SPRUCE UP YOUR SPACE
In an effort to flip an investment property of her own, business writer Liesa Jossel brought in some art, flowers, plants and furniture to give it a more homely feel – and stumbled upon a whole new career path: home staging.
Home stager Liesa Jossel on how to dress up your house to impress buyers
Technically, home staging is nothing new; even Martha Stewart had a go at it prior to becoming a household name back in the ’90s – before she donned an orange jumpsuit, made a comeback and became best friends with Snoop Dogg! But even though it’s considered an effective marketing tool for luxury homes in the US and UK, home staging has been slow to catch on here in South Africa. ‘Many sellers forget that people buy with their eyes,’ says Liesa Jossel, owner of Home Stagers Cape Town. ‘Bare walls, no matter how nicely painted, are just that. It’s like looking at a beautiful but empty plate. What would you rather order: an empty plate or something delicious?’
Before Liesa became a home stager, she ran her own plain language business writing company, Made Plain. She happened upon home staging by accident. ‘I had bought and refurbished an investment house, and when it came to selling it, the agent told me empty properties are very difficult to move, and that I should think of staging it.’ Liesa, who had always had an interest in décor, brought in art, flowers, plants and furniture and created an inviting space – with personality. And it paid off. ‘It sold on the first day! The agent later told me everyone who came to the show day loved the décor.’
Liesa’s work made such an impression on the agent that she recruited her to help
‘It’s like looking at a beautiful but empty plate. What would you rather order: an empty plate or something delicious?’
her furnish a particularly troublesome listing.
‘The property had been on the market for about three months with no offers. Up until then, my only experience was decorating and redecorating my own home. Now I had to do someone else's with the goal of attracting a specific target market. But it worked! The property sold soon after, at a great price.'
Clearly, Liesa had a knack for this. So she said goodbye to Made Plain and decided to pioneer something still relatively new to South Africa. That was a year ago, and she says she couldn't be happier.
Liesa offers her clients two different types of staging. The first is for an unfurnished home, the second for a furnished home – and then she has two options. When it's unfurnished, ‘we dress the home to suit its style and to appeal to a certain demographic.'
There are a number of factors that influence how she styles each home. ‘I look at the house, the price range (is it a luxury home?), who I think will buy it (a young profes- sional or an older family?) and the neighbourhood. So for a home in Woodstock I'd make it look more retro, while in Sea Point I'd style it in a more contemporary way.'
Empty rooms can also be confusing for a buyer, so by furnishing it, they can easily see the purpose of each room. Furniture also helps the buyer gauge the size of the space. ‘It helps them see how their own furniture will fit in the home – if the room would be swallowed up or be too empty.
Most clients, however, are still
living in the home they are trying to sell, and here's where the two options come in: ‘a walk-andtalk consultation – which is for a seller who is prepared to make the changes I recommend themselves – and a hands-on staging, where we actually restyle the home using the seller's own furniture.'
So, how does home staging work? Is it all about baking cookies and bread and letting the smell waft through the house, as we see in the movies?
‘No, baking bread is a myth!' she laughs. ‘Although nice smells do count. It's about engaging the buyer emotionally so that they can imagine themselves living there.'
The biggest mistake people make is thinking that the property will sell itself.
‘They don't do anything to their homes. I'm often amazed at the photos used on property sites – the home is just a mess. They can't detach from the house. You have to look at it as a product and not think of it as your home.'
There is a perception that home staging is a trick to hide flaws, but Liesa says that it's more about highlighting the property's assets by creating focal points, placing the furniture correctly and creating an atmosphere.
‘So, for example, in a family bathroom I may place a few yellow rubber ducks, or if I'm styling a student flat I might place a desk with textbooks in the bedroom – it triggers something emotional.
‘When buyers enter an unstaged home, they focus on all the “flaws”, like the outdated kitchen or the colour of the walls. Staging shows off the best features of the property and it also helps potential buyers see how they would live, love, play, cook and entertain in that space.'
There's a massive market for home staging in the US, Canada, UK and Australia, with a slew of TV shows on the subject. In South Africa, Liesa is slowly seeing more and more agents including home staging in their budgets.
‘My work helps agents sell homes faster, and often for higher prices than the property would have got if it were empty. It also helps sellers: a faster sale saves them money on rates and taxes, maintenance, insurance, and, of course, bonds. Agents love the idea, and some have really embraced it. I have one agent who calls me in on pretty much every property she markets. Next year, I might even introduce a course for people who want to learn about staging.'