Marketing a home for maximum impact

Posted on August 14, 2018March 20, 2023 by Avril Brown

Marketing is a powerful selling tool, used to sell everything from cat food to cars. Marketing is appealing to the emotions, the senses and the wallet, so you may ask, how can it sell your home ?

It’s a visual world. We are bombarded everyday with images. Some fabulous, some forgettable.
To sell a product, you have to appeal to what makes the consumer sit up and notice your product over the competition.
You have seconds to grab a buyer’s attention.
A home is the largest purchase the majority of people will make in a lifetime.
Why spend their hard earned money on your home when their is a similar one down the street.

So, there is one word I haven’t use yet, the “S” word, staging. Staging isn’t just filling a house with some pretty stuff. Staging a home takes all the above and more into consideration. Staging is marketing a property, just like any other product and the stakes are much higher. When you decide to sell your home, it is no longer yours. You have to look at your property as a commodity and make it appeal to the buying public. Failing to do so in this visual world, unless you don’t mind lingering on the market and receiving unrealistic offers, is a marketing mistake. You have to add the wow to get the attention of jaded consumers.

To be successful in marketing a property you need:

An experienced Realtor, who will price your home realistically for the market
Marketing in quality images, video and social media posts
Presentation that will make your property stand out from you competition
A home stager who will market your property for it’s target buyer and tell you honestly, from experience, what will and what won’t appeal to today’s buyers

It’s all in the details

prepstaging.com

Halifax n.s.

902 489 6162

Related Images:

Spring Market 2017

Posted on May 31, 2017 by Avril Brown

Spring Market Staging Update 2017

The 2017 Real Estate staging year at Prep has had a busy start. Our staging consults are way up from last year, as more and more Real Estate professionals and homeowners are beginning to catch on to the value of a staging consult when selling a property.

Too often seen as an extra expense, staging is now being recognized for the value it brings, in time on the market, internet exposure and return on your investment. Online images are the “make or break” when a busy home buyer shops the internet for a new home. A “no thanks” is just a click away so don’t be fooled into thinking your home is “ok” to list on the MLS. A home owner can’t be objective when it comes to their “palace” You may have put time , money and sweat into getting your home ready for listing but does it have the look today’s buyers are looking for.

Even professionally decorated homes often need tweaks by an experienced staging professional. We do this everyday, we know what buyers are looking for, what turns them off and what it takes to get your home on their “must see” list.

All the homes above and many more have sold this Spring. Many of them had just a 2 hour staging consult and e mailed report. All had an experienced Realtor who is social media savvy, professional photography and serious, “do what it takes” owners who trusted Prep Home Staging to advise them on what is required to attract buyers in today’s Real Estate Market.

Call me today

Avril Brown 902 489 6162

Using moveable colour in home staging

Posted on February 23, 2015February 23, 2015 by Avril Brown

You hear the word “neutral” all the time when talking about home staging but neutral has many different meanings. Using neutrals on large elements in a home makes sense. Flooring, surfaces, wall treatments etc. are large investments and a homebuyer wants to know these will be elements they can live with for many years. Having said that, if your home has features that date it, there are techniques home stagers can use to enhance the positive features and using “moveable colour” is one way to do that effectively.

Colour moves us. It attracts us and stirs our emotions. I have seen many homes where the homeowners have put some staging techniques in to play by decluttering, depersonalizing and removing every last accessory etc. until they are left with a bland, beige box. Yes, you can go too far when preparing a home for sale, removing focal points, colour and anything that will attract a buyer to those online images.

Movable color in items a seller can take with them can update a home for very little cost. Moveable colors are bedding, towels, area rugs, artwork and accessories. By adding pops of colour to every room you instantly freshen and add interest but they have to be the right colours in the right amounts.

Stagers know how to get this right. We stage to highlight positives, create focal points and showcase a home that will attract your target buyer. If your home is occupied, very often we can use what you have, in a way you may not have thought about. If moveable colour is needed to add the finishing touches, we can make you a list of items needed and recommend where to find the best prices or we can shop for you or rent items from our staging inventory.

With a vacant home a stager will choose the furniture, accessories and moveable items that will best highlight your property and appeal to your buyer.

You only get one chance to impress and cutting corners will only hurt your home sale. A small investment ensures you have your best foot forward from day 1 and saves you time and $$$$ by doing it the right way.

Related Images:

Home Staging in Fall

Posted on September 30, 2014September 30, 2014 by Avril Brown

Home Staging for a Fall buyer

What could be better than a cable knit throw, a good book and a comfortable chair on a lazy Sunday afternoon. Sounds good doesn’t it, chances are your home buyers would love it too. Selling a property nowadays requires careful marketing. You aren’t just selling four walls, you are selling a lifestyle, a feeling, a place where memories will be made and you are asking buyers to invest in your property with their hard earned $$$$$$’s.

As a home stager and photo stylist my job is to market a product in the most attractive way possible to drive sales for my clients. Setting the stage, to woo home buyers, apartment seekers and retail consumers to choose to purchase your product over the competition’s. Sounds pretty straightforward right, but a lot of thought, time and effort goes into each and every project I do. Every home is different, every product comes with unique attributes and challenges. How you present a property (your product) changes with the seasons. Colour, texture and pattern all evoke a feeling, a lifestyle, whether a buyer is aware or not. Emotions are a large part of the buying process. Evoke the right emotions from a buyer and your home will stand out, be seen and attract attention.

Two words. Details matter. Even the smallest ones. When the business of living takes over your home, many things go unnoticed that a buyer will pick up on in 2 seconds flat. Those flat as a pancake pillows on the old sofa mean many happy nights of kicking back and watching your show on Netflix, but to buyers it looks shabby. Not quite the look they envisioned for the living room they will entertain friends and family in. Yes you say, they are only pillows but all these little things add up and to get the buyers with the offer you are looking for it takes putting your best foot forward, every time you show your home.

So have a good look at your surroundings, scrutinize every room, every closet, every nook and cranny. Your online images can make or break a sale and with all the resources available nowadays it is easier than ever to get your home in tip top selling condition. A great real estate agent, realistic pricing, professional looking presentation and images will get you well on your way to hanging that SOLD sign.

All images by Farm Gate Imaging