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Homestaging companies are proliferating as newcomers hope to cash in on the booming property market and turn vendors' humble dwellings into desirable showhomes.
There are as many as 27 companies/individuals in Auckland offering their services as "house dressers" to ready houses for sale. In a busy week, the bigger companies can dress 10 homes a week.
Homestaging - in which a vendor's existing furniture and knicknacks are put into storage and replaced with fashionable, artfully arranged substitutes for a designated hire period - has been popular in America for decades. The phenomenon hit New Zealand about 10 years ago but has been increasing in the past 18 months, spurred, some say, by the popularity of TV makeover shows.
While it's not cheap - prices vary from $1800 to $6000, but $2500 is the average to transform a standard house for a month - the results can be impressive. In an industry where first impressions count, industry experts say professional home staging cannot only make a property sell faster but boost its perceived value by thousands of dollars. "It can add an extra $50,000 to a property in some cases," says Trish Wallace, sales manager of Living Edge Interiors.
"It pays for itself and then some," agrees Stanley Armon, a Remuera, Auckland real estate agent. Armon has frequently used such services and says a properly staged house makes a property stand out from the crowd. "The whole ambience just picks up," he says, ultimately attracting more potential buyers to open homes.
Says Wallace: "If you are clever with the illusion you can draw the eye to all the positives [of the home] and eliminate the negatives."
Some makeovers have been so impressive that several homestaging companies told the Herald on Sunday they have had cases in which both the vendor and buyer wanted to buy the furniture and accessories after the house sale was completed.
Dinah Malyon of DMI HomeStagers, with offices in both Auckland and Wellington, started up her business 10 years ago when it was a novelty. She says competition is now rife and has become more cut-throat. Since homestage buyers must frequently source stylish new furniture stock, often from overseas, they guard their contacts zealously and suppliers who distribute similar items to newcomers quickly find themselves cut off. Several "boutique" homestagers also reported that in the past 18 months their prices have been frequently undercut by new players to the market.
Despite perceptions, it's not just middle-class homes that need the help of homestagers. Malyon and her team dress a wide variety of properties, from humble $250,000 brick and tile units to $12 million mansions. While homestaging has long been popular with developers selling new homes where there isn't any furniture, more agents are recommending it. Sellers, too, are becoming more receptive.
How to style your own home
Can't afford to hire a homestager to work their magic on your property? Try out some of these simple tips recommended by the experts.
* Eliminate clutter, or hide it away in tidily stacked boxes.
* A simple clean of surfaces in high traffic areas like the bathroom, kitchen and living rooms can work wonders.
* A vase of bright flowers can lighten the mood in most rooms.
* Take down a lot of those family photos. "Less is more," says Trish Wallace of Living Edge Interiors.
* Iron your bed linen and plump up the cushions on top.
* Since smell is one of the strongest senses a few subtle fragrances - real estate agents swear by percolating coffee - may leave a favourable impression on would-be buyers.
Advice from Living Edge Interiors, Republic Home, Interior Concepts.
