Effective Home Staging Designs Specific Lifestyles Appealing to Target Market
By Alice Chan

We all know that Home Staging is the art of decorating a home to sell quickly and for top dollar. It is the most proven way to get the highest selling price for a property as you prepare it for sale.

An important thing for both Real Estate Agents and Home Stagers to remember is that before you start the staging process, you need to do research about whom is most likely going to buy the house, otherwise known as the TARGET MARKET.

Staging is not just about hanging up some art, sticking a tree in the corner and adding pretty pillows to the sofa. This seems to be the misconception sometimes.

Haven't we all received phone calls from potential customers who tell us, "Oh, there's not much to be done. Just a few accessories will do the trick". That's someone who doesn't truly understand the psychology behind Staging. It's part of your marketing plan and should be very strategic.

By knowing who the target market is, you will be able to design a lifestyle around that to appeal to that specific group of potential buyers and the real estate agent can design a marketing plan specifically to attract those same people.

So next time you're commissioned to transform a property into a marketable showcase, ask yourself (or the real estate agent):

- Who are the prospective buyers?

- What do they like?

- Do they have kids?

- Do they have pets?

- Do their parents live with them?

Here are 5 reasons why you should know who the buyers will be:

1. You can cater the property to them.

2. You can draw immediate attention and instant appeal.

3. You can fix up the property faster and more economically.

4. The house will sell faster.

5. The sellers will save time and ultimately, money.

To elaborate on who the prospective buyers is, you want to know the following:

- Where are they from?

- What is their background?

- What is their ethnic heritage?

Scope out the neighborhood and get to know the neighbors so you learn what type of person is likely to move into the neighborhood. Generally speaking, there is a commonality amongst neighbors.

Visit competing homes for sale to see what those homes have to offer to give you a better sense of the types of upgrades that may or may not be needed. Notice the likes and dislikes of the neighborhood.

Are all the yards well maintained? Are they privacy seekers? Is there a sense of community? It's important to take their lifestyles into consideration so you can design the right way to market the property to that type of person.

Is this community mostly filled with starter families? If so, staging bedrooms for young kids would be a good idea. Otherwise, if the neighborhood consists mostly of older kids, you'll need to design more sophisticated spaces.

Are they huge sports fans? Capitalizing on a homey family room with a BIG plasma TV would be ideal for that type of neighborhood.

Is it in a golf community? Perhaps creating a study with a golf theme is just the thing you need or maybe a coastal or beach themed space in a water community or designing a floor plan that takes advantage of fantastic views.

If you're ever in doubt about how to create buyer appeal that caters to a specific target market, visit new home developments in your area and see how they have designed their model units. Developers spend a lot of time and money doing market research about who their potential buyers will be and relay that information to their model home designers.

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