Understanding the Pros and Cons of Staging Your Home!

Understanding the Pros and Cons of Staging a Home

What to do and what not to do when setting the stage for selling your home.
The following is a guest post from Patti Stern of PJ & Company Staging and Interior Decorating

The first step to getting a home sold quickly and for top dollar is choosing a real estate professional whose expertise can help to successfully market a home. One of the most important things a trusted real estate agent will recommend is the service of a professional home stager to bring out the best in a home. However, many sellers are still hesitant and need to be convinced why staging is a worthwhile investment. The following are some key points to consider when deciding whether to stage a home before listing.

1. Higher Sale Price vs. Possible Price Reduction.
   Staging will boost a home’s perceived value. According to The International Association of Home Staging Professionals, 95% of staged homes sell on average in 11 days or less and for 17% above the asking price compared to those not staged, in a similar market. Since a move-in ready home that a buyer can visualize living in will most likely sell for top dollar, the money spent upfront to hire a staging professional is a fraction of the cost of just one price reduction.
2. Fast Selling Time vs. Stress From Not Selling.The longer a property remains on the market, the lower the offers will become and the more stress it will bring. Staging will set a home apart from the competition and attracts buyers who are ready to move quickly on a sale. In addition, top-notch photos taken after a home is staged to market a listing on the internet will spark the interest of those buyers initially shopping online.
3. Third Party Objectivity vs. Emotional Burden.
   When depersonalizing a space, a professional stager will use their expertise to take the burden off of both the real estate agent who is uncomfortable with possibly offending their client as well as the seller who may have a hard time detaching from their home. A stager will manage all aspects of the recommended improvements from de-cluttering to removing sentimental photos so the seller doesn’t feel overwhelmed emotionally.
4. Knowledge and Efficiency vs. Wasted Low Return on Effort and Investment.
   The benefits of staging go beyond just making a space attractive. If a seller with a good sense of style decides to tackle certain aspects of staging themselves, they may not understand what is priority in terms of the features that will be marketable to the largest possible audience. A professional will have a better understanding of what will inspire an offer and can therefore make suggestions for alternative furniture placement or paint colors that will enhance a room’s original architectural features and charm.
5. One-Stop Shopping vs. Hiring Multiple Workers.
   Hiring a full-service stager who has a team of professionals on standby to manage the entire process and deliver the home ready for market is key. The staging team can coordinate a comprehensive and detailed plan to de-clutter, paint, repair, update and ultimately sell the property. This convenience gives the seller less details to worry about.

For more examples of interior decorating and home staging, visit pjstagingdecorating.com.
Header image is a dining room staged by PJ & Company Staging and Interior Decorating


http://blog.coldwellbanker.com/understanding-pros-cons-staging-home/

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http://realtormag.realtor.org/daily-news/2014/12/31/10-reasons-2015-will-rock-for-real-estate

10 Reasons 2015 Will Rock for Real Estate

Daily Real Estate News | Wednesday, December 31, 2014

After a slowdown in the market this year, housing analysts and economists have high hopes for 2015. The real estate market is expected to build momentum across the board nest year, mostly because of a strengthening economy.
Here's a recap of some of the real estate forecasts for 2015:

1. Millennial force: Younger professionals are having more luck in the job market, which is expected to help more of them jump into home ownership in the new year. Overall, employment is on the rise, but jobs for Millennials — particularly those aged 25 to 29 — has risen by 3 percent. That's one percentage point above the nationwide rate. According to some forecasts, Millennials are expected to drive two-thirds of household formations over the next five years. The forecasted addition of 2.5 million jobs next year, as well as an increase in household formation, will likely drive more first-time home buyers into home ownership, according to realtor.com® projections.
2. Home prices stabilize: The double-digit price increases seen in 2013 have slowed, and more stable growth was the trend in 2014. As investors have retreated from the market, so have the rapid home prices in many markets. Home prices are expected to continue to edge up in 2015, with realtor.com® predicting a 4.5 percent gain. "After two years of abnormally high levels of home-price appreciation in 2012 and 2013, price increases moderated throughout 2014," realtor.com® notes in its 2014 Housing Review. "We are now experiencing increases in home prices consistent with long-term historical performance."
3. Mortgage rates rising: Interest rates the last few months have been dipping below 4 percent, lowering the borrowing costs of home buyers and refinancing home owners. However, don't expect the low rates to stick around much longer. Mortgage rates are expected to rise next year. Freddie Mac projects mortgage rates will likely average 4.6 percent but inch up to 5 percent by the end of 2015.
4. Return of the 3 percent down payment: New programs are popping up to help more buyers break into home ownership with lower down payments. In early December, Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae announced conventional loan down-payment programs that will allow qualified first-time buyers to secure a fixed-rate mortgage with a 3 percent down payment. Prior to that, they needed at least 5 percent. Also, "there are many states as well as national programs, which offer grants that range from 1 to 5 percent to be used for a down payment or closing costs," writes Damian Maldonado, co-founder of American Financing Corp., at CNBC. "These easing loan standards will allow more first-time buyers to enter the market."
5. Housing affordability declines: Affordability for homes, based on home-price appreciation and rising mortgage interest rates, will likely fall by 5 percent to 10 percent in 2015, according to realtor.com® forecasts. However, the decline in affordability could be offset by an increase in salaries next year for many households. "When considering historical norms, housing affordability will continue to remain strong next year," realtor.com® notes in its report.
6. New-home sales rebound: Single-family new-home starts barely budged in 2014 compared to 2013, and new-home sales remain far from normal levels. But that could finally turn around in 2015. Sales of new homes are expected to rise 25 percent as single-family construction picks up traction in 2015. The National Association of REALTORS® projects single-family housing starts to rise to 820,000 in 2015, which is still below the 1 million historical average. In the latest new-home report, sales dipped 1.6 percent in November, but builders are remaining optimistic heading into the new year. "As the labor market and broader economy continue to strengthen, we can expect the housing sector to gain momentum heading into next year," says David Crowe, chief economist for the National Association of Home Builders.
7. Foreclosures recede to pre-recession levels: The number of foreclosures is expected to continue to fall in 2015, but expect them to still be elevated in some pockets across the country — particularly in judicial states where foreclosures must wind through the courts. Foreclosure filings have been on the decline for most of this year. From January through November, foreclosure filings fell about 172 percent compared to the same period one year prior, according to RealtyTrac data. "Every month so far this year, we've been down from a year ago," Daren Blomquist, vice president of RealtyTrac, said in a prior report. The only uptick has been in foreclosure auctions, which are up 5 percent in November compared to one year earlier. Foreclosures will likely fall to pre-crisis levels in 2015, Blomquist predicts.
8. Drop in oil prices will boost housing: Oil prices have plunged 45 percent since June, which could inadvertently provide a lift to the housing market. "Households in the U.S. spend more than $1,800 on energy-related costs annually, and 22 percent of that energy consumption is due to residential real estate," according to CoreLogic's 2015 Housing Outlook. "So while the drop in oil prices typically has been linked to a reduction in driving-related expenses, it clearly also reduced energy-related expenses for residential real estate."
9. Rent rises to outpace home-value growth: Rents likely will continue to rise in the new year, and an increase in rental costs in 2015 could outpace annual home-price gains. Expect the rental market to remain a "landlord's market" in 2015, with vacancy rates expected to stay below 5 percent in the new year, according to the National Association of REALTORS®. That should lead to demand pushing rents up even higher and keeping them above inflation, notes NAR Chief Economist Lawrence Yun. Apartment rents are projected to increase 4 percent in 2014 and 4.1 percent in 2015.
10. Stronger economy leads to greater confidence: A stronger economy will likely lead to more demand for housing in 2015. "Overall, the economy finally appears to be gaining enough momentum to help provide the support that the housing market has needed for stronger recovery," Sam Khater, deputy chief economist at CoreLogic, notes in the company's 2015 Housing Outlook. "The combination of stronger employment growth and especially Millennial job growth makes for solid footing for the real estate market. Moreover, the recent drop in oil prices cannot be overstated, because not only does it directly lower the transportation and home energy costs for households, but it also improves consumer confidence. And confident consumers are more likely to spend on big ticket items, which is sweet music to the ears of the real estate market."

—By Melissa Dittmann Tracey, REALTOR® Magazine

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