Home staging hits the Cape
Home staging is a relatively new trend, but it has begun to take a foothold on the Cape, where real estate is a profession for many and a hobby for many more. We have profiled a few of the firms on Cape Cod exploring this new field.
NuancesFalmouthKate Stenson-Lunt
Nuances is an old-timer in the business at three years old. But their new home in a Falmouth industrial park, with a front facing Route 28, allows them the best of all worlds to grow. Owner Kate Stenson-Lunt has an inviting office space to meet with clients and a warehouse full of furnishings and accessories in the back with truck access. She added an associate this year, and has had a great year staging about 10 empty homes in the $1.5 million-plus market. “Six sold, two are under agreement, and two have still not sold,” said Stenson-Lunt.
“Staging a home doesn’t guarantee a buyer, it gives a better showing. Particularly in a spec home, people need to be able to envision living there. The average buyer spends five to seven minutes in an empty home and 25 minutes in a staged home,” said Stenson-Lunt. A 10,000-square-foot home in Pocasset sat on the market for 13 months. She knew the smattering of mismatched furniture and bare hanging light bulbs were sending buyers in a beeline to the door. “It sold three months after I staged it,” she said.
A problem with many large high-end homes is empty spaces like generous landings and massive master bedrooms that are difficult to fill and need expertise to make them look warm and welcoming.
Staging a home that is occupied has its own set of complications. Packing up the clutter in the home office or all the baby’s toys may make the house more presentable, but the sellers also have to live in the decluttered space. “I tell them, would you rather be inconvenienced for a few months, or have showings go on for a year?” said Stenson-Lunt. In addition, many homeowners are attached to their personal possessions and proud of their taste. When the home stager says it all has to go, feelings could be hurt. “I tell them, ‘Let’s pack these away safely because I know they are precious to you.’”
Stenson-Lunt has worked as a nurse, a counselor and mostly recently as a home organization expert. She started the business with an off-Cape partner but they have recently gone their separate ways to cover their own geographic territory.
Like all certified home stagers, her list of subcontractors is extremely important. Painters, electricians and landscapers are all part of her team. “If there are rotting boards in the porch, I don’t just throw a mat over them. If a home has been professionally staged by me to sell, you know it was done with integrity.”
Nuances has advertised in local newspapers and had the luck to be found online when Good Morning America was doing a segment on home staging. For 2007 they are embarking on a new marketing campaign including radio and TV ads. Stenson-Lunt added, “One of my best marketing tools is this bag I carry with me everywhere.” She held up a black tote bag covered on both sides with before-and-after pictures. She got the tote bag from the Staged Home, the national certification organization. People love before-and-after pictures, says Stenson-Lunt, and people stop her all the time to ask about the photos and what she does.
The Staged Effect SandwichKathleen Farrell“I moved to the Cape to sell real estate,” said Kathleen Farrell. “I was accredited in home staging and when I got here I saw there was more need in this market to get into the homes to make them look great to sell.” She has been staging homes Capewide for less than a year now.
Her position as a realtor with Kinlin Grover in Sandwich is a great way to see new listings as they come open. If she sees the benefit to a particular property she’ll ask them if she can present them with an estimate.
“A staged home will sell 50 percent faster, according to national statistics,” said Farrell. “You almost can’t afford to not bring a stager in these days.”
However, Farrell thinks the benefit of staging will continue even when the market swings back to boom cycle. “In a strong market, when homes go quickly with multiple offers, staging is just as important. In a fast market it will increase the dollar amount of the offers as it sets the home above its competitors.”
Staging for Farrell is still a sideline. She does no direct advertising, only markets herself through contacts with realtors and financial institutions handling foreclosures. Her next step to grow the business is to add a small warehouse to store the props that stagers use. Larger furniture is rented, primarily from Cort Putnam.
Some people confuse home staging with interior decorating. According to Farrell there is one main difference: interior design is making a space personal according to client’s wishes, while home staging seeks to depersonalize the space so that the home appeals to everyone and buyers can picture themselves living there.
Kinlin-Grover Chatham Aleta AzarianAt the Chatham office of Kinlin-Grover, an in-house staging team provides advice to a client as a free service, as part of their dedication to premium service and differentiation from other real estate offices.
Team leader Aleta Azarian is in the process of getting accredited as a home stager, as are several others on staff.
“If it looks like a home needs it, we bring in a staging team as a free service to the client,” said Azarian. “Buyers don’t want to see someone else’s belongings. They want to picture their own belonging in the home.” Their in-house team focuses on decluttering, depersonalizing and bringing an objective eye to advise the client on what needs to be done. They provide referrals to subcontractors such as handymen and painters. Unlike a full-service home stager, they only work with what the client has and don’t bring in accessories or furniture. They pay special attention to a clean look and the flow of the room. In one case they recommended the removal of a wall to open up the space and found workers who could do the job in a timely manner.
Recently they listed a multimillion dollar home in Chatham that was empty. They convinced the owners to hire a professional home staging company to bring in furniture and accessories in order to show it well.
“Often feelings can be hurt when you ask people to move their stuff out,” said Azarian. “We back them into it gently by staging some rooms to video the virtual home tour and the listing photos. Once they see the result, they are comfortable with letting us do the staging for the duration of the home’s showings.”
Azarian thinks the trend to stage a home will only grow. “With shows like Design to Sell on HGTV, realtors are more aware of the need and the benefits of staging a home.”
Fresh Cape Designs DennisCynthia PorterCindy Porter and her husband had bought, fixed up and sold houses for four years. Home staging for others seemed a natural move for her as the concept has swept the nation. “It started in California 15 years ago. Now 90 percent of people in Manhattan have their houses staged to sell. It is timely that home staging has come to the Cape market because of the slower housing market,” said Porter.
Although she too is in her first year and gathering her inventory of props, her listening skills during consultations and her fully detailed home staging plans have helped her to quickly establish client trust.
The Cape’s dated housing stock is especially helped by Porter’s services. “In New England we have a lot of dreary gray days from November to March. Country knotty pine may have appealed to the previous generation, but the Pottery Barn generation wants a fresher look,” said Porter. Fresh paint, slipcovers and few choice pillows and lamps can do a lot to achieve a high-end look quickly.
Porter prides herself on offering her clients options at different price points. “I can come up with a great plan and a good plan. Clients can chose whether to put in new granite counter tops or freshen the kitchen with new cabinet knobs,” said Porter. “People are scared in this market, they are not sure where the bottom is and aren’t sure they really want to put a lot of money into the house.”
Porter took an online course to prepare for her new career. She partners with a company in Medfield, Center Staging, to do some work in the Boston area.
She markets primarily to real estate agents, making presentations at sales meetings. She hands out packets of information about why home staging is necessary and lucrative. Her favorite handout is a list she created to hit the following key points:
Top five reasons to have your home staged (especially in a slower market):
1. If it looks dated, tired and in disrepair, the buyer will immediately start taking mental notes of deductions from the listing price.
2. If it doesn’t appeal to buyers, it will remain on the market a long time.
3. The Pottery Barn generation has high expectations of a home to be smart and stylish.
4. Two-career couples want move-in condition, they don’t have the time or money to update.
5. New England has a lot of dreary gray days between November and March. Houses appear dark and drab. They need more lighting, art and decorative objects with warm rich tones.
Originally published in the March/April 2007 issue of Cape Business
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