BC Sunshine Coast real estate by Menno at Royal lePage Real estate on the BC Sunshine Coast

When I show homes, I’m often astonished about buyers’ remarks like “oh what a nice couch”, “I love that wall art” or “their dining table looks great here”. Come on folks, we’re not selling the furniture; we’re selling the house instead.

A sobering thought: when you're buying a house, you're actually buying a location. Often in the form of a piece of land that happens to have a house on it.

Although nobody would pay $25,000 extra for a home because the furniture is so nice and the wall hangings match everything else, there is strong evidence that we are influenced by “things” looking ever so perfectly. Although the furniture isn’t even included with the real estate, its strategic placement has an effect on us! When we buy a home, we are also purchasing an image or a dream – it’s undeniable that intangible feel-good factors like a nice furniture display impact us.

Although everybody will vehemently deny it, we are all susceptible to the lure of a well-displayed (staged) house with fancy well-fitting furniture. In reality, some people will pay extra for purchasing this image of perfection. However, nobody would ever admit to it! This is the power of staging – to subtly sway our opinion on a home. It’s entirely true that certain furniture will make a room look bigger or smaller. Certain colours and lines work “better”, certain artwork or plans enhance the feel of a room. And so on, and so on.

When you're buying a house, you must fight the urge to judge the furniture on display. This makes so much sense that it's silly to mention: you're not buying the furniture.

THAT MAGICAL ATTRACTION

Home staging persuades people to like a home somewhat more than they otherwise would, because it has a kind of first appeal that’s magically attractive. Assuming one can’t really change a house just for the purpose of selling it, a commonly used strategy is to at least make the furniture (and such) look as appealing as possible.

Since purchasing a home is quite an emotional experience, it stands to reason that different people are influenced differently by certain inputs. It’s hard to understand and impossible to exactly measure what works and what doesn’t. It varies for certain properties, certain markets and probably even for times of the year. It certainly varies between buyers, their moods and who knows what else.

When you notice particularly fitting and generally pleasant furniture, it's possibly BUYER BEWARE. All that stuff might have been placed there just to lure you.

AND THAT’S WHAT THE BUYER SHOULD KNOW

When the furniture looks particularly fitting, it’s only natural to feel attracted by that. Unfortunately, this furniture is not for sale – normally it will be removed before closing. It’s hard to look at a furnished house and treat it as if it has no furniture in it – or better yet: your own stuff. However, this is what you got to do or you’ll end up paying for stuff you’re not even going to buy. This is only natural and it happens to all of us, all the time. Why do car dealerships have palm trees in the show rooms? Why do they play popular songs in the grocery store? Exactly, it’s all to set the mood just-so.

Home sellers can retain professional stagers to give the look-and-feel of your house a lift. The house doesn’t get any better because of this – it doesn’t gain in its utility or change its location. Everything else is still the same – except that there is the possibility that you may perceive it to be nicer and more valuable. As a buyer, it’s unwise to fall for this trickery.

You could reverse the strategy. If it looks particularly pleasing, you may as well knock some off the price to level things out - just in your mind.

SPECIFICALLY, LOOK OUT FOR THE FOLLOWING:

- Stagers have the ability to make any home resemble a model home; they can bring in furniture that’s suited for the building and enhances its features. Example: smallish couch in tight corner makes entire room look larger.

- They use various techniques to make a home look larger, brighter and more appealing to mainstream purchasers. They endeavour to create favourable, lasting impressions everywhere the buyers’ eyes rest.

- A de-cluttered and sterile look is intended to give buyers the impression that this home is going to be appealing to many buyers. In other words: you’d better hurry and put in an offer quickly and at a somewhat higher price.

- Smell and sound play a much bigger role in our decision making process than we’ll ever want to admit. Stagers know this and use their ability to add subtle smells and sounds to a home for your undetected enjoyment.

- First impressions are everything in the home staging business while most buyers don’t realise that they make up their minds within minutes of entering a house. Stagers try to create a showpiece first impression.

- Stagers carry around furniture through the house to create space and openness. They supply furniture or pieces of artwork too for added effect. Often, they store (mostly large) pieces of furniture, away from the living areas.

- Modern furniture may lift up the entire age-feel of a house. Stagers exchange certain pieces to enhance the perceived state of repair of a house. If the furniture looks magnificent, it also says something about the house.

- The sellers’ easy, happy and successful lifestyle radiates through the staged home and buyers will try to emulate their taste. Plants, throw-cushions, area rugs, cook books, vases, accent lights, flowers, it all matters.

- Taken one step further, stagers like to work with colour (paint, wallpaper, flooring materials, drapes) and arrange bathrooms and kitchens for maximum appeal. Another big item is the garden (decks, flowers, etc).

I want you to buy the house that's most suitable for your needs. Needless to say (but let's point it out once again) that this doesn't include other people's furniture.

WHEN YOU CAN SPOT IT, IT’S SUSPECT

If, as a buyer, you walk into a home and there’s clear evidence of a busy lifestyle (examples: dirt, clutter, worn furniture, toys, less-than-tasteful artwork, unmade beds, etc), then you may be safe to assume that this house wasn’t staged. In other words, the seller hasn’t invested in the services of a staging firm.

However, if you enter a home and there is this soft pleasant scent, this carefully chosen background music, all furniture looks perfectly placed, there is no clutter, everything is spotlessly clean, the artwork is magazine-style (and so on), then you could have entered a home that’s being maximized for sale.

Neither is good or bad; it’s just a different approach to selling. It’s useful to realise that you won’t be purchasing the furniture (unless specifically stated differently) and that the artwork, the books and the flowers will be removed on closing. The long and short of the exercise is that you’d better avoid paying extra for the staging service.

It doesn't hurt, as a buyer, to be aware of marketing "tricks" in general. Below are some other blog articles that may also help you to navigate more effectively.

MORE blog articles about the marketing of real estate can be found here:

Making it look its best: http://www.menno.ca/?p=17649

The selling process: http://www.mennorealty.ca/Blog.php/walking-you-through

Market developments: http://www.mennorealty.ca/Blog.php/up-r-down

Marketing in Vancouver: http://www.mennorealty.ca/Blog.php/5-percent-less

Show home marketing specialists: http://www.mennorealty.ca/Blog.php/agent-selection