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"Pole? What Pole?" - Staging Works!
Recently we were asked to stage a 2-bedroom apartment on the Upper West Side of Manhattan.
The living area was problematic in that it had a pole in it and was small. A dining area also had to be carved out of this space.
After we were just about finished staging it, a friend of Donna's assistant came to look at it. After the two of them left, Donna's assistant asked him what he thought of the apartment.
He said:
"I just loved the couch and the colors you used. And I love what you did to the terrace! I can just picture myself relaxing out there."
So Donna's assistant asked him:
"What did you think about the pole?"
To which he answered:
Mission accomplished! Staging downplayed the negatives and emphasized the positive. It succeeded in creating an emotional connection with the buyer.
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Market Overview:
New York, NY (Manhattan)
"The First Quarter 2010 saw a healthy return of buyers to the market."
Co-ops and Condos:
- The number of sales was 23% higher than a year ago.
- The median price of $820,000 was 11% less than a year ago but 3% higher than last quarter
- Listed inventory has decreased 26% from its peak in March 2009
Co-ops:
The median price of $670,000 is 3% higher than a year ago and 9% higher than last quarter.
Condos:
The median price of $995,000 was 4% less than a year ago but 4% higher than last quarter.
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Tips and Tricks of the Trade
Finding the Right Balance
Imagine a boat where all of the weight was shifted to one side. What would happen to the balance of that boat?
Balance in a room is the same thing. It's affected by two things:
- The size of the furniture
- The placement of the furniture
If most of the furniture is either very tall, very short, top heavy or bottom heavy, the room will be off-balance vertically.
If most of the big (tall and/or wide) furniture is on one side of the room, the room will be off-balance horizontally.
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 - China has 6 cities on the top 10 list of the most active real estate markets in the world?
- New York City is ranked 13 on this list?
- Chinese cities recorded 10 sales above $1 billion in 2009 while New York City recorded none?
- 32,784 apartments were sold in Beijing alone in November 2009, a local record?
- 7,430 Manhattan co-ops and condos were sold in all of 2009?
- The average increase for 2009 vs 2008 for home sale prices in Shanghai was 68%?
- The average decrease for this same time period for Manhattan co-ops and condos was 13%?
Source: The Real Deal, February 2010 |
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Market Overview: The East End
According to Corcoran's First Quarter report, the Hamptons experienced significant increases over the same quarter last year:
- 125% increase in the number of sales
- 155% increase in dollar volume of sales
- 46% increase in median sale price to $950,000
The North Fork, also experienced increases, though not as significant as the Hamptons:
- 77% increase in the number of sales
- 61% increase in the dollar volume of sales
- 8% increase in median sale price to $439,000
" the real estate market on the East End [showed] that a..turnaround happened in the 2nd quarter of 2009 - and the upward trend has continued through the 1st quarter of 2010"
The following towns on the East End experienced these median price changes from the 4th quarter of '09 to the first quarter of 2010:
- Southampton: up 33% to $850,000
- East Hampton: up 39.4% to $1,150,000
- Southold: up 2.9% to $540,000
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Recent Press Coverage
Donna Dazzo and Designed to Appeal were recently featured in the following publications:
- Yahoo Shine: Donna shared her inexpensive and easy design tricks for selling your home.
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