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Some of the fastest-selling properties in the Bay have been carefully staged to highlight the best features of the home – and the results really do speak for themselves.
Linley Aitken, Interior Consultant at Napier based Villa Asti; furniture and homewares store and home staging service provider says that the difference between listing an empty home or using your existing furniture and décor to sell your home is vast when you compare it to listing with home staging included in the listing process.
"Some homes have been listed as empty spaces, or have been listed using existing furniture to try and appeal to an increasingly observant buying market, you can see the results, some properties have gone unsold for more than 5 weeks with no offers in a market that is in hot demand for properties.
This says something about the way the home is presented more than the home itself.
Staging is what sells the story of how a prospective buyer may live in the property, so the standard at the seller level needs to be lifted in order to get some potential buyers on board.
Buyers cannot visualize the potential if a home is empty, they see a shell, or they simply see a tired and "lived in" home if the clients furniture just doesn't work in that space – the trick is to depersonalize and declutter so it looks "just so" whilst highlighting the best parts of the property.
This is where we come in using colour, texture and appropriate furniture choices for the era of home. With our vast choice of furniture to draw from its always exciting for the seller to see what we have to offer."
Aitken says that this method of presenting the homes in their best light gives the buyers the best first impression of the home, which is all important.
"With our projects, the average sale turnaround time with our services has been within 3 weeks of listing; of course there have been some cases that have sold for far quicker than that – directly as a result of people loving the way the house is presented and want to move in within 30 seconds of stepping through the door"
Villa Asti Home Staging has been partnering with several Real Estate Agents, OneRoof and property developers, to help highlight their listings and present them in the best light.
Sophie Shield from Sotheby's International Realty wrote "It has been great working with Linley. Myself and our mutual client have been very happy with the service and I have had many positive comments about the staging, not only from buyers but also my colleagues. I will definitely be in touch again for the next property that needs staging."
Aitken advises that sellers really need to include staging as one of the first steps in the selling process, especially when listing with an agent and they're drawing up a marketing package tailored to that listing.
"We come on site, do a free initial consultation to help sellers see their listing in a whole new light. We are careful to take the time to highlight some features that may help push that buyer to make the all-important decision; and have a range of home staging packages that can be tailored to suit your needs."
We also line up with the real estate agents marketing package so it's a seamless process for you for when you are trying to sell your home.
Villa Asti is located on 93 Dalton Street, Napier. Phone 06 2812850 or www.villaasti.co.nz