Staged and sold.
A vacant space always needs some staging. With a standard layout on this two bedroom apartment style condo, the staging wasn’t so crucial to help viewers imagine a layout. What it had to do was create enough visual appeal to make the unit stand out from the competition. And there was a plenty of that. As my client was preparing to list, there were eleven other similar units for sale in the same building.
My client had owned the property as an investment for only about a year. He had sunk in several thousand on new appliances, carpeting and fresh decorating and was worried about recouping his costs. He needed to price his unit nearly at the top of the pack. He was also hoping to sell quickly because the condo fees had just been increased sharply and it was no longer possible for him to make a profit by renting.
Before staging
After staging
Since the best of the competition had an electric fireplace, the client added one to his unit as well. When staging, we located it strategically. It was the first thing you would see coming into the room — the ‘money shot’ for this apartment.
We realized the target buyers spanned a wide demographic, anywhere from young grad students or professionals to older downsizers. We thought that a common interest across this group could be travel. After all, an apartment style condo is great for travellers as they can leave without worrying about property maintenance.
On an extremely low staging budget we managed to put together an eclectic mix of furnishings with some classic and some more modern pieces. The picture over the mantle is of an antique world map. Over the sofa opposite we hung a pair of large pictures with green matting and palm trees as their subject matter. The silk palm adds some life as well as some separation between the living and dining areas. It also fills up some of the empty space in the sparse furniture arrangement.
One of the agents who showed the unit to a buyer told me she had remarked on how tidy the owner was before she realized the unit was actually unoccupied. This was a great compliment. We think staging should look very natural and uncontrived. Her comment proved this staging was believable.
The unit did sell for close to asking price in a relatively short time, even before some of the competition with lower asking prices. Besides recovering his renovation costs, my client made a small profit and heaved a large sigh of relief.
Author, Martha Stanton-Smith, owner of Rearrangements, is a Certified Canadian Staging Professional who helps serious home sellers in Kingston, Ontario get full worth for their homes. She completed her staging training in 2006. Visit her profile here:
