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I hope you have had a wonderful summer. I can't believe it's almost over!
We are pleased to report on another one of our staging success stories. This time the $1.95M apartment had been on the market unstaged and unsold for 9 weeks. Once the homeowner completed the updates we recommended and we staged it with furniture and accessories, an offer was accepted at $150,000 over the asking price in 22 days! See below for more information and the before and after photos.
Enjoy the long Labor Day weekend!
Donna M. Dazzo, President
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Testimonial of the Month
"Donna and her team did a fabulous job of staging my client's vacant apartment. Her work, from recommending pre-staging painting, replacement of light fixtures, door knobs, appliances, etc. through the actual staging with rented furniture and accessories, helped bring the apartment to its full potential. The result was a warm, welcoming home that highly appealed to our target buyers. We sold the apartment in a bidding war and at a significantly above-ask sales price."
Ronnie Kapner
Associate Broker
Douglas Elliman, New York, New York
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This $1.95M 2 bedroom 2 bathroom apartment on the Upper East Side had been on the market for 9 weeks when the real estate agent, Ronnie Kapner of Douglas Elliman, came to us for our help. She said that buyers were not appreciating the great layout and fantastic 180 degree views of midtown, Central Park and upper Manhattan, and instead were objecting to the carpeting and datedness of the apartment. Most importantly they could not envision themselves living there because it was empty.
So we recommended the following updates to the apartment to improve it and eliminate buyer objections, prior to us bringing in furniture and accessories:
- Remove the soiled carpeting from the living room and the taste-specific carpeting in the 2nd bedroom
- Repair the parquet living room floor once the carpet was removed
- Paint the red dining room walls a neutral color as red darkens the space and is taste-specific
- Remove the dated valances from the dining room windows
- Update the white appliances in the kitchen to stainless steel as the cabinets and counter tops were already updated
- Update all of the ceiling fixtures in the apartment from brass to satin/brushed nickel
- Switch out the brass doorknobs in the apartment to satin/brushed nickel
Please note that we did not recommend any improvements to the bathrooms as they were very dated with brass fixtures and needed complete renovations. We do not recommend complete renovations to kitchens and bathrooms as it is costly and buyers will want to design it themselves.
So after the apartment had been on the market unstaged and unsold for 9 weeks, an offer was accepted by the owner 22 days after we staged it. It ultimately sold after a bidding war at $150,000 or 8% over the asking price!
Living Room After
 Dining Room After
Guest Bedroom Before
 Guest Bedroom After
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Market Overview:
New York, NY
"Markets remained tight for buyers in July 2014, however price trends between the condominium and cooperative markets. Condominiums saw strong price appreciation, with 14-16% annual growth in average and median prices. Coops declined in price annually due to fewer large units signed this month. Condo prices per square foot increased by 16% annually while coops declined by 5%.
Overall days on market continued to shrink, primarily due to a significant drop in this figure in the condominium market. Inventory showed divergence between the condominium and cooperative markets as well, with condominiums gaining in inventory versus last year and cooperative listings still declining slightly. Overall inventory was up 9% year-over-year, the largest annual inventory gain since June 2009."
The following is a comparison of July 2014 vs. July 2013:
Market Wide:
- Listings on Market: 5,988 is a 9% increase.
- New Listings: 1,257 is an 11% decrease.
Condos:
Co-ops:
- The median sale price of $706,000 is a 6% decrease.
- The average price per square foot of $1,100 is a 5% decrease.
- The listed inventory was just over 2,720 units, a 3% decrease.
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Tips and Tricks of the Trade: How to Choose the Perfect Paint Color? Look at the Light!!
Paint color and light go hand in hand. The major difficulty lies in that paint color is dependent on exposure to light, and light is never consistent in how it shines, dependent entirely on the variables of time and context. This can be worked around by learning the different light variables, and how color will respond to them. With the following tips from apartment therapy, you will be well on your way to becoming a paint master of the universe.
1. Room Direction
North: Less direct light throughout the day, and consistently cooler.
South: More light throughout the day, often the sunniest place in the home.
East: Most light in the morning, and it's more yellow.
West: On the dull side in the morning, but with a warm glow from the setting sun in the evening.
2. Time of Day
Morning: Early light has a mixture of warm colors and give paint a luminous glow.
Afternoon: At noon, light is decidedly bluer. At the peak of sunlight, color can get washed out.
Evening: As the sun approaches the horizon again near sundown, the light becomes warmer.
3. Type of Light Bulb
Incandescent: Warmer light that enhances red, yellows, and oranges. Downplays cooler colors.
Fluorescent: Cooler light that enhances blues and greens, and diminishes warmer hues.
LEDs: More flexible than the other bulbs and looks good with most paint colors.
CFLs:The lower the number, the warmer the bulb. Full spectrum bulbs mimic daylight.
Halogen: Also closely resembles daylight, and makes colors stand out more.
Read the complete article here!
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Did You Know......Thread Count Isn't the Only Thing to Consider When Buying Sheets?
Things to Look For
1. Material:
Decide your preferred feel, and that will be a suitable guide to choosing the right material.
2. Thread Count:
Determined by the number of threads running horizontally and vertically in a square inch. Quantity doesn't always equal quality, though, as there are ways for manufacturers to increase the thread count, without increasing the quality.
3. Fiber Quality
The best sheets are made from longer fibers that are stronger when made into thread.
4. Weave
How the threads are woven together has a big influence on how sheets feel on the bed.
5. Chemicals & Dyes
Many sheets are chemically treated after they are woven, to increase their strength and decrease wrinkling. To avoid this, look into treatment-free, organic sheets.
For more on this topic, read here!
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Market Overview:
The East End
The following is a comparison of July 2014 annualized, vs. all of 2013, by town, according to Suffolk Research Inc.
East Hampton Town:
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The median sales price of $1,050,000 was a 15.8% increase.
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The number of sales of 766 was a 11% decrease.
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The dollar volume of sales $1,304 million was a 7% decrease.
Southampton Town:
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The median sales price of $830,000 was a .59% decrease.
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The number of sales of 1,572 was a 7% increase.
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The dollar volume of sales $2,398 million was a 8% decrease.
Southold Town:
- The median sales price of $445,000 was a 3.2% decrease.
- The number of sales of 380 was a 14% decrease.
- The dollar volume of sales $256 million was a 3% decrease.
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For More Info
During the Month...
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FREE Closet
Organization,
Open House, and
Moving Checklists
Download your
FREE Closet
Organization,
Open House, and
Moving Checklists.
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Home Staging Savings Calculator Instructions
Try our new
Home Staging Savings Calculator developed by the Real Estate Staging Association (RESA)
Click on the calculator above, which will launch in a new window.
For more detailed instructions, click here.
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