As a property stylist, I take my role in the real estate sales and marketing process very seriously. Don’t get me wrong, I love my work and enjoy a little fun and banter along the way, though I never lose focus on my responsibility. Assisting with the selling of a clients property quickly, efficiently and for the top dollar.
I had a recent experience which I feel encapsulates the benefits of styling a home for sale, in a quite irrefutable way.
One of our fantastic regular agents approached Home Property Styling to provide a home staging quote for a vendor, which we promptly provided and secured the dates for installation.
The property is a neat suburban three-bedroom brick home with original bathroom, kitchen and had been tenanted for some time, so it needed a deep clean and a “refresh” of the surfaces, carpet clean and sanitise. Just a quick tip, lingering odours are generally caused by bacteria and need to be eliminated with an antimicrobial solution or strong disinfectant, as the smell will continue to return if the bacteria are not destroyed.
It was a couple of days prior to installation, when we received a call from the agent saying the vendor wants to “go it alone” and no amount of discussion would change their mind.
The vendor believed, “the market is hot and available stock is low, why should I spend the money on styling and photos.”
This is an unenviable position for our Real Estate agent, as they know the benefits to the vendor, in a faster sale and a much better price. Unfortunately, there is only so much that can be done once a vendor has made up their mind.
Frankly, the agent also misses out.
Increased enquiry by potential buyers (for this and other properties), a more efficient sale process, quicker sale, and a better commission.
So the property was listed vacant, with no furniture and went to market with no property staging or interior styling. The only photos available were older versions, such as below.
Home Property Styling is engaged to assist vendors and agents achieve the highest price possible for the property and achieve this result as fast as possible. We are not engaged to make a home seem aloof, uber chic or showcase our furniture for our portfolio, it is not about us, nor the agent or even the vendor. With respect, this is not a Harper’s Bazarre or Vogue photo shoot, it is a sales campaign designed to sell the property, the two have completely different purposes.
Home Property Styling operates in the market daily, seeing vendors and agents daily, property staging and interior designing homes daily, we like to think we know what the market wants. We also ensure to consult with the selling agent, the vendor, research local demographics and of course, review homes selling and not selling in the area.
We have a vast and evolving range of furnitures, linens, homewares and styles at our disposal, suiting modern clifftop penthouses or suburban family homes, beachside cottages and luxury acreages.
Sorry, I digress. Back to our story.
The campaign for the home was not a disaster and had a reasonable response from potential purchasers, however, the property consequently received offers of around $560k, unfortunately, this was well below the vendors expectations and these offers were consequently declined.
After further consultation with the property agent and Home Property Styling, the home was staged and styled as per previous arrangement. The home had the property staging photos shot and campaign re-issued to market, with the staging conducted by Home Property Styling.
New images of the property now staged were much more appealing to the market.
Three days after the first open home, an offer was accepted by the vendor…$655,000.
This translates to around a 17% increase on previous offers or $95,000 more than the offers made less than a month before.
Out of interest, the quote for partial styling this property was well under $2500. What an incredible return on investment for our vendor. The selling agent was also happy with the increased commission.
Everyone is a winner.
This result is a prime example of what can be achieved when staging a property for sale and projecting beautiful images to the market.
The average sale value increase in the Australian market is between 7.5% - 12.5% (Openagent.com.au) over non staged property.
These percentages are reflected across all price points in the Real Estate market from high to low (see more examples of record prices here), as the principal of property styling remains the same.
Target the demographic of the property, understand who is looking at this property and understanding what their expectations are. Once the property style is established, use the floorplan in its most appealing configuration. Think scale. proportion and balance.
Placement of beautiful furniture, linens, and homewares, positioned so the property flows effortlessly, smoothing out any rough edges and accentuating the property’s features.
Importantly, ensure the photography translates all this hard work to an almost tangible series of photos, giving potential buyers a compelling reason to register and attend open homes.
If the photography does not represent the property in its new and transformed style, it will do the campaign a disservice and may lose traffic to other similar properties on the market.
There is no doubt this is a popularity contest, give the market what they are asking for.
Finally, vendors must emotionally detach themselves from the home, which can be difficult at times, for various reasons. It is an emotional process for many vendors and selling a home is a huge process to undertake, though if the decision has been made to sell, it is worth doing properly.
For example, potential buyers may not appreciate photo memory walls, sports memorabilia, or cherry red feature walls as much as the vendor does. We have these conversations daily which can be a little uncomfortable for the vendor, though as stated previously, we are engaged to get the best results posiible and put forward the proposals that will achieve that.
Home Property Styling prides itself on making the process of presenting homes to market, a seamless journey to a successful sale. From street appeal, to gardens, painting, bathroom, and kitchen renovations and of course, beautiful furniture, linens and property styling. Our team of trades and services are experienced and handpicked to ensure Home Property Styling’s high standards are maintained throughout the process.
There are also style now and pay later options available to vendors, which we are happy to discuss.
We look forward to assisting our vendors and agents continue achieving great success when presenting their properties to market. Contact us here or call 1300214986
Jen