As some first time buyers get priced out of the market and the housing market starts to slow a little, home owners may be reconsidering whether to sell or if already on the market may be thinking about reducing the price to encourage buyer interest.

Kym Tarr of ShoeString Interior ReDesigns says ‘If you prepare your property well before you put it on the market you will greatly improve the chances of achieving the asking price and your chances of selling quickly. If already on the market your home could benefit from a staging makeover which could turn the next viewing into a sale.’

How to turn a viewing into a sale

Most buyers make a decision on whether the house is for them within the first few minutes and you don’t have long to make those first impressions count. The viewer has usually seen the house details previously, so what are they basing that quick decision on? They are responding to subliminal sensory stimulators, the hidden persuaders that stimulate the interest of the buyer. These sensory stimulators operate on a subconscious level and enable buyers to form a positive bond with the property and imagine themselves living there.

Home Staging is the art of setting the scene in the house so that all of these positive persuaders are in place. The key to effective home staging is in a number of issues: depersonalising (to allow the viewer to imagine it as their own home), decluttering, ensuring tip top cleanliness, harmonising the space, creating balance and creating the right ambience.

Home Staging Consultations in the Okanagan Area

ShoeString Home Staging offers an initial consultation with a detailed report suggesting actions which may include reducing or re-organising some of the furniture & personal items, lighting and accessorising rooms to create a more harmonious effect.

After the consultation options include a) the homeowner putting into effect the necessary changes suggested b) A half or all day Home Staging makeover

Home Staging before or after putting the house on the market?

Ideally a home should be professionally presented before being valued and marketed. This is common practice in the United States where Real Estate Agents have proved the increased value of property and speed of sales where properties are presented well. However in this country we are lagging behind a little, many home owners suffer from having to show around more viewers than necessary before they clinch the sale.

Buyers agree that when a house is not up to the standard they expect, they try to bargain price for the ‘work’ they perceive they will need to do. The solution is therefore to make the house as appealing as possible before the first buyer steps a foot over the threshold. Get the presentation right and the offers will follow.