Staging a House versus a Condo

When it’s time to sell your home, you know that creating an attractive feel is critical to getting the highest offers on your home.  Regardless of what property type you have, staging is an important step in preparing for potential buyers to visit.  However, if you’re staging a condominium, the goals and strategies are somewhat different than if you’re staging a single-family home. 

Amount of Furniture

House – Less is more.  The goal is to open up walkways and make the buyer feel like each room has an abundance of space.

Condo – Strategic placement of existing furniture is critical.  Many potential home buyers struggle to envision how a bed and dresser would fit in a small bedroom, so showing that both fit comfortably is important to show the room is big enough.  Avoid clutter, but significantly less furniture may make it appear that the furniture cannot fit.

Personal Items

House – It’s important to remove most items that are unique to your family like family photos.  Potential buyers want to envision themselves in the house, and it’s difficult to do that if there are consistent reminders that this is another family’s home. 

Condo – The same logic for houses applies to condos.  Fewer personal items not only allows buyers to see this as their potential home, but also removes some clutter that can make the area look even smaller.  It’s also especially important to consider personal items in the bathroom, since buyers are likely to spend a significant amount of time looking at the size of medicine cabinets and other storage areas in smaller bathrooms.  Any medications should be removed and put in a safe place.

Amount of Small Objects

House – After removing personal objects, try to take out anything that you don’t absolutely need.  For example, if you’re selling your home during the winter, store all your summer clothes and only keep enough winter clothes for a short period of time.  The extra space in the closet will make the closet look significantly bigger.  The same idea applies to bookshelves.  If your bookshelves are filled to capacity, it looks like you’re forcing things together and so creates the appearance of clutter.  Open up shelves and use only a few decorative objects.

Condo – Everything that is true for houses is true for condos here, with an added concern.  In the kitchen of a condo, counter space is a luxury.  Store any appliances or spice racks that are taking up space on your counters.  The appliances you need, box or put in a cabinet for easy access, but they should not be out while the home is being shown.

Curb Appeal

House – Spruce up your garden, walkway, front door, and everything else that a prospective buyer will see from the outside.  Many home buying decisions are made on the way to the front door, so you want an attractive exterior.

Condo – With a curb, it may seem that curb appeal is irrelevant.  In fact, the appeal comes from the front door.  Make sure the door is well maintained, then take a moment to stand in the doorway and observe what the condo looks like.  The first thing that a buyer sees when the door is opened is one of the most important things in your home.  Add coordinated color, classic style, and anything else you can to make that first look breath-taking.

Picking the strategies that work for your property, can help speed up your selling process!

Phoenix Real Estate Update

When buying or selling a home, how the market is fairing can drastically change your expectations for home prices and quality.  The Phoenix market is experiencing 21.7% growth in home prices year-over-year, with things looking optimistic going into 2013. 

Median Sale Price

The median sale price is a good indication of whether homes are selling for their true value.  After hitting its peak median sale price in 2007, the Phoenix market experienced what others across the country have been facing, and the price dropped to a new low.  Since then, sale prices been creeping upwards, and this year the prices reached the level they had been before the boom of 2007.  In layman’s terms, the sale price is returning to normal.

Number of Sales

The number of sales in Phoenix for the past few years has fluctuated significantly, but is currently a little higher than it was before the recession hit.  Overall, fewer homes are for sale than they have been in the recent past.  Sellers have the opportunity to take advantage of this since there is less competition in the market.  Buyers may have less to choose from, but with an able guide, they can still find their dream home.

Average Price per Square-foot

Ideally, the average price per square-foot would stay roughly constant, with a slight increase over the years to indicate the home’s value is appreciating.  Prior to the recession, Phoenix followed this general trend.  Today, however, there is significant variation in price depending on the time of year, the house sold, and many other factors. 

This is both positive and negative for people trying to navigate this market.  It means that for the savvy and informed consumer, there are incredible deals to be had, on both the buyers’ and the sellers’ ends.  However, there are also homes that are selling for significantly more and significantly less than they regularly would, so a buyer or seller who is not well-informed or who is not carefully analyzing each property may end up spending more than the home is worth.

Being well informed of market conditions can make your home buying or selling decisions easier. 

Holiday Home Marketing

With feasts to prepare, guests and trips to coordinate, and presents to wrap, the last thing you want to do is spend an inordinate amount of time preparing your home to be viewed by potential buyers.  Check out these easy tips and tricks to help your home remain show worthy, without forcing you to sacrifice the holiday spirit.

Use lights strategically

When you decorate outside, keep two things in mind.  First, big, bulky decorations might be a turn-off to some buyers, so keep your decorations at a tasteful minimum.  Second, consider any architectural features you want to highlight, and use lights to do that.  If you have a great archway, illuminate it with a string of lights.  Interweave lighting into your hanging vines.  You can use the lights to help focus the buyers eyes to the big selling points of your yard.

Build an Oasis

When coming in from the cold, buyers want to feel completely welcomed.  An easy way to do this is to make the environment warm.  Right before your home is going to be shown, turn the thermostat up a few degrees.  If you have a fireplace, light a fire (assuming someone like your agent will quickly be there to make sure it’s a controlled flame).

Show off with your Tree

Please do not try to do this by buying the biggest, bulkiest tree available.  This will make your home look small and may even seem tacky.  Instead, use your tree to show off your house.  If you have tall ceilings, get a tree that almost reaches the top, drawing buyers’ eyes upward.  Try to find a skinny tree, so the room won’t lose any depth while holding it.  And consider decorating it using a single theme – this will make the room look complete and well put together.

Decorate to Sell

You know that your home has beautiful features.  Use your decorations to draw the buyers towards those parts of the house.  If you have a fantastic mantle, consider laying a holiday vine across it.  Bold colors draw the eye, and the holidays are a chance to point a big neon sign to the part of your home that will be huge selling points (figuratively, of course).

Use the Smells of the Season

In addition to a warm welcome, nothing makes a potential buyer feel more at home than inviting smells.  A simple way to win their affection is to leave a pot of hot apple cider or hot chocolate simmering on the stove right before you leave, with a few mugs to the side to make it clear everyone’s welcomed to partake.  The smell will permeate the house, and the gesture will be appreciated.  The buyer will feel that this house is a place they’d like to call home in the winter.

All in all, try to create an inviting atmosphere while maintaining a tasteful décor.  Highlight the aspects of your house you’re most proud of, and help the buyer see what a wonderful home it truly is.

Where to Look For the Real Dirt...

Okay, not geographically where.  Whether its Phoenix real estate you’re looking at, Tucson, or anywhere in-between,  even when you have narrowed your choices down to an area and to just two or three homes, there are sources of information that you may not have thought of, that can help you evaluate if a house is your ideal future home.  Here are a few of those sources of information.

Inside the House - Obvious, right?  But what are you looking for?  Besides the layout, number of bedrooms and bathrooms, there can be several indications that this house might have some damage that’s worth looking into.  Any water damage can be a sign of plumbing, drainage, or flooding problems.  Pest problems can show up as smells or even as damage to the wood. 

Outlets can give a quick check as to whether older houses have been modified with modern safety equipment.  Look for three pronged outlets and a test/reset switch.  Both are relatively new, so show there has been some attempt to bring the electrical system up to date. 

Before you buy a house, be sure to have it inspected by a reliable professional who can give you an estimate of what repairs and maintenance will cost.

Current Homeowners - Some home sellers provide disclosures to prospective home buyers.  Your real estate agent will obtain these if they’re available.  They will discuss the problems the home has had and what’s been done to repair them.  If there’s something that has been frequently repaired, it will likely continue to need maintenance in the future.

Even without a disclosure, homeowners can provide helpful advice.  If you intend to remodel, mention your vision to them.  It’s possible they had the same thought, but ran into some problem or unexpected cost that prevented the remodel.  Knowing if your options are limited is important.

The Neighborhood - If a neighborhood association is present, that’s great.  It means the area is a community and will likely act to increase the security and feeling of the neighborhood as a whole.  Be sure to visit a few blocks in every direction.  A noisy or smelly site nearby can be a significant disadvantage.  Also, talk to neighbors.  They generally don’t have a vested interest in selling the house, so will often talk openly and honestly about problems in the area.

The News - Is the area prone to flooding?  Robberies?  News stories will often show dangers you weren’t considering.

The Paperwork - Ask for utility bills, tax bills, and any documentation of improvements to the house.  A cheap improvement may not be a lasting one, so consider all costs spent and to be spent.

Working with a real estate professional to find your dream home, will save you research time and ensure you are armed with all relevant information to size up a home’s real fit for you. 

A Festive Entryway

Like many enthusiastic holiday celebrators, you’re probably starting to decorate your home in reds and greens, hanging stockings, and plastering pictures of jolly red med all over your walls.  Outdoors, you may have even broken out the tallest ladders and adorned your roof and bushes with festive lights.

Whether you have a full front porch, or just a basic door, with these easy techniques you can add some holiday cheer to encourage your guests to get in the holiday spirit too.

Use Greens

You already know the tradition of hanging a wreath on your front door, but you don’t have to stop there. Include a large red bow on the wreath to add color.  For a subtle emphasis, wrap Christmas lights around the foliage so your wreaths really pop.  The lights that twinkle will really make your door turn some heads, even from the street as cars drive by.

For something different, hang a basket filled with white, purple, and soft red flowers.  Adding some moss to the base will give it a splash of green and complete the look.

Use Lights

Decorative Christmas lights are very fun, but you don’t really want to put them right at the entryway.  If you do, people will be distracted by the blinding brightness.  Instead, consider an elegantly simple solution – candles.  If you have a patio, place a candelabrum as a centerpiece on a table.  For smaller areas, put a thick white candle on either side of the door, with or without a candle holder.  When the sun sets, light the candles for a stunning holiday feel.

Use Garden Tools

By incorporating a rustic feel into your holiday decorations, you can highlight the tradition of the season.  Consider adorning your front stoop with old-fashioned rakes and watering cans.  Then hang a few bold colored Christmas bulbs from the gardening equipment and place pine cones around the base.  To combine the rustic feel with illumination, use iron lanterns with lit candles inside.

Use planters

Many people already decorate their front stoop with potted plants, and a few minor changes can turn those planters into sources of holiday joy.  Replace summer flowers with evergreen branches by burying the ends of each branch in the center of the planter and allowing the green branches to form a base. 

Try using a variety of different evergreens so you get different shades of complimentary colors.  Branches with red berries are a definite plus.  To add depth, incorporate ivy and boxwood.  These holiday plants tend to be thicker, so the plants get a rounder, full feel.  Finally, adorn the decoration with a floppy red bow or sparkly orbs to really catch the eye.

All relatively easy ways to add heaps of holiday cheer!