SELLING
How to Sell Your Property
Staging an empty home
S
LIESA JOSSEL
Liesa Jossel is the owner of Home Stagers Cape Town
taging your home to sell has become the norm in the United States, where 38 % of realtors say they stage all homes before sale. It’ s also hugely popular in Australia. In South Africa, it’ s still a new concept. While it may take a some time to get South African sellers used to the idea of staging, real estate agents are already sold on it. When you look at the figures, it’ s not surprising to see why.
How buyers buy homes
When buyers set out to buy a home, they are looking for much more than four walls. In addition to area, schools, transport and cost, they are looking for something that says“ hello!” the moment they walk in. In other words, an emotional connection from the get go.
It’ s difficult for empty houses to achieve that, as estate agents know only too well. Empty homes – even if immaculately painted in the current popular shades of grey and white – lack soul. They don’ t look like a place you can live and love, do homework in, or invite friends to. It requires a lot of imagination to envisage that, and many buyers simply aren’ t able to do it.
Dressing your property to get that buy
That’ s where home staging works wonders. Home stagers provide temporary décor for homes while they are on sale or for rent. They target the market that the agent is aiming for: from new families to more established ones, a retired couple or an investment property.
Homes are“ dressed” with sofas, chairs, carpets, beds, flowers, art and greenery that show buyers the purpose of each room. Staging helps buyers identify with the space and fall in love with it. Nothing an estate agent says about the potential of a property can compete with a tangible rendition of a property, where buyers can walk around and see how everything fits and flows.
Staging – an investment or a cost?
Agents know that empty properties take longer to sell because they have less online visual appeal and it’ s harder to attract buyers. Once on the property, potential buyers tend to walk through the property quickly and leave. In staged homes, buyers tend to linger.
The longer a property stays on the market, the more it suffers from overexposure. After three months, sellers typically drop their price by 10 %. On a R3 million home, that’ s R300 000 lost! Apart from price reductions, sellers should also factor in the additional costs of the bond, rates and taxes or levies, insurance, and day-to-day maintenance to keep the property clean and in good shape.
Typically, staging is an investment of less than 1 % of the selling price. When you look at the costs involved in the alternative, it truly becomes a no-brainer.
Staging empty homes brings benefits for both agents and sellers, as these figures from the USA show:
29 % of agents said that staging increases the dollar value of the home by 1-5 %, while 21 percent reported an increase of 6-10 %.
39 % reported that staging greatly decreases the time spent on the market.
81 % of buyers say home staging makes it easier to visualize the property as their future home.
34 JUNE / JULY 2018 SA Real Estate Investor Magazine