 August 2010 Newsletter |
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I'm sure many of you think that we only do home staging and interior redesigns. Well, we also offer services in connection with photo shoots.
Just this past month we were called to assist in doing two photo shoots.
We received a call from Michael Shapot, a Senior Vice President with Prudential Douglas Elliman and author of the monthly "A Broker's Outlook" for the Mann Report. He wanted us to come to a new listing he got and rearrange the furniture and decorative items for maximum appeal for the photo shoot.
We were also contacted by an architect who needed his beautifully restored Brooklyn brownstone (pictured above) staged for a photo shoot for an upcoming book in which he was being featured. See the full story and before and after pictures below.
Warmest regards,
Donna M. Dazzo, President
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Beautiful Brooklyn Brownstone
The new owners of this historic brownstone in Park Slope, built at the turn of the last century, commissioned Prospect Architecture to design and manage the renovation.
It is the first townhouse retrofit to be done in this country as a passive house, designed to focus on sustainable principles while lowering energy costs.
The principal, Jeremy Shannon, hired Designed to Appeal to stage a few key rooms to be photographed for an upcoming book on Passive Architecture.
We are very proud of the way the photos turned out - too bad we had to set it up and dismantle it the same day!
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Testimonial of the Month
"Thank you for your efforts. You made the rooms come to life. I am very pleased as to how the photographs turned out."
Jeremy Shannon, Principal
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Market Overview:
New York, NY (Manhattan)
"While the number of co-op and condominium sales has slowed for the summer, the price per square foot of the condominium contracts signed this month has improved, due to an increase in activity over $1,250 per square foot."
Market-Wide:
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The number of new listings coming to market decreased 14% from a year ago and 23% from last month.
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Total listed inventory is down 12% to 9,071 units from a year ago
Co-ops:
The median sales price of $655,000 was 4% less than a year ago and 3% less than last month.
Average price per square foot was $893, a 5% increase from a year earlier but a slight 1% less than last month.
Days on the market has decreased 15% from the same month last year to 139 but is 11% higher than last month.
Listed inventory decreased 5% from a year ago and 3% from last month to 4,127 units.
The number of contracts signed has decreased 26% from a year ago and 13% from last month.
Condos:
The median sales price of $1,167,500 was 17% higher than a year ago and 3% higher than last month.
Average price per square foot was $1,334, a 6% increase from a year earlier and 10% higher than last month.
Days on the market has decreased 31% from the same month last year to 177 and is down 13% from last month.
Listed inventory decreased 20% from a year ago and 3% from a month ago to 4,342 units.
The number of contracts signed has decreased 22% from a year ago and 28% from last month. |
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Tips and Tricks of the Trade: Staging the Garage
Many home sellers think that it's perfectly okay to leave their garage "as is" when selling their home, or worse, think it's okay to move items out of the house and stuff them into the garage in an effort to declutter and minimize furniture and personal items.
Well, it's NOT OKAY! The garage is extra square footage and should be treated just like any other room in the house when staging it for sale.
It should be shown to its highest and best possible use - to store and shelter cars most importantly, and secondarily, to store and shelter tools, hardware, sporting equipment, etc.
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Did You Know...
...that there are some home improvements that could actually devalue your home?
Here are five of the top 10 home improvements that can make your home harder to sell:
1. Kitchen Renovation. Any renovation of a kitchen that is too taste-specific or extreme in design. For example, a kitchen equipped with a restaurant-level stove or multiple refrigerators may not appeal to the buyer who is a simple cook. You want to appeal to the broadest range of buyers when selling a home, and if a buyer thinks they need to spend money re-doing what you've done, they will offer less.
2. Bathroom Renovations. The same can be said for bathroom renovations. Any design that is over the top could detract from the value of the home. It's best to avoid garish sinks, faucets, and tiles. And skip the heart-shaped bathtub!
 3. Painting. Painting the walls is a great way to freshen up a space prior to putting your home on the market, but painting with bold colors such as red, orange, purple or even black (I've seen this) is a sure way to turn off a potential buyer. Buyers want to feel like they can move right in and not have to re-paint the walls to match their own tastes and their existing furniture. The same goes for painting the exterior of the home - no bright blues, yellows or greens please!
4. Water Features. Having an in-ground pool, hot tub, waterfall or pond can also devalue a home, as buyers may perceive these as extra maintenance expenses they don't want to incur. Also, buyers with small children may be fearful of these as well. The only exception of an in-ground pool definitely adding value is if the home is an investment property in a resort area where renters find homes with a pool to be more desirable.
 5. "Wasted" Square Footage. Taking valuable square footage in a house and using it for a specific, personalized purpose can make the house harder to sell and/or detract from its value, for example, turning a garage into a gym. Also, on the Bravo TV show, Nine By Design, the hosts of the show were trying to sell their NYC townhouse. The ground floor was taken up by a basketball/squash court because the owners liked to play these games. However, most buyers would see this as wasted space and an expensive project ahead to change.
Next month we will share the other five improvements that could devalue your home when selling. |
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Market Overview: The East End
According to Suffolk Research Service for the month of July (figures are annualized and are compared to all of 2009):
East Hampton Town:
- The median price increased 10% from last year to $999,000.
- The number of sales increased 82%.
- The dollar volume of sales more than doubled (up 103%).
Southampton Town:
- The median price increased 9% from last year to $860,000.
- The number of sales more than doubled (up 140%).
- The dollar volume of sales more than doubled (up 137%).
Southold Town:
- The median price remained stable at $465,000.
- The number of sales more than doubled (up 118%).
- The dollar volume of sales more than doubled (up 116%).
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For More Info During the Month...
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F/REE Closet Organization and
Open House Checklists | |
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To request your FREE Closet Organization and Open House Checklists, contact us. Just put "Free Checklist" in the subject line, and we will know what to email to you. |
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