The Case For Professional Staging

February 12, 2015 by

(SEE BEFORE & AFTER LISTING PHOTOS BELOW!)

Home staging can influence buyers’ perceptions of a home and even motivate them to pay more, according to the National Association of REALTORS®’ 2015 Profile of Home Staging, a survey of more than 2,300 REALTORS® representing buyers and sellers.

Eighty-one percent of REALTORS® who represent buyers say that staged homes make it easier for their home buyers to visualize a property as their future home. Forty-six percent of buyer agents also reported that staging makes their buyers more willing to tour a home they viewed online, and 45 percent say that buyers tend to view the value of the home more positively if it is decorated to buyers’ tastes.

Twenty-eight percent of agents said their buyers are even more willing to overlook other property faults if a home is staged, according to NAR’s survey.

Buyer agents also say that staging can potentially influence how much their buyers are willing to offer for a home. According to the survey, thirty-two percent of buyer agents surveyed say that staged homes increase the dollar value buyers are willing to offer for a home by 1 percent to 5 percent; 16 percent said it could increase offers by 6 percent to 10 percent.

However, not everyone chooses to stage a home in prepping it for sale. Forty-four percent of seller agents say they only suggest that sellers declutter and fix property faults, and they do not recommend that their clients should professionally stage the home.

Indeed, about 34 percent of seller agents surveyed say they stage all the homes they list; 13 percent stage only “difficult” homes to sell; and 4 percent only stage high-priced homes they list, according to the NAR survey.

Here are additional findings from the NAR survey:

  • The median dollar value to stage a home: $675 per home
  • Among homes that are staged, here’s how it is often paid for: 62 percent of sellers’ agents offer the home staging servicing to sellers; 39 percent say that the sellers pay for staging prior to the home being listed; 10 percent of sellers pay for staging after the home is sold; and 3 percent of agents’ firms pay for the home staging service.
  • The three most important rooms to be staged for buyers: living room, kitchen, and master bedroom.

By REALTOR® Magazine Daily News

Here are some before & after photos of one of our recent listings! You decide which shows better!

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016-4691 Finsen Ave MLS

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015-4691 Finsen Ave MLS

 

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012-4691 Finsen Ave MLS

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023-4691 Finsen Ave MLS

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2015 Local Real Estate Market Forecast

February 12, 2015 by

California pending home sales register first annual increase in nearly two years

Housing-Market

REALTORS® say improving economic conditions and buyer urgency point to better market in 2015

LOS ANGELES (Jan. 23) – Pending home sales posted higher on a year-over-year basis for the first time since January 2013 and as expected, declined from the previous month due primarily to a seasonal slowdown toward the end of the year, the CALIFORNIA ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS® (C.A.R.) said today.

Additionally, with the specter of a better economy, greater job growth, and increasing household formation, C.A.R.’s new Market Pulse Survey found that many REALTORS® expect market conditions to improve in 2015, as does C.A.R.

Pending home sales data:

• Pending sales were up 2.6 percent from the 69.1 index recorded in December 2013.  The yearly increase was better than the six-month average of -4.3 percent from June 2014 to November 2014.

• California pending home sales dropped in December, with the Pending Home Sales Index (PHSI)* falling 21.9 percent from 90.7 in November to 70.9 in December, based on signed contracts.  The monthly decline was in line with the seasonal slowdown in pending sales observed at the end of the year for the last two years.

Equity and distressed housing market data:

• The share of equity sales – or non-distressed property sales – dipped for the second straight month in December.  Equity sales made up 89.8 percent of all sales in December, down from 90.5 percent recorded in November.  Equity sales have been more than 80 percent of total sales since July 2013 and have risen at or near 90 percent since mid-2014. Equity sales made up 84.4 percent of sales in December 2013.

• Conversely, the combined share of all distressed property sales edged up in December, up from 9.5 percent in November to 10.2 percent in December. Distressed sales were down 33 percent from a year ago, when the share was 15.6 percent.

REALTOR® Market Pulse Survey:

• In the fourth quarter of 2014, the vast majority (87 percent) of REALTORS® expected market conditions to either improve or stay the same over the next year.

• More REALTORS® (61 percent) closed a transaction in the fourth quarter of 2014, compared to the first quarter (53 percent).

• In an indication of stabilizing home prices, fewer homes (24 percent) sold above asking price in the fourth quarter of 2014, compared to 46 percent in the first quarter.

• Homes selling below asking price rose from 19 percent in the first quarter of 2014 to 48 percent in the fourth quarter, indicating home sellers’ expectations moved more in line with buyers’ expectations toward the end of the year and competition between sellers attempting to appeal to affordability strapped home buyers increased.

• More than half (58 percent) of properties received multiple offers in the fourth quarter of 2014, down from 69 percent in the first quarter.

Share of Distressed Sales to Total Sales
(Single-family)

Type of Sale Dec-14 Nov-14 Dec-13
Equity Sales 89.8% 90.5% 84.4%
Total Distressed Sales 10.2% 9.5% 15.6%
     REOs 4.7% 4.3% 5.1%
     Short Sales 5.1% 4.8% 10.0%
     Other Distressed Sales (Not Specified) 0.4% 0.4% 0.5%
All Sales 100.0% 100.0% 100.0%

*Article taken from www.CAR.org

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