Existing Home Sales Flatten And Point To A Much Better Spring
As expected, Existing Home Sales fell in February, slipping 30,000 units versus January’s numbers. It’s the 4th straight month in which Existing Home Sales were lower, month-over-month.
An “existing” home is one that is previously owned and lived-in (i.e. not new construction).
Existing Home Sales peaked in November 2009, just as the First-Time Home Buyer Tax Credit was set to expire. Immediately thereafter, according to the National Association of Realtors®, monthly sales plunged 17 percent in December, then another 7 percent in January.
Comparatively, February’s dip is a modest 0.6 percent and is more in line with the pre-tax-credit Existing Home Sales trend. The real estate market is rediscovering its normal.
But “normal” may not last for long.
When the federal home buyer’s tax program was extended last year, the new rules stated that home buyers must be under contract for their new, respective homes on, or before, April 30, 2010 in order to claim up to $8,000 in federal money. That deadline is approaching and many markets are experiencing a surge in buyer traffic as April 30 nears.
The Existing Home Sales data doesn’t reflect this new demand, nor the number of new contracts written. It only accounts for home closings and, in February, closings were down.
For today’s buyers, the market looks favorable. The federal tax credit is in place, mortgage rates stubbornly stick near all-time lows, and home prices are staying in check.
Existing Home Sales should gain through March and April, pressuring home prices higher. And, by the time the press reports the gains, the best deals in the city may already be gone. Consider acting sooner rather than later.
