Property styling - does it make much difference?

[beachgurl]

We are looking to put our current house on the market. It is near Parra in a new estate, around the 620-650K mark. Most of our furniture is less than 2 years old, but am wondering whether property styling instead of using our own furniture will make much difference to the sale price? We've found a place to rent for a while and tossing up whether to use our furniture for the sale pics and the first one or two opens before moving or whether we just move out asap and get stylists in.

Has anyone got a house styled with the stylists furniture? Is it something only used, or of most benefit to higher end properties? How much did it cost you and how long did you keep the styled furniture in the house for?

 

[Joe D]

I arranged the sale of a relative's 3 bed villa late last year and went with the Agent's recommendation to have it professionally staged for the advertising photos and subsequent home open.

Cost was $1450 for initial setup and 4 weeks hire of furniture. Villa was only partially staged (ie living area, kitchen, bathroom and outdoor area.

We had a lot of interest and 3 offers after first showing and I believe we achieved at least $20k more than otherwise would have been likely. Sale price was $655k.

Family members were staggered that this was the same property after it was professionally staged.

It totally transformed a villa that I would have guessed would have suited older downsizing owners to a home that appealed to all age groups.

Would not hesitate to use again when selling.

 

[Propertunity]

My advice would be to move you and your stuff out and let the stylists do their thing.

I regularly see $450-650K properties achieve $30,40,50K over true value simply because of good styling. I even have clients that get suckered into thinking properties are worth more than they really are, because of a water feature and some white pebbles making a good impression.

It does not fool the professional investor but these are probably not your market.

 

[Tim86]

What sort of styling tricks are there?

 

[DaveM]

What sort of styling tricks are there?

Twigs in a vase add $30k of value each

But it all depends on the property, something in the mid to higher end can certainly benefit from a small or moderate professional staging. A lower end one not so much.

If your furniture is pretty new, you may find that just hiring in some high end items like rugs and artwork is all thats needed.

 

[BayView]

We are looking to put our current house on the market. It is near Parra in a new estate, around the 620-650K mark. Most of our furniture is less than 2 years old, but am wondering whether property styling instead of using our own furniture will make much difference to the sale price? We've found a place to rent for a while and tossing up whether to use our furniture for the sale pics and the first one or two opens before moving or whether we just move out asap and get stylists in.

Has anyone got a house styled with the stylists furniture? Is it something only used, or of most benefit to higher end properties? How much did it cost you and how long did you keep the styled furniture in the house for?

We did with our last PPoR. Ours was a higher-end property for our area, so it was worth the cost.

It was about $3.5k from memory for 6 weeks (I think), and definitely made a difference to the appeal and sale-ability of the property.

Most people think their own furniture is cool, but the reality is - it's not.

A stylist may pick a few of your items, but I'd wager the majority will be taken out and theirs brought in....unless you can afford to go out and buy a houseful of the type of things they would use, and keep them for your next place.

 

[BayView]

What sort of styling tricks are there?

Watch Shayna from "Selling Houses Australia" in action.

 

[LucyLu]

House styling

Where do you find house stylists? (Sydney)

 

[oc1]

Where do you find house stylists? (Sydney)

Google is your friend. There is a bucket load of them!

Oscar

 

[BayView]

Where do you find house stylists? (Sydney)

Most of the local r.e's now have a stand out the front with a mag full of the latest listings for their area.

In this mag are lots of ads as well, and some of them are the "makeover" people.

That's how we found ours.

They have since become a customer at the Workshop, and have given us back our $3.5k in work.

 

[Chris B]

It really depends on the property and your furniture. If your furniture looks as good as new, it's probably fine. The main thing I would focus on is that your home is neat and tidy and doesn't look cluttered, so it can be worth moving some things into the garage or storage. It can also be worth getting a friend's honest opinion for anything that can improve the look of your home, but not everyone has a friend willing to be brutally honest.

Some things to think about:

1. What happens if it doesn't sell in 4 weeks? You either have to commit to paying more to keep the furniture for longer or have it removed and then either sell it vacant or move your stuff back in.

2. Some agents encourage the use staging furniture to make you psychologically more committed to selling. Once you have moved your things out, it is a lot easier for the agent to get you to reduce your price or accept a lower offer.

What I would demand in writing from the agent is that you will not have to pay advertising costs unless the property is sold within (or above) the range they have quoted you.

 

[ZachAnSel]

Base on my exp, I prefer to have combination between furniture styling with auction. 4 weeks time separate into 2 weeks inspection, auction on week 3. If your auction is failed for some reason, week 4 is your last resort.

I did sell unit in Five dock, and townhouse in burwood. Both of them above reserve twice more than what we expect. Either combination with price rising, lower interest, furniture styling, buyer from China, or pure luck..

 

[Jake Milne]

It really depends on the property and your furniture. If your furniture looks as good as new, it's probably fine. The main thing I would focus on is that your home is neat and tidy and doesn't look cluttered, so it can be worth moving some things into the garage or storage.

^ This. I would argue that a home owner's furniture, if it presents well, is better than a styled home as it'll have a "lived in feeling".

Ask your agent what his/her opinion is... that's what they're there for.

 

[Angel13]

When I looked into the cost of hiring furniture for styling I remember it being quite expensive because they charge by the item.

Maybe you could use some of your own more modern pieces and hire in the rest. Little finshing touches like candles etc you could buy yourself instead. I remember they wanted to charge $30 for 3 candles for 4 weeks.

 

[Joe D]

For what it is worth when I used a staging company the biggest advantage was that they changed the "feel" of the property. Furniture was important but not the only issue.

They changed the feel of the property to appeal to a wider range of potential buyers by presenting the Unit in a way I had never considered. They also used clever touches (artwork, nic nacs , ornaments etc) to focus the eye away from features that may have otherwise been a negative.

Yes, it will still sell if you've got decent furniture and present it well, but if you want to maximise the sale potential, creative flair can really add to the buyer appeal which translates into more interest, more offers and quicker turnaround.

I was previously a bit of a cynic, but I am converted!

 

[wylie]

For what it is worth when I used a staging company the biggest advantage was that they changed the "feel" of the property. Furniture was important but not the only issue.

They changed the feel of the property to appeal to a wider range of potential buyers by presenting the Unit in a way I had never considered. They also used clever touches (artwork, nic nacs , ornaments etc) to focus the eye away from features that may have otherwise been a negative.

I was previously a bit of a cynic, but I am converted!

This is a very good point. The last house we sold was a two bedroom, one sleepout house. The sleepout could only be accessed via either of the bedrooms.

The living and dining rooms were the same and joined by swing leadlight doors (1930s house) but the layout and flow of doorways in this house meant that the living room could be used as a bedroom.

We closed the swing doors, dressed the living room as the main bedroom, made the main bedroom a living room and used the long sleepout as a dining room. It turned the house into three good sized bedrooms, "led" people through the house a different way to how it had been used and built, and removed the "sleep only accessed via one or other bedroom" issue being raised. It worked because these old 1930s houses have lots of doors and was easily "changed".

It meant buyers didn't turn their noses up at a two bedroom house (with a sleepout which was pretty useless) but came in and "saw" a three bedroom house with a lovely separate dining room, now accessed from a "living room".

Empty rooms would never have "shown" people the different way it could be lived in.

 

[Angel13]

I'd love to see some before and after styling photos if you guys who have used a stylist have any handy.

 

[wylie]

This is a house that sold recently where the owners (who are friends of ours) had a hire furniture company style it for them.

http://raywhitecoorparoo.com.au/qld/coorparoo/872345/

And here is a property being sold by some other people I know, who do this regularly and make good money from renovating. This is their own furniture -

http://www.realestate.com.au/property-apartment-qld-coorparoo-113306071

 

[hibernatestyle]

Property styling

I'd love to see some before and after styling photos if you guys who have used a stylist have any handy.

Hey guys, I just stumbled upon this thread whilst doing some research and thought I'll jump in! I run a property styling company in Melbourne and (obviously) am a true believer on the benefits of styling.

Obviously I am not based in Parra but have a few stylists Australia wide that I could recommend if Google was not a preferred option?

In request to before and after shots, this flat had a $3000 spent for estimated $25 000 return based soley on the living room.

Hope this helps!

BEFORE –– https://twitter.com/hibernatestyle/status/321093977015205888/photo/1

AFTER -- https://twitter.com/hibernatestyle/status/321094689992347649/photo/1

 

[lizzie]

This is a house that sold recently where the owners (who are friends of ours) had a hire furniture company style it for them.

http://raywhitecoorparoo.com.au/qld/coorparoo/872345/

And here is a property being sold by some other people I know, who do this regularly and make good money from renovating. This is their own furniture -

http://www.realestate.com.au/property-apartment-qld-coorparoo-113306071

And they have both sold - within a month!

Hey - great styling and example Hibernate - loving the after.

I am a very firm believer in styling - although struggling with current house as it's being tricky to work with mid stalled reno - but you have to present the "fantasy" to the buyer - the aspiration of what they can achieve and what they desire to live like.

They may have no style sense and end up like the before in Hibernates photos - but it is the fantasy and desire that helps drive up the price.

Would love to be a professional stylist - but unfortunately not much call out here.