5 October 2011

Selling Up - Property Styling in Canberra?

| Blingiton
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Hi all. I’m about to put my place on the market and thinking of having my property professionally styled for sale. Would be interested to hear your views and experiences with local property stylists before I commit. In particular:

– Average cost for styling/furnishing a vacant 3 bedroom home for 4-6 weeks.

– The feedback received from prospective buyers about the property’s presentation

– Whether the outlay was a worthwhile investment

– Your recommendations on local property stylists

Any other words of advice you have to offer.

Look forward to your views.

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Staging Styling11:59 am 30 Jan 20

Hello,

Here at Staging and Styling Co we offer a flexible range of packages to suit client needs you can find them on http://www.stagingandstyling.com.au

We offer a range of inventory to suit a variety of homes including Hampton Classic, French Provincial, Country, Coastal all with a modern and contemporary twist. We supply our new clients with a gift hamper containing an open home action plan and a range of household scents as we focus on the overall environment of the home and a proven buyer psychology strategy that work with your home.

You can email us info@stagingandstyling.com.au a non obligatory quote 🙂

Good luck to all you Home Sellers! 2020 is going to a great year!

I should start be declaring I am a property stylist here in Canberra and have been running our successful property styling business for about 3 years.

Here’s my tips.
Refer to your agent – they will let you know if property styling will help you sell your home. They should also have researched what else is for sale in your area and how competative you need to be to secure a sale.

Have a look on allhomes – Properties that have been styled do stand out. How will your property compare? Although a geniune buyer will look to see if your gutters leak – you first need to get them into your house. Your potential buyers first impressions will be while they are looking at your property pictures on allhomes.

Get a quote – every home is different and the process will vary, all our quotes are oligation free and generally takes around half an hour.

Act now – our company is usually booked out up to 3 weeks in advance.

There are a lot of people who can handle preparing their house for sale with out a property stylist – Following some of the advise posted on riotact, such as CLEANING, decluttering, painting and using smaller furniture items may be all it takes to make your home stand out from the others. However if you are feeling overwhelmed by the task – a property stylist can help.

Exploring_The_Blue9:28 am 10 Oct 11

There is a fabulous little book on this subject – the Australian Guide to Home Staging by Katrina Maes. Katrina is based in Melbourne, and the book draws on her experience helping hundreds of vendors sell their properties. Full of lots of good advice and practical tips – worth reading whether you decide to engage a stylist or DIY. I bought my copy from BigW and have also seen it at Paperchain in Manuka. It’s about $20.

I can’t give you any feedback as I haven’t used their services but I know of one Property Styling Company here in Canberra:

The Look
http://thelookpropertystyling.com.au/index.php

It is run by two ladies Narelle Bunday and Helcha Hockey.

They have a general guide to pricing on the site:
Unit (1 living area, 1 bedroom) – $1,200-$2,000
Small house (1 living area, 3 bedroom) – $2,000-$2,600
Large house (2 living areas, 4 bedroom) – $2,600-3,400

Strategically placed furniture can assist in hiding damage from termites, water and the like.

No building/pest inspector is going to move heavy things about , ever.

When we sold our house in the inner north about 7 years ago we used a stylist, simply because (a) our furniture is mostly sourced from the less fussy op shops and (b) we had bought our next house anyway and needed our shabby stuff (I hesitate to call it chic) there. The lady who did the place had lots of munchkin sized furniture which made the small rooms look larger. I think having something there was probably a good idea because an empty house can be very uninviting, particularly if you have bare boards. The ‘art work’ she put up was pretty dire, in my opinion, but it all matched the colours of the throws and cushions and rugs etc. It looked good in the photos, if you like that extra neat sort of thing.

As to her name, sorry, I can’t remember. It’s hard to say it was certainly worth it, because there’s nothing to measure it against. The house sold in a reasonable time, but it may have done so anyway, due to location, price etc. The price of using the furniture over the weeks decreased over time, I remember that. Check insurance details too, in case someone dodgy likes lots of matching stuff and backs a truck up to steal it.

I felt very strange giving money for furniture which was never intended to be used, but selling a house is a strange activity anyway.

Holden Caulfield2:08 pm 06 Oct 11

troll-sniffer said :

This is one question that can never have a definitive answer. Whether styling works depends more on the type of property than anything else. If you’re selling a standard family home I don’t think styling would add much value as the buyers are likely to be concentrating on room size, access, fixtures and fittings etc. On the flip side thjough, if you’re selling a lifestyle such as a chic inner city apartment, styling will probably be the best selling tool you can have.

Styling isn’t really about adding value, though.

Think of styling as a means for making a property more attractive to buy than another house with similar features, rather than more expensive.

If anyone chooses to style their home with an expectation that it will definitely increase the sale price, they will most likely end up disappointed.

troll-sniffer11:56 am 06 Oct 11

This is one question that can never have a definitive answer. Whether styling works depends more on the type of property than anything else. If you’re selling a standard family home I don’t think styling would add much value as the buyers are likely to be concentrating on room size, access, fixtures and fittings etc. On the flip side thjough, if you’re selling a lifestyle such as a chic inner city apartment, styling will probably be the best selling tool you can have.

Soe furniture is far better than a cold empty house. Avoid clutter though.

I looked into rental furniture, but it cost thousands, and also the sleek leather lounge, chrome vases doesn’t go with older houses.

I grabbed a few cheap bits and pieces from allclassifieds and a few spare paintings and rugs from home. It cost far less and the house sold quickly.

Choose small furniture – little beds and small dining table, to make your rooms look bigger.

The rooms dont’ need to be furnished completely as if someone lived there, just have a few bits to show how the rooms could be set up.

people are all different – I never notice paintwork etc, but my partner does. I just go on the ‘feel’ of a house.

I can look at an unfurnished house quite well, but he needs to see it furnished to imagine how it can be.

Several agents advised that furnished is much better than empty, and go with smaller furniture.

Holden Caulfield10:31 am 06 Oct 11

We did this a year or two back to flog off an empty investment property. Worked a treat and helped set our property apart from a lived in house that might have had crap everywhere, as is often the case.

IIRC the cost to furnish what is a typical builder’s special 4 bedroom house was around $3K for 4 weeks.

Can’t remember the name of the stylist, but she was recommended to us by our selling agent, who was Kaylene King from LJ Hooker Canberra City.

It really does pay to style up the house as best as you can. Sold quite a few houses and looked at hundreds for sale. Before selling, we scrubbed and scrubbed everything – especially the bathroom and kitchen. It really doesn’t matter if a house needs painting, although it may be a point of negotiation – but it must be CLEAN. The kitchen and bathroom seem to be the first thing people look at.
Go for minimalism. De-clutter every room and borrow attractive ‘stuff’ from rellies if necessary.
That walk up the front path needs to be looked at with appraising eyes, although I’m a bit cynical about freshly planted pots etc. Good luck!

When buying a house I look for any water damage, dodgy renovations, and how well the house is maintained. I try to look past any furniture in the house, and a lack of furniture would help me see what I was buying. I also make a list of any jobs that need to done sometime soon, so make sure it is well painted inside and out, any old power points or light switches are replaced, all doors and windows open and close properly, the gutters are OK, the floor covering is in good condition, and the garden is tidy. Most people want to buy a place in good condition, unless they are looking for a cheaper place to renovate.

On the other hand, if I was a “house stylist” I would tell you “studies” have shown hired furniture placed in the house makes a “huge” difference to the selling price.

GardeningGirl12:33 am 06 Oct 11

You can pick the styled houses on Allhomes. Just my opinion, sometimes it looks to maybe have benefits for more upmarket properties, but it seems a waste for cheapies, not sure exactly where the line should be drawn. The question is does it make the prospective purchaser think “thanks, that helps me picture myself living there, it has such a lovely feel” or “I don’t care how many throw rugs and vases you’ve got on display, why didn’t you spend the money repainting the guttering instead, I don’t want that job waiting for me when I move in!”
Interestingly some of the most appealing houses I’ve seen have been obviously full of the owners cherished possessions, sometimes not even to my personal taste but the overall impression is of a much-loved home with a strong sense of style. Oh, and a good garden, or the beginnings of one, of course. 🙂

I sold a house last year and considered the option. I got quotes and thought it was expensive (cant recall price sorry) but I’m a bit of a tight one. In hindsight though, my property took a little while to sell and I reckon it would have moved more quickly if it was nicely furnished and pretty. Time again I’d do it.

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