Staged homes sell first!

Staged homes sell first! Why would anyone question that? Before I decided to devote my energies to home staging full time I put in 15 years in residential real estate. I learned 2 simple truths that remain true today, if your house is priced competitively and shows great, it will sell. No question about it.

So just what is it that makes a house show great? I suspect that is where the confusion comes in. Decorating a home to live in and staging a house to sell are completely different animals. To add to the confusion every home is different, even if the floor plan is the same as another down the street, something as basic as the orientation of the house on the lot will affect the way the sunlight plays in the rooms.

There are a million variables that can affect the way a buyer feels inside a house. That is what staging is all about, enhancing the feel of the home so that it speaks to the buyer, invites them in to stay and make this place their home.

There is nothing deceptive about staging, in fact the exact opposite is true. If a room is so full of furniture and stuff that the buyer is distracted and completely misses the fireplace and the awesome windows, the seller is not the only one to suffer. The buyer loses out on what may have been the perfect home because they could not evaluate the home accurately. Home staging is a solution that benefits all involved; buyer, seller, and agent.

So stayed tuned, I will blog as I stage and share with you some tips that anyone can use to make their home or home listing more salable. I will address your questions so please feel free to send them my way, my blog email address is lauragurrad@gmail.com

The good news, and the iffy

Excerpts from article on Charlotte.com 12/27/2007,
by ALLEN NORWOOD, Home Editor

Charlotte bucks U.S.in rising home prices. As other metro areas struggle, region sees 4.3% jump, based on national index. As home prices tumble across the country, Charlotte is one of just a few metro areas where values are rising over last year. The reasons: Steady job growth and historically moderate home price appreciation.

Charlotte's home prices rose 4.3 percent in October compared with the same month last year -- more than in any other city in Standard & Poor's/Case-Shiller home price index. Just two other cities, Portland, Ore., and Seattle, saw increases.

Overall, home prices in the index of 20 metro areas fell by 6.1 percent from last October. Miami and Tampa saw the biggest price declines, with dips of 12 percent. Detroit, Las Vegas, Phoenix and San Diego also posted double-digit declines.

Not all the news in the 20-city index was good for Charlotte, though. Every city in the index, including Charlotte, saw prices decline from September to October. "No matter how you look at these data, it is obvious that the current state of the single-family housing market remains grim," Robert Shiller, who helped create the index, said in a statement.

Dot Munson of Re/Max Executive Realty, president of the regional Realtors said, "We are seeing a longer time on the market, but people are not willing to give their homes away to sell them." In October of last year, the average home sold through Carolina Multiple Listing Services remained on the market 118 days before closing. In October 2007, average time on market had increased to almost 124 days. The number of homes on the market longer than 121 days crept up 3.5 percent over the same period.

Munson agrees with national economists that a growing inventory of homes will have to work its way through the market before housing rebounds, and that's not going to happen right away, even in Charlotte.

Shopping Tips

For every person who has ever said they love shopping, I can show you 2 home stagers that hate it. It is the worst part of any staging for multiple reasons.


Firstly, you never really know how a piece will work in a room until you see it in the room, sometimes at multiple times of the day. Artificial and natural light change the feel of a room and the color of paint, fabric and furniture. My colleagues and I joke, our standard mantra is, "Well--we can always take it back!" And secondly there are the returns.


Tip 1- When shopping for staging, buy more than you think you will need, that applies to colors, styles, and the number of items. When you start to put a room together you don't want to stop to run back to the store to pick up the the "other" green pillows or have to go to multiple locations to find one more to go with the 2 that you did buy that work.


Tip 2- Always save and sort your purchase receipts. Returns are a headache at best. I always take help, my assistant holds the line while I peruse the store to see what new merchandise has arrived and do any additional shopping. Time is money in this business.


There is nothing worse than standing at the return register with folks behind you who are in hurry too. As you are ransacking your purse, looking for that receipt that was there just the other day, they are planning your demise, sometimes not so quietly. Pay attention to return policies too, some sales are final, some can be returned for up to 120 days, some only give you 30 days. I have stood in the return line only to find that the item I seek to return can not be returned because I had it discounted for a flaw, which often makes the sale final.


Tip 3- Be sure to check the amount that is being credited back to your credit card to verify it is correct. Save the credit receipt in a file to make sure it really does get credited back to your account, things don't always work the way they should in our hurry up world and mistakes add up.


Tip 4- Don't throw those receipts away after your home is staged! The cost of staging your home as well the cost of hiring a professional home stager may be tax deductible as a cost of sale, be sure to keep a detailed record of all expenses incurred to give to your tax preparer.