SETTING THE STAGE FOR LOVE AT FIRST SIGHT
Banish clutter and let in the light: Home staging is growing more popular in Montreal
Imagine yourself walking into an open house and immediately being stunned by the flawless decor. You glide your fingers along the granite countertop in the kitchen, envisioning years of happily preparing meals. Thanks to some cleverly placed cookbooks and baking utensils, you can almost smell the cookies you’d bake with the kids during winter holidays. You float through the sunlit living room, where a perfectly-sized couch is cozily facing the fireplace. Entering the solarium, you “ooh” and “ahh” at the little table set for brunch. From there, you proceed to the dining room, which is tastefully decorated with warm neutral tones, and where a long, inviting table is accessorized with pops of colour — perhaps red to stimulate the appetite. You whisper: “Oh, the dinner parties we’ll have here ...”
Before you know it, you’re calling it “your” dining room. Because you’re in love, and it happened in about five minutes, thanks to home staging.
Staging — professionally preparing a home to appeal to as many potential buyers as possible, making for a quicker sale at a higher price — is growing increasingly popular in Montreal. It involves depersonalizing, decluttering, rearranging and accentuating the positive, all working toward that crucial first impression.
Potential buyers often make their decision within minutes of entering a home. A 2016 British study found that just over 43 per cent of buyers decide whether (or not) to make an offer within the first five minutes.
And in a high-supply market (think condos in Montreal), the seller needs an edge over competitors.
“In a market that’s hot, staging helps to get top dollar,” says Tanya Nouwens, a West Island-area stager who turned real estate broker 10 years ago. “I stage every home I sell. It’s that important.”
Montreal-area realtors and stagers contacted for this article are in agreement: staging is gaining credibility and growing in popularity here.
“It has a lot to do with a hot housing market,” says Joanne Vroom, who’s been staging homes in the Montreal area for 11 years. “Plus, there’s more of an awareness of home staging because of the popularity of HGTV. Young people, in particular, are more tuned in to it and embrace the concept.”
Montreal-area stager Sveta Melchuk also credits TV channels like HGTV for boosting business. She says her staging business has grown between 20 and 25 per cent per year in the last decade, and shows no sign of slowing down. “In 2016, I staged over 100 homes,” she says, “And in 2017 I am already at 70 homes between January and the end of June.”
Online browsing also makes staging more important, adds realtor Amy Assaad. “With so many people using online listings and seeing a home for the first time in photographs, staging has become as important as hiring a professional photographer. It’s all about presentation.”
Realtor Yona Corber, of Team Corber, agrees. “People choose homes online, so staging is important. I definitely believe the trend will continue and staging will become more a standard part of selling homes.
Staging tends to be more common in detached homes, Nouwens explained, partly because condos often will have a model for showing, which serves a similar purpose as staging. And detached homes, particularly those in older neighbourhoods such as in the West Island, tend to be older and in need of updating in order to show well.
Yet, while home staging is on the rise here, “it’s not like Vancouver or Toronto, where it’s typical,” Nouwens says. “We’re not there yet.”
Not all homeowners are convinced the result will be worth the expense of staging.
An initial consultation with a professional stager will carry a fee of about $250. The cost of actually hiring a professional stager can range from $1,000 to $2,000, but that cost can climb depending on the seller’s need. For instance, a home that is completely empty will likely cost more to stage than one that is still occupied. The same goes for a home in need of painting or repairs.
And what do homeowners get for this investment?
“It’s more than just clearing clutter or taking down personal pictures,” Nouwens explains. “You don’t want an antiseptic atmosphere, but you do want to create a space where potential buyers can see themselves. Sometimes that means removing personal items.
“But,” she adds, “it’s OK to have a few family photos around. It’s good to show that a family experienced happiness and love in a home.”
In some cases, the stager acts a bit like a coach, helping to ease the seller away from the emotional attachment to the home.
“It can sometimes be difficult for people to depersonalize their space, especially if they’re still living in the home,” Nouwens explains.
One could imagine the emotional weight, particularly if the seller is in a major life transition. For example, it can be difficult to convince someone who is about to move into a retirement community that she needs to take down the photos of her grandchildren while she’s still occupying the home. Nouwens admits the process can sometimes be like pulling off a Band-Aid.
“The bottom line,” Nouwens sums up, “is that the seller needs the property sold. Once it’s on the market, it becomes a product that should be merchandised and showcased to compete well with other products on the market.”
With personal items removed and rooms decluttered, the stager can then enter and work some magic.
“After I assess the needs of a home,” says Nouwens, “I make my suggestions and bring in props, accessories, artwork for the wall and sometimes furniture. Sometimes we might paint. If we are using the seller’s furniture, often rearranging it can make all the difference. In other cases, we’ll rent furniture for a space.”
You may ask whether staging actually makes a difference.
“Definitely,” says Lori Caramelli, who finally sold her St-Bruno condo last year after following the suggestion of her realtor to stage it.
“My condo was on the market for almost two years, and I went through a couple of agents. The only suggestion was to drop the price. I had already done that, so …”
That’s when she hired realtor Andrew Mitchell, who suggested staging. “After that, it sold in four months,” Caramelli said. “Staging made all the difference. If I had known about it, I would have done it a long time ago.”
Christina Mitchell, who happens to be the Realtor’s sister and has been staging for 15 years, worked on Caramelli’s condo.
“We come from a family of real estate professionals,” she explained. “Even though I studied fine arts, I still ended up in real estate. It just fell into place for me to stage homes. My art background gives me a unique perspective, especially when it comes to using colours to enhance the appeal.
“Our goal is to show potential buyers what they can do with a space, to help them visualize themselves there,” says Mitchell.
“What we are doing when we stage a home is creating a dream for the potential buyer.”