Thursday, May 18, 2006

  Firms make a good impression
Staging' a home can speed up sales
 

(The following are excerpts from article)

Sure signs of spring, "For Sale" signs are sprouting on residential lawns.  In a slowing real estate market, sellers are looking for competitive advantage.  A growing number of them will turn to "stagers," specialists in preparing homes for the market. Both Buck and Potvin say demand for their services is growing and, sellers are starting to think of staging before listing their homes. Buck and Potvin, however, have staged modest homes all the way up to those with six-and seven-figure price tags.  A consultation can run from less than $200 to several hundred dollars.  So International Association of Home Staging Professionals statistics indicate that the cost of staging a home generally runs less than the amount of the typical first price reduction when a home isn't moving. Cindy Brouillette, owner of Cindy B! REALTORS in Fort Wright, says staging is part of the service Realtors should provide.  She has developed a list o f more than 50 tips to help sellers de-clutter, depersonalize and otherwise increase the appeal of their homes. "I compete with agents every day that have stagers coming in, and I've seen staged homes that definitely looked better than they did before," she said, "But they shouldn't look as if they have been staged, because that could create a credibility issue.  So take the breakfast tray off the ottoman."                                                               - By Jenny Callison, Enquirer Contributor (Click here for full article)