There is always a lot of talk about buying real estate; discussions around the water cooler mainly reference open houses viewed the weekend before, price comparisons of similar houses in different neighbourhoods and whether or not the closing date might be right. But what about when you’re selling? That’s a whole different experience, with a whole different set of talking points.
Royal LePage’s House Price Survey out this week says that across Canada, a standard bungalow rose 6.7% to $406,218, a standard two-storey home rose 6% to $43,379 and a standard condo rose 4.5% to %257,624. In Toronto, arguably the country’s hottest market, a standard two-storey home rose 8.6% in the fourth quarter of 2014 to $745,062 and condos rose 6.9% to $384,680. It forecasts a 4.5% increase across the board in 2015 for the city.
“The social and economic factors that have influenced the Toronto market in recent years remain unchanged,” Gino Romanese, senior vice-president at Royal LePage says in the report, “so it is reasonable to expect we will see continued price appreciation in 2015.”
However, other parts of the country are starting to feel the effects of lower oil prices and modest job growth. The Canadian Real Estate Association said December sales were down from the previous month in almost two-thirds of all local housing markets, led by declines of about 25% in Calgary and Edmonton. Calgary alone has seen a jump of 39% more listings in the past year.
Traditionally, more listings come onstream for the spring market, regardless of local activity. Having your home optimally primed for sale can mean beating those new listings to a quicker, and likely higher-priced, transaction. Many realtors offer staging as part of their service, but because there are elements of a home that may require longer-term preparation, it pays to have both broader insight and specific advice well before you’re ready to list.
This may be the most important thing to know: “No one wants to buy your dirt or your work,” says Anne Bourne, the owner/operator of Toronto-based StagingWorks.
“Buyers want to purchase a home that is move-in ready.”
It’s said that many buyers decide on a house within the first 90 seconds. They won’t stop to ask about the details if the appearance doesn’t grab them right away. Making that great first impression is all-important.
“Home staging is ensuring a property looks its very best in order to get the highest price in the shortest amount of time,” Ms. Bourne says; this can involve everything from minimal decluttering and rearranging of furniture to opening up a space, painting, replacing light fixtures, refinishing kitchen cabinets, and then finally lacing the home with new furniture and accessories.
If your house or condo needs extensive work, the fix could take several weeks or more. Costs, of course, vary, depending on the size of a property.
Ms. Bourne adds that “properties that are cluttered, dirty, a bit rundown may not even get buyers in the front door. People search online before seeing a home in person…
They will be most excited to see the ones that look like they have been well-maintained and cared for.” (Renovators may be the exception, and the minority.)
A well-presented home unquestionably stands out from one that isn’t. Here’s a how-to for the staging process:
Get references from friends, family and your agent. This is vital, as the staging industry is unregulated, so you could end up with a look that does more harm than good.
Ask if they’re insured, and get references.
Then, “generally speaking, the actual staging takes a day or two,” Ms. Bourne says. “We can bring in a crew of several assistants and movers to turn around even a large property in one day. This assumes any other work and decluttering is completed before the staging day.”
Most professionals follow this process when determining what work needs to be done:
Consultation — A home stager walks through a space to assess its needs. The stager will prioritize changes based on budget to ensure maximum return on investment.
They’ll discuss whether to rid your house of the children’s toys, the dog bed, the hot rod in the driveway. Can you leave the wedding photos on the sideboard? Should you hide that water stain on the wood floor with a potted plant? Maybe you’ll discover that what you thought would need changing, doesn’t. Trust the experts.
Clean Up — This is where the hard work is, and could involve everything from painting and fixing the property inside and/or out. Maybe they’ll suggest you replace your old windows, or cut back the landscaping or fix the cracked path. Then, you’ll pack up your clutter (er, personal and beloved possessions) and take the boxes to off-site storage. Unless you have thousands of square feet to spare, removing boxes from the house is the best policy.
Staging Day — The home stager brings in whatever new furniture and accessories necessary to create the most sellable look for the most likely buyer demographic; it will work with your existing decor, unless the entire house has been emptied. They work to ensure each space looks as large and as inviting as possible. It may not be your look, but go with it — it’s no longer about you, it’s about the buyer. You can live with it a while.
Once the paperwork is signed and there are no more househunters coming through your place, the staging materials are removed and your own stuff is returned (just know, you may like the new look so much, you may not want it back).
“As soon as you are serious about putting your house on the market,” Ms. Bourne says, “have a home stager walk through your space and do a consultation. Depending on the neighbourhood and the type of potential buyers, stagers are able to put a plan together to ensure that the target buyer is going to fall in love with your home. How a gorgeous downtown condo is staged is completely different than the property around the corner from the school in Leaside.”
Source: The National Post
