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Staging Works: Home Sold in 8 Days!!
This two-bedroom apartment needed to be sold because the owners were being relocated down south. Rather than repositioning their existing furniture, they decided to move themselves and their furniture out and rent furniture so that the home could be shown to its fullest advantage.
The transformation was so dramatic and enticing that...
- The real estate agent had 35 appointments the first week
- The homeowners received 3 offers at the first open house
- They ultimately sold it 8 days after the first showing
Here's what the homeowner had to say:
"We had a very tight open house deadline with no room for error, but Donna still pulled off the staging beautifully -- and it was completed within the given monetary budget."
The real estate agent said:
"I wanted to tell you what an amazing staging job you did for my two-bedroom exclusive listing. I know that your staging helped my sales process tremendously."
See their complete Testimonials below. |
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Market Overview:
New York, NY
"Marketwide, sales activity slowed for January compared to December 2009...As is typical at this time of year, listed inventory increased slightly this month as sellers relist their apartments in the hopes of striking a deal after the holiday season. Available inventory is still far below levels seen a year ago."
Manhattan listed inventory increased 6% to 8,400 units from December but is still 32% less than its peak in March 2009
The pricing disparity between buyers and sellers continued to close. The discounts were among the mildest in over a year.
Co-ops:
- The number of sales was 118% higher than a year ago.
- The median price of $605,000 was 1% higher than a year ago
- The inventory was 23% lower than January 2009
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Tips and Tricks of the Trade
What exactly is flow, and more specifically, traffic flow, in a house or a room?
Simply, it's the ability to walk easily from room to room in a house as well as through the room without bumping into furniture or coming upon an empty space.
Studies show that homes that have a good traffic flow sell faster than those that do not.
But even if your home is not on the market, you still want to maximze flow.
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What is the process buyers go through before they buy?
Who was the typical home buyer in 2009?
Who was the typical home seller?
According to a survey by the National Association of Realtors*....
- Buyers started their home search process online and then contacted a real estate agent
- 90% of buyers used the Internet; 87% said they relied on real estate agents
- Buyers searched a median of 12 weeks before they found their dream home
- They viewed 12 homes before purchasing the one they wanted
- 66% are married couples
- 21% are single woman; 10% are single men
- 8% are unmarried couples and 1% are "other"
- 15% are non-white and 9% were born outside of the U.S.
- The repeat buyer was typically 48 years old with a median income of $88,100 purchasing a home costing $224,500
- 87% see their home as a good investment and more than half see it as a better investment than stocks
Read more about what they bought and how they bought it as well as who the typical home seller was.
* The NAR surveys home buyers and sellers across the nation each year, and the results of their survey were released in November 2009 and cover the period from June 2008 through July of 2009. |
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Market Overview: The East End
According to George Simpson, President of Suffolk Research Service in his 4th Quarter report,
"the real estate market on the East End of Long Island is showing strong signs that a market turnaround happened in the 2nd quarter of 2009 -- and the upward trend has continued for the 4th quarter."
All three market indicators...
- Median Price
- Unit Sales
- Dollar Sales
...showed a turnaround in the 2nd quarter and continued to improve through the 4th quarter
Median Price: increased 8.8% to $630,700
Unit Sales: tripled to 618 units sold
Dollar Sales: up 54.7% to $790 million |
 Testimonials of the Month
"We had a very tight open house deadline with no room for error, but Donna still pulled off the staging beautifully -- and it was completed within the given monetary budget. The apartment was not priced low and yet we received three offers by the 8th day from the first showing. The apartment went into contract very quickly after that. I was very pleased with the bids I received and I no longer consider staging as an "expense."
Stephanie H., Homeowner
New York, New York
"I wanted to tell you what an amazing staging job you did for my two-bedroom exclusive listing. You transformed the apartment in one day into a welcoming, warm home. My photos turned out beautifully and the apartment looked incredible on our web site. I had 35 appointments in one week, three offers, and a signed contract 8 days after the open house. Amazing!
I know that your staging helped my sales process tremendously. Thank you and I will absolutely recommend you in the future."
 Jill Sloane, Executive Vice President
Halstead Property Company
New York, New York
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