Competing with New Homes
by Melissa Marro

It’s no secret that after record growth, Charleston is now experiencing a market correction in the area of home sales. While new construction sales continue at a steady pace, existing homes are feeling the crunch. The question is, how will homeowners compete with new construction in this tightening market? Home Staging is one possible solution.

Home staging is, in a nutshell making your home look like the model homes. This often occurs by updating paint, removing wallpaper, and clearing clutter and personal objects. All too often homeowners are oblivious to the signals that their home is sending to would be purchasers. Many homeowners will even be upset with the idea that their home needs changing to sell it, declaring, “If the buyer wants the walls painted, well, they need to paint it themselves.”

Let’s put ourselves in the position of the prospective buyer. When looking at homes in Charleston undoubtedly they will view a couple of new construction and maybe one or two existing homes. When the buyer arrives at the new construction home, everything is perfect. There isn’t a handprint on any of the walls; the furniture is upscale and beautiful, and there are even flowers on the dining room table. The closets are incredibly roomy, and the bathrooms and kitchen glisten. The buyers are looking at what is here, and imagining where little Tommy’s bed will go. Teenager Peggy will love how big the bathrooms are, there is even a walk in closet in her room. They leave imagining the perfect life in the perfect home. After all, everything there is already, well, PERFECT!

Now let’s go to the existing home. Right off we are standing at the front door waiting patiently for our Realtor to open the lockbox. The hanging ferns are a little bit uncared for and there seem to be some bugs in the light overhead. That’s ok though, those are easy to take care of and this house is less expensive than the home we were just in. Entering the home we are greeted with a lovely family photo, some shoes lined up neatly and the lovely 1980’s mauve walls. As we proceed through the home, we notice that the closets are overflowing, little Johnny’s toys are everywhere and Fido really likes to chew. Suddenly we start imagining our little Tommy’s bedroom and toys – everywhere. Teenager Peggy, does she know how to pick her laundry off the bathroom floor? Mom is quickly reminded of the daily chores. Dad now thinks about all the weekends he’ll need to spend painting and improving things. That perfect life cannot happen in this home. This home is too real.

Home buying is an emotional decision first and a financial decision second. Most people will justify the extra money for the emotion that is involved in obtaining that perfect life. If the second home had been properly staged, the bugs and fern would have been gone. The walls would have been a current neutral color. Johnny and Fido’s evidence would not have been there for the buyers to see and everything, including the closets, would have been prepared and cleaned up. While many of these things we live with on a daily basis and give us comfort, selling a home is all about marketing a product. The way we live in our home, is very different than the way it sells. We must use the same tactics model homes use to entice buyers. When we do, buyers tend to prefer the character and features of that existing home. It might already have beautiful landscaping or hardwood floors that they wouldn’t have been able to afford in the new construction home.

The best things about staging a home is that it is usually very inexpensive, typically less than one half of one percent. The sale prices is usually higher and the home sells more quickly - these typically pay for the staging! One nationwide survey (www.stagedhomes.com ) shows that professionally staged homes sell for approximately 6.9% more and sell in half the time as un-staged homes. For many homeowners, especially in this tighter market, staging is the best way to compete with the new construction market.

For more information on having a home professionally staged, visit www.redesigningcharleston.com "

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