10 Must-Buy Home Staging Accessories

So you’ve chosen your estate agent, decided upon an asking price, and planned your launch date.  Your home is looking wonderful: carpeting cleaned, the whole house deep cleaned, touch-up painted, weeded the garden, and made little repairs. All that remains is some finishing touches.  But what accessories represent the best investment when you’re trying to give your house that extra presentation polish to wow your buyers?

1.   Pillows & Cushions – a really easy way to instantly update that fading suite and add color, texture and interest at the same time.

2.   Rugs – a large, deep rug can transform a room, adding warmth and style.  You don’t have to spend a fortune on them; decide on a budget and stick to it.  You should be able to get a large rug, say 8’ x 5’, for under $150 if you shop around.

3. Draperies – You can transform an entire room with floor to ceiling draperies.  Pick a color and add a few coordinating pillows and throw blanket.  

4.   Fruit and flowers – try big glass bowls or wide vases of fruit in the kitchen to add colour; fill full of just one type of fruit (oranges, green apples or lemons look wonderful) for instant contemporary style.  Make sure flower arrangements are in keeping with the style of the house and also the room: long elegant Cala lilies are great on a large dining table, and little hand-tied posies are just right for a rustic kitchen.  Choose carefully for maximum effect.

5.   Toiletries –choose the very best you can afford here and a little goes a long way.  Again, make sure that they are kept for viewings only.

6.   New bedding – especially for the master bedroom, where it matters most to your buyers.  Choose a subtle style that isn’t too garish or flowery, and add some pillows and a good quality throw.  For the other bedrooms, adding new plain bedding with some tasteful pillows and throws can update them inexpensively.

7.   Towels – used towels never quite look the same as brand new ones; treat your home to some gorgeous new towels, and make sure that no one uses them – they’re just for show!  Whip them away and hide them after each viewing so they stay looking their best.

8.  Lighting – when your home is showing you will want to turn on every lamp in the house.   You can buy inexpensive lamps at some of the retailers I have noted below.  Some of the big lighting retailers as well as discount home stores carry interesting lamp shades so you can give an update and match your pillows and throws.

9.   Atmosphere – in the form of soft music and gentle fragrances.  Choose soothing background music to encourage buyers to linger, and scented candles in subtle fragrances to provide the finishing touch.

10.  Curb Appeal – flowers in pots or planter beds.  Grouping pots of varied sizes on the front porch and varying heights in planter beds makes a huge impact.

Where to buy:
To stay up to date with current trends, colours and styles without breaking the bank, try these retailers:

Wayfair – my favorite for quality rugs at a fraction of the price.

Home Goods – home accessories, toiletries, towels, pillows and bedding.

Kirklands – flowers and accessories

Flower pots – Target

Draperies – West Elm, Bed Bath & Beyond and Ikea

Article by Stacy Sheeley 

For an in-home consultation about how to stage your home, contact me at:

Stacy Sheeley

Realty One Group - Summerlin, Las Vegas, NV

stacy@lvteamrealty.com 

702.292.9064

www.ilovesummerlinhomes.com

 

 

The Art of Pricing Your Home for Sale

The Art of Pricing Your Home for Sale

Ready? If you've done your homework, you should be able to take a pretty good stab at setting the price of your home. Let's walk through the steps in order:

1.    Use Your “Comps” – Your Realtor will provide you with the current comparable sales within your neighborhood. You should be looking at the average sold prices for homes that are similar to yours (if possible): within 100 square feet, same number of beds/baths, same number of stories.  Items that that add to value are: corner lot, large lot, pool, additions, bedroom/bath options, big renovations or updates.  

2.  Find a “Magic” Price --Your asking price should be within 10 percent of the average sold price in your neighborhood.  Once you have a target in mind, think about a price that motivates people more than others.  Its generally better to keep within a $25,000 block, for example, rather than $305,000, go with $299,950.  Lenders generally stay within $25,000 lending amounts and Realtors searching homes for their clients in MLS generally do the same.  You don’t want to get left out by being the odd ball at $304,900.

3.    Find the "Soft Spot" -- Also called "price banding," this is the practice of looking over the inventory in your neighborhood and finding the "soft spot." For example, look at the sale prices of homes in your neighborhood. Prices tend to get bunched up as inventory moves along. Find an empty spot so your home is separated from the pack. For example, four homes are priced in the $274,000-$276,000 range and the next set of homes start around $290,000 and up. You should take advantage of the $280,000 price band.

4.    Considerations -- Other factors that play into pricing your home:

• Time of year -- Ah, spring. Spring is considered the best season to sell a home since families are trying to get situated before the start of the next school year; however, fall is a close second since it comes right after the quiet days of summer when most people are away on vacation. Winter is usually the worst season -- especially in areas where it snows -- but also because of the Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Year's holidays when people's minds are on socializing, not buying or selling a home.
• Interest rates -- If rates are reasonable, it seems everyone is in the market for a home. But, if interest rates start to climb or they do not seem reasonable, you'll see less action on the street.
• Inventory -- In Economics 101, we were taught the basics of supply and demand. This theory laid the foundation of what drives costs, and so it goes with real estate. If your home is one of 20 in the neighborhood that's for sale, you will have a hard time getting your price since the supply is great and the demand may not be so great. However, if it's a hot market and you have a home in a great neighborhood, chances are you will get your asking price and maybe even more. Scope out the neighborhood to see if inventory is high or low. (And ask a real estate agent.)

5.    Comparative Market Analysis (CMA) -- If you're working with an agent, you will automatically get a CMA, which includes recent sales and days on the market. If you don’t currently have an Agent then don’t be afraid of asking.  We provide these free of charge with no strings attached.  Realtors provide these free of charge. We do CMA reports without ever having to step foot in your home and chances are we have seen the floorplan and know the builder well. 

Its easy to get a free evaluation in a Comparative Market Report

Step 1:  Go to www.summerlinhomereport.com

Step 2:  Enter your property information

Step 3:  Receive your CMA by email

If you are interested in a more finely-tuned report 

then we will ask to visit your home

6. Comparative Shopping - Put yourself in the Buyer's shoes and see what else you could get for the asking price of your home.  Its even a great idea to have your Realtor take you to show you other similar homes that are in the same neighborhood for comparison.  Often Sellers are too emotionally attached to their homes to objectively place a value on the property.  Once you start looking around to see else is selling for that price, you might have a better idea of how appealing your house is in the current market. 

Written by:

Stacy Sheeley

Realty One Group

Summerlin – Las Vegas, NV

10750 W. Charleston Blvd

Las Vegas, NV 89135

702-292-9064

Stacy@lvteamrealty.com

www.ilovesummerlinhomes.com