Effective Home Staging is Achieved by Designing a Lifestyle that Appeals to the Property's Target Market - Part 2 of 2
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Continued from Part 1...Other things you can do is:
Scope out the neighborhood and get to know the neighbors so you learn what type of person is likely to move into the neighborhood. Generally speaking, there is a commonality amongst neighbors.
Visit competing homes for sale to see what those homes have to offer to give you a better sense of the types of upgrades that may or may not be needed. Notice the likes and dislikes of the neighborhood.
Are all the yards well maintained? Are they privacy seekers? Is there a sense of community? It's important to take their lifestyles into consideration so you can design the right way to market the property to that type of person.
Is this community mostly filled with starter families? If so, staging bedrooms for young kids would be a good idea. Otherwise, if the neighborhood consists mostly of older kids, you'll need to design more sophisticated spaces.
Are they huge sports fans? Capitalizing on a homey family room with a BIG plasma TV would be ideal for that type of neighborhood.
Is it in a golf community? Perhaps creating a study with a golf theme is just the thing you need or maybe a coastal or beach themed space in a water community or designing a floor plan that takes advantage of fantastic views.
If you're ever in doubt about how to create buyer appeal that caters to a specific target market, visit new home developments in your area and see how they have designed their model units. Developers spend a lot of time and money doing market research about who their potential buyers will be and relay that information to their model home designers. The style and décor needs to match the neighborhood, the home, and most importantly, the target buyer. For example, if it's a 2-bedroom, 1-bath condo in the city or a more metropolitan part of town, the likely target market is a single person - a bachelor or bachelorette or even a young couple. The ideal buyer in that case is most likely someone in their 20s. Their lifestyle is going to be very carefree because there are no "family" considerations. Their style is probably going to be more contemporary and edgy. The second bedroom could be staged as a home office because that's probably what it would be used for. Staging it as a guest bedroom or a nursery is going to be less appealing. On the flip side, if it's a 4-bedroom, 2-bath, single family home in the suburbs, this is a classic family home. The potential buyer or "target market" is going to be a couple with a growing family. Their lifestyle is going to be very family-oriented so the family room and kitchen areas are very important as this is where they will be spending most of their time. The décor should be more relaxed and family friendly. You'll want to work with the real estate agent to know who the potential buyers are and deliver the perfect house to them. Figure out what they want versus what they need. Remember, it's not about you or the seller; it's what the buyers want that will sell the house. You need a focused design plan to create the results the seller wants. When they learn that your services are more strategic and designed to help them achieve their goals, they'll be more inclined to refer you and want to work with you. Your goals should always be to position yourself as a value added service, not a frivolous expense.
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