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You've heard it's a buyer's market, but those looking for a home aren't the only people benefiting from the real estate downturn. In fact, the current climate has allowed for the boom of an all new career: Home Staging. One such professional is Birgit Anich, president of Redesign Your Space. Her job is to makeover her clients' houses so they'll be more attractive to buyers - a strategy that seems to work, with staged homes selling an average of 78% faster than those that have not been staged.
"When the real estate market turned around and I saw so many houses sitting on the market for such a long time, I wanted to be able to help families to sell their homes faster," says Birgit, who studied Interior Design at Fairfield University.
"I always loved helping my friends with design ideas, so I decided to become an Accredited Home Stager. Now I finally do professionally what I enjoy most - being creative and helping others add true value to their lives."
Birgit targets obvious areas that need fixing up, such as peeling paint or outdated countertops, but successful staging is all about what she calls the "wow factor."
"The wow factor is what's needed to transform a house into a home and make those emotional connection points to appeal to the largest range of buyers." Birgit, a resident of the Bettswood area of Norwalk, employs everything from hip artwork and accessories to color-themes to achieve this effect. Her favorite example of how the "wow" works is the story of a Stamford family she worked with late last fall. Their apartment had been on the market for about a year and wasn't moving, even after a price drop of $50K. Birgit took the house off the market for the winter, during which time she repainted, updated fixtures, re-arranged furniture and added eye-popping accents.
"After all the changes were made, we took new photos for the MLS listing, which really stood out from the competition outside and within the same apartment complex," says Birgit (the unit was competing against six other apartments in the complex). "Then we put the apartment back on the market at a higher price than when it was taken off the market. Guess what, the same day they put the house back on the market I received a thrilled phone call from the home sellers - they got the great offer they'd been hoping for! Yes, the same day!"
Speed of sale is key, Birgit says, because houses that sell faster also sell for a higher price.
"In order for your house to be the one standing out among all the offers, you need to ensure that potential buyers can see themselves living in your home," she says. "Staging is all about getting your house presented in a way so buyers are able to imagine themselves living there."
Unlike Realtors, who work on commission, home stagers are compensated based on estimated hours required to stage. For more information on how to stage your house, visit www.redesignyourspace.com.
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