5 Tips for the Perfect Home Staging

Staging your home before listing it is very important, and we have five essential tips for staging it correctly.

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Here are the top five things homeowners should do in terms of staging their home before listing it:

1. Allow in as much light as you can: Pull open all the blinds and make sure all the lights are on. Shadows can make a room look smaller. The more natural light you can feature, the better.
2. Make sure the interior is not overcrowded: Consider simplifying the layout by removing some of the furniture. You don’t want to give off the impression that the house is being lived in.
3. Properly arrange the furniture: Avoid setting furniture pieces against the walls. While this may seem like an obvious trick to make a space look bigger, it actually has the opposite effect. It’s always better to group them together.
4. Consider window treatments: For example, make sure the curtains are touching the ground. If they aren’t, it can make the ceiling seem lower and the room smaller.
5. Declutter and simplify: Take everything off the countertops and clear away the face of your refrigerator. You want people to be looking at the house, not your belongings.

Staging your home properly can make a huge difference in determining its saleability. Along with staging, professional photography also greatly improves your home’s aesthetic appeal.

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The more natural light you can let in, the better.

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If you have any questions about home staging, feel free to give us a call or send us an email. We look forward to helping you in any way we can.

The Benefits of Hiring a Real Estate Team

A common question we hear from buyers and sellers alike is, “Should I work with an individual agent or a real estate team?”

For the best shot at accomplishing your goals, work with a real estate team. A team is a group of specialists. For example, it’s the buyer specialist’s job to look for the right house for you. They are scouring the MLS daily to find new listings.

If you’re dealing with a solo agent, they’ve got a lot more on their plate than just helping you find a home to buy. They are also trying to deal with listings, paperwork, lockboxes, signs, you name it. Right now, we are in a strong seller’s market and if you’re buying, your buyer’s agent needs to be in tune with that’s going on. You’ve got to be able to get to that dream house first so you have the best shot at writing an offer.

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A team gives you more specialized, individual attention.

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A team helps when selling in many different ways. Our office manager’s job is to make sure the listing gets input in the best possible light. We also hire a professional photographer to capture your home’s unique beauty. We make sure all paperwork is accurate and compliant. Our specialists are here to make sure everything is where it needs to be and done when it needs to be done.

We’ve also got a marketing director who works with both the photographers and home stagers to make sure homes are shown in their best possible light and appeal to the highest number of buyers possible.

Another thing a team is able to do differently than a solo agent is prospect. Instead of just waiting for buyers to find your house, we are actively engaged in finding them. We are on the phone on a daily basis looking for new buyers and receiving their information from our website. We know when buyers are looking at your property, how long they are looking at it, and we are following up with them.

That’s the benefit of using a team; you get specialized and individual attention that you simply can’t get with a solo agent. If you have any questions for us about working with a real estate team, give us a call or send us an email. We would love to hear from you.

In Certain Price Ranges, the Wichita Market Has Bounced Back Gracefully

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A lot has changed in a few short years for the Wichita real estate market. We wanted to highlight some of the biggest changes we’ve seen in the last few years by examining the difference in what we’re experiencing now vs. what we experienced a few years ago.

In 2012, per the Wichita MLS, a total of 8,209 homes were sold in Wichita and surrounding areas. In 2015, that number increased to 9,496 homes. That is a 15.7% increase - great news if you’re looking to sell a house. The other thing we wanted to mention was home appreciation. In 2012, we saw negative 1.1% appreciation. Homes were losing value. In 2015 however, we were back on the plus side and saw a 3.6% appreciation in home values. We expect that trend to continue through 2016.

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We have gone from a buyer’s market to a strong seller’s market.

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One key number agents pay attention to when examining the market is the absorption rate, which is a measure of inventory. A balanced market is somewhere between five and seven months of inventory. A buyer’s market is more than seven months, and a seller’s market is less than five. Interestingly enough, right now, we have less than a 3% absorption rate, which puts us in a great seller’s market. If you've been thinking about selling at all, now is a fantastic time.

We have gone from more of a buyer’s market to a very strong seller’s market. Because of limited inventory, buyers in today’s market will have to compete against multiple offers, at least in the $150,000 to $200,000 range.

We hope this information was helpful to you. If you have any questions at all, give us a call or send us an email. We would be happy to answer them.