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What Today’s Buyers Want: Part 1
By Erin | July 21, 2008
This week I attended the SF Bay Area’s First Annual Staging Expo in Dublin. The keynote speaker was Christine Rae, the author of Home Staging for Dummies (hopefully the book’s title does not diminish her expertise and the great content within the book). The topic was “Trends in the Home Staging and Real Estate Industries.”
A major part of my job is to stay on top of these trends in order to help sellers make smart decisions in the marketing of their homes. Rule #1 in marketing: Know your audience! As a stager, I have to know: a) who is most likely going to buy your house, and b) how do we present/stage the home in a way that appeals to that particular buyer.
Price (the perception of a good value) and location remain the top considerations for buyers in this market. Here is a look at what else buyers want in 2008. This is based on a respected, annual national survey by real estate author Mark Nash, in addition to what I learned from Christine Rae.
- Green living. Energy efficiencies and environmentally-friendly materials. Reclaimed woods. At the very least, replace all your light bulbs with CFLs! To do this for FREE - in your entire house, no kidding- contact me! I’ll give you the details.
- Destination bathrooms. The master bath has evolved into the home getaway with multiple task areas: freestanding bathtubs, flat screens TVs, wireless Internet and espresso machines.
- Two home offices. Yes, not one, but two.
- Built-in closet organizers
- Luxe touches throughout
- Outdoor living spaces that look interior. Massive, soaring “statement” fireplaces of cut stone, heated (think bathroom floors) flooring and walkways, entertaining-sized custom kitchens and indoor-looking artwork, fabric, and finishes that can stand up to the elements
- Spacious utility rooms
- Upscale garages. Built-in cupboards and upgraded flooring appeal to buyers.
Topics: Home Staging & Real Estate Trends |
2 Responses to “What Today’s Buyers Want: Part 1”
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July 26th, 2008 at 2:05 pm
How can I replace all of the lightbulbs in my house with CFL’s for free?
I LOVE this website and am looking forward to future articles.
August 2nd, 2008 at 8:14 pm
I learned a lot about staging from this website and never thought about how important it is to declutter and organize the closets to give the buyer the sense that there is a lot of space to store stuff. I know buyers open closet doors but the lastilng memory of those clean closets might just sell the house!