Why Should I Use A Property Stylist?

Three seconds is all you’ve got to make a first impression, whether it’s capturing a prospects attention whilst they scroll through hundreds of properties similar to yours on a real estate website, or walking through your door at an Open Home – to appeal to them and standout from your competition you’re going to need “wow” factor.
Professional styling is popular because it works. Every agent knows that a property is easier to sell if a buyer has an emotional connection to a home, it also means that your asset has greater potential for selling quickly and at a premium price. 
So how do you get a prospect to fall in love with your home? Well, through the services of a property stylist. 
If you are in the process of placing your property on the market or your property is already on the market, however, doesn’t seem to be getting any traction, here are five reasons you should consider engaging a property stylist. 

1. “May the best dressed win.”

Pre-sale makeovers are something all vendors should consider. There are so many renovation services available that except payment at settlement and that offer short term loans, that there really is no excuse for listing your property “undressed”.
A pre-sale makeover, also known as pre-sale presentation or pre-sale renovation, involves a stylist cosmetically enhancing the appeal of your property to make it look fresh and inviting to a wider demographic. 
If you are wanting to achieve the best possible price at sale, then you are missing out by not hiring a stylist!  

2. All about perspective.

An interior stylist is not attached to your property, so they have the ability to walk through your home and provide honest advice about what needs to be fixed, replaced, removed, cleaned, decluttered and anything else that might only serve to hinder your dreams of hitting a premium price. 
As a homeowner, you will struggle to style your own property because you have an emotional attachment to it. A property stylist can look at your home from the perspective of a potential buyer and make objective decisions, that are not emotionally linked to the property. 

Property stylists know what buyers want. They are familiar with the current market, what is on trend and who the buyers are. Hiring a stylist will bring you more generous offers. 

3. Game Plan.

A professional stylist has a game plan because they are results driven and have two objectives in mind – to get you the best price and a quick sale.  

Part of the game plan is to organise the trades and other service providers to get your home looking well maintained and this doesn’t stop when your property is listed. Most stylists will visit your home weekly during the sale process, to keep a constant order over things, or as a security feature, especially if the home is unoccupied. 

4. You get what you pay for.

Hiring a stylist can be off-putting at a time when you are looking down the barrel of strategic renovation and Agent marketing fees – most people don’t expect having to pay thousands of dollars to get their property updated, sometimes a property is being sold because it requires too much maintenance, unless your home is being marketed as a “knock down, rebuild”, hiring a property stylist should be seen as an investment into your property asset.
In my professional experience, property styled by Calmnest Property Styling, has not only sold within 14 days of open home but has also seen a price increase of $30,000 to $150,000+ and when you think that in those cases the vendor paid only $3000 to $4500 for furniture hire and styling, it’s not hard to see that you get what you pay for and the investment pays off itself. 

Speak with your stylist about pricing structure and if they offer any extended payment terms. 

5. Picture perfect presentation.

I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again, three-seconds is all you’ve got to make an impression, whether your buyer is flipping through a glossy magazine or clicking-through your online campaign – how your home is presented in an image, is enough to make or break your sale. 
I’ve seen properties listed that after spending months on the market with little to no interest, sell at a reduced price, in every single scenario, these houses were not styled professionally. 
You have done it yourself, where you have been looking at a property to rent or buy, however the photos of the property do not appeal to you for any number of reasons, the most common reason is due to appearance, so you do what every other person does, you overlook the property – this is what styling seeks to eliminate, your property being overlooked by a potential buyer.

Conclusion

In recent years, Landlords have opted to get their property styled to rent, to some this may seem extraordinary, but it is very clever – what works to attract buyers and increase value at sale, also attracts a higher rental value and better quality of tenant.

For a small investment of $2000 to $4000 you could add as much as $30,000 to $150,000+ to the value of your property or an additional $100+ per week to your rental, by engaging with a stylist.   

So, there you have it – property styling works and if you choose to not have your home staged, you are truly missing out.

Written by Claire Lopez

Principle Stylist at Calmnest Property Styling in Melbourne

www.calmnestpropertystyling.com