Halifax Home Staging: Is It a Good Investment?

Interiors Working For You has been providing professional Halifax home staging services in the Metro Halifax area since 2004. In that time we have been instrumental in the change in public response from no awareness, to cautious interest, to excitement, to embracing, to a belief that it is a valid part of the selling process. Meanwhile our business has grown from providing consultations on a part time basis to full staging services, including rentals, for anything from a one hour consult to the management of a renovation project. As my daughter likes to say, I know a little sump’n sump’n about staging and I am a firm believer in its value.

There are still nay sayers of course. Sellers who don’t really care if they sell or not, for instance, may say “they can go somewhere else if they don’t like what’s here”. Well yes, they will go and buy somewhere else. The goal of staging is to maximize the number of people who will like what’s there, because the more people interested in a product, the better the sale.

Some sellers and real estate agents say that business has been done a certain way for years so why change now. The reason is because the market has changed. Buyers have changed. Expectations have changed. The typical buyer no longer looks for a simple, sturdy home that they can make their own over time to grow old in. Buyers today want instant gratification with little or no effort involved because their lives are already busy enough. People now tend to own their homes for a brief number of years before moving up or moving away, and want to be able to sell it well in turn.

Sellers and agents sometimes make the mistake of assuming that a decorated house is a staged house. The goals of staging and decorating are very different, even though a strong knowledge of decor is required for both.  While a decorated home is dressed to suit the home owner, a Staged home is dressed to appeal to as broad a target market as possible. Staging addresses the flow of the home; ways to show off its best features while showing solutions for its challenges; and ensures its function, colours, and style are appealing to the likely buyer. Thus, even a beautifully decorated home should be assessed by a professional Stager before hitting the market for sale.

We have often met with people who were initially afraid that the staging would be too expensive or that we would insult them, as the staging shows on television depict. There is no insult involved because our attention is directed towards the buyer and not towards the way people live in their homes. Some clients are surprised by how approachable we are and most are amazed by how affordable the process is. Staging is about protecting the seller’s equity. Finding cost effective solutions is what we pride ourselves on.

Professional Halifax home staging results in a better sale. Time and time again we have stepped in where a home has been on the market with no offers, and then once staged has sold right away. Many homes we have staged have sold from the first few showings. Our staged homes have generated multiple offers which push the sale price up above the asking price. Many times we have staged homes that the seller or a well meaning friend or an unqualified but well intentioned stager has already set up for selling, unsuccessfully. Staging is not as simple as decluttering and depersonalizing. A professional Stager understands what buyers will see and experience as they view the property. A professional knows the balance required between too much and too little in the home, and what improvements will bring a return in any particular property. Our clients consistently express gratitude for their success in selling and the ease with which it all happened.

Melanie Orr is the owner and operator of Interiors Working For You which provides full staging and redecorating services.

The Most Desirable Home Features for Selling

The following is an excerpt from Bruce MacFarlane’s monthly newsletter in April 2010, entitled “Today’s Most Desirable Home Features.”  Sellers should keep this information in mind as they prepare their homes for the market. 

Housing trends and styles are changing constantly. Today, more than ever, buyers have a strong sense of what they want in a home.    

Today’s desirable home features depend greatly on the type of buyer.  Buyers can be divided into two main groups. The first group are first-time buyers which is pretty self-explanatory. The second group are the move up buyers, which are looking to move into a home that addresses the shortcomings of their existing home. They aren't necessarily second-time buyers but they are often people that have out grown their current home. Buyer age is also a main factor in deciding the desired home features.

This article focuses on what is hot in the housing market today. Whether you are planning on renovating, selling, or you are looking for a new home, this information will help you make choices that will contribute to both your real estate enjoyment and investment.

Home Exterior 
Today, stone and stucco are very popular choices. Brick is the standard material used with mass builders, but the more customized and trendy home builders are using stone and stucco on a more frequent basis.

Floor Layout  
Bungalows are hot nowadays. Excessive floor level changes are no longer popular as people desire to live on one or two levels.

Room Sizes 
Room sizes have been gradually increasing for a number of years. Buyers tend to place the most importance on three key rooms: the kitchen, family room and master bedroom. You can expect to see these three rooms continue to increase in size over the next 10 years while rooms such as the living and dining room are likely to get smaller or disappear altogether. Many new homes scrap the living room and instead incorporate that space into the family room or the 'Great' room.

Buyers still, ideally, desire four bedrooms in their home and would like, if possible, two living areas. One of the living areas can be the recreation room in the lower level (basement).

A master bedroom on the main floor is ranked very important for buyers 65 and older. A two-car garage with ample storage area and a main floor laundry area is desirable for move-up buyers.

Kitchen and Bathrooms
The kitchen is becoming the hub of the house. The most desired features for the kitchen include: an abundance of counter space, a butler’s pantry, deep drawers and two sinks. Stainless steel appliances are also very popular today, and in the upper end market, appliances concealed as cabinetry are very chic.

Large kitchens with an island and counter tops made of granite or marble are very desirable for move up buyers. However, this must be matched with stylish kitchen cabinets. 

Luxurious bathrooms with a separate tub and multiple shower heads; pedestal sinks and large mirrors; an overall spa like feeling; attached dressing rooms and a place to sit are all desirable features. Master suite soaker tubs and whirlpools are still desirable for many home buyers, but not as important as other features.

Energy Efficiency
With the green movement becoming more popular, energy efficient appliances, high-efficiency insulation, eco-friendly treatments, and environmentally smart building plans are among the "green" features touted in homes.

Tech-readiness
Satellite and internet wired along with multiple phone jacks are what people want in today’s technology world. With today’s busy lifestyles relaying heavily on technology, even a day or two without high speed internet could be a major inconvenience.

Home Office
Today, many people would much rather have home office space than a formal dining room. Many employers are seeing the business advantages of allowing employees to work from home. As well, many people are using work from home opportunities to help supplement income because of work shortage or as an opportunity to make money online.

Outdoor Living Space
The popularity of outdoor spaces continues to grow. Patios, deck, exterior lights, fenced yard and fire pit extend the outdoor living space at home and make a great extra feature.

Other Notables
Some other notable features that home buyers consider very important when buying a home include central air conditioning, recessed lighting, hardwood flooring, energy efficiency and the potential to turn a profit should they decide to sell their home in the near future.

Today’s buyers are looking for a little luxury and features and treatments that are the highest quality their price range will permit.

Thanks to Bruce for the great information!

Melanie Orr is the owner and operator of Interiors Working For You which provides full staging and redecorating services.

Halifax Home Selling Tips: Part 2

Here are a few more tips for successful Halifax home selling.  Make sure to ask yourself these questions.  They’re exactly the questions a professional home stager would ask.

Is there too much or not enough in the house to effectively showcase the home’s best features? For successful Halifax home selling, it is important to have the right amount, the right style, and the right placement of contents. We tend to stop noticing the details in our own home because we see them every day. It is difficult for most people to see their home with an unbiased eye. Renting off site storage is a very effective selling strategy to clear out the garage and storage room, as well as edit the personal items in the house. In many cases a rearrangement, using existing contents, will create a fresh, neutral and inviting presentation. Sometimes new pieces are needed whether borrowed, bought or rented. In the case of a vacant home, the rental of the appropriate furniture and accessories are highly effective in getting the home sold well. A well staged home draws in a buyer with excellent flow, colors, style, room set up, interest and excitement.

Is the home’s decor going to be a benefit or deterrent to buyers? I have heard many times the theory that if a home is beautifully decorated, it is ready for market. Quite often this is not true. One local realtor tells the story of a buyer client who was shown two similar homes in the same neighborhood, one of which was fairly plain and the other decorated tastefully throughout. He expected the buyer to choose the decorated home, but she chose the plain one. Why? Although the decorated home was lovely, it did not match her furnishings and she would have had to either redecorate it or buy all new furniture. Taking that a step further I would suggest that whether the decorating is lovely or not is always a matter of taste. When in the midst of Halifax home selling it is wise to keep the home neutral; bring in interest and color through the use of accessories.

Happy Halifax home selling!  J

~Melanie Orr

Tips for Selling a House in Halifax: Part 1

If you are selling a house in Halifax and want to sell it for top dollar and quickly, you must understand that your home becomes a product. If you were selling a car you’d be smart to have the vehicle serviced, touched up and detailed to make it run and look its best in order to get it sold faster and /or for more. If you were headed to an important interview or business meeting, you’d make sure you were dressed appropriately and were neat and presentable.  It isn’t any different when we sell a home. The better we present any product to the market, the better response we will receive.

There are sellers who want to try out the market, and see what luck will bring. Then there are sellers who make a plan to deliberately sell their house. Smart sellers fall into the second category.

But what does a well presented home look like? The TV shows tell us that we need to declutter and depersonalize. Is that all we need to know? Not quite.   Here are some of the criteria we look at as professional stagers.

• Who will be the likely buyer and how do we appeal to as large a range of buyers as possible? A property that has been used as a student dorm will need changes in order to appeal to professionals who would love the proximity to downtown. A senior’s home will need changes in order to appeal to the young couple that will love the school down the road. A home with four children living in it will need changes to appeal to a couple with no kids.

• Does the home need upgrading and or repairs to get top dollar? When selling a house in Halifax, having the home in clean, tidy, well maintained condition is always a good move. Depending on the price and who will be looking at it, some upgrades may be warranted as well. The trick is to spend wisely on items that will improve the salability of the property.

• Are the rooms being shown with the appropriate usage? The computer in the living room may work really well for your family, but while on the market it may give the message to buyers that there is a lack of peaceful adult space in the house, and no room for a home office. You may not need that third bedroom and have set up a sewing room or den to suit your needs, but a prospective buyer may walk away with the impression there are not enough rooms for them.

Stay tuned for Part 2 and more information about selling a house in Halifax!