Selling Your Home: Staged to Sell In a Soft Real Estate Market. Real Estate Business Times.

Selling Your Home

posted on 4 MAY 2007

Staged to Sell In a Soft Real Estate Market

(ARA) - Selling your home can be a challenge that may seem especially daunting in a softer real estate market. If you decide now is the time to sell, there are several aspects that can make your home more attractive to potential buyers. Following this advice may help justify your asking price and attract buyers.

Setting the stage
There is a science to selling your home and in tight economic times, you want the exact elements to combine for successful selling opportunities. Dozens of online resources help guide you in staging your home to appeal to potential buyers. One of the more popular sites, Home and Garden Television (HGTV) offers these ideas:

1. What an entrance!
The outside of your home is the all-important first impression. And like it or not, it speaks volumes about what’s inside -- and about its owner. Glossy paint in a bold, cheerful color for the front door, new hardware, a doormat and seasonal potted plants on the porch will dramatically brighten and refresh your home’s entry and make a welcoming statement.

2. Create spaces
Part of what stagers do is create fantasy spaces: an exercise room, a meditation space, an art studio or a family game room. If a room currently only gathers junk, repurpose it into something that will add to the value -- and enjoyment -- of the home. Adding an armchair, a small table, and a lamp in a stairwell nook will transform an area into a cozy reading spot.

3. Brilliant natural light
Take off old, heavy drapery and put up something light and airy. This allows natural light and makes a previously closed-in space seem larger. Simple sheers on a tension rod are great for screening an unattractive view and providing some privacy while letting in light and visually enlarging a room. If privacy is paramount, top-down, bottom-up shades will block the neighbors’ view of your bathtub but still let you gaze at the sky while you soak in the tub.

Pella Designer Series windows and doors feature top-down or bottom-up shade options tucked neatly between panes of glass, so there’s no clutter of traditional room-side blinds and no need for dusting. The beauty of this product is since the window treatments are included in the window, their purchase price can be built into the mortgage.

Brand name windows.

In today’s competitive market, buyers look for brand names everywhere in a home. While a name brand range or a countertop are influencers in the kitchen, so are quality name brand windows and entry doors throughout the home. Many sellers list Pella windows and doors by name in ads, adding a mark of distinction about a home offered for sale.

More than just a quality name, Pella offers quality products in its wood, vinyl and fiberglass composite window collections. Plus, Pella has long been a leader in creating energy-saving products. The company was recently named a 2007 ENERGY STAR partner of the year winner among window manufacturers.

With Pella, homeowners can expect excellent performance, energy efficiency and peace of mind, knowing their investment in quality windows and doors will bring years of performance and satisfaction.

Only Pella offers its Rolscreen insect screen for windows and patio doors, which rolls out of sight when not in use. Another eye-catching option is the virtually transparent Vivid View insect screen which allows in more natural light and ventilation offering great views from inside or out.

Women as influencers and buyers.

Knowing your audience is especially important when selling your home. Women directly purchase or influence the purchase of 91 percent of all new homes, according to the Business Women’s Network.

In today’s market, single women homebuyers are an especially powerful consumer segment -- 51 percent of American women live without a spouse according to the New York Times.

According to trend researcher Iconoculture, single women homeowners as a segment is “on the verge of a virtual marketplace takeover as women delay marriage until later in life and enjoy greater financial, intellectual and emotional independence than ever before.” According to the National Association of Realtors, single women purchased 1.76 million homes from July 2005 to July 2006 -- 22 percent of the housing market and more than double the 9 percent of homes bought by their single male counterparts.

Make sure your home is designed to sell and direct your efforts to the highly influential female market as buyers, decision-makers and passionate decorators.

For more information on home improvement featuring windows and doors, contact a local Pella Window & Door Showroom expert by calling (888) 84-PELLA or logging on to www.pella.com. (ARA)