Ben Roberts

There are a lot of homes on the market in Northwest Arkansas and around the country. Depending on the area and price of your home, you may be competing with ten, fifty, even hundreds of other properties. Here are easy staging tips to help you differentiate your property and make it stand out in a buyer's mind.

You never get a second chance...at a first impression

The view of your home from the road should be as stunning as possible. Make sure...

• Lawn is mowed, edged, and free from debris.
• If your door and shutters are different colors, repaint the door to match or paint to the one that is more neutral in color.
• Make sure gutters are clear and free of debris.
• Power wash windows and siding or brick. This makes your home sparkle .
• Clean up and put fresh mulch in flower beds. This makes the house seem brand new.
• Put potted plants outside in strategic areas to provide color and embellishment.
• Decking should be freshly sealed or painted with any unsightly or misshapen boards replaced.
• Buy a new welcome mat.

Kitchens and Living Rooms - Deal makers and deal breakers

Your kitchen and living room are the two most important rooms in the house to prospective buyers. Make sure they look their best by...

• Making them warm and inviting with good use of space, light, and decor.
• Clear the rooms of family portraits and anything that makes the home seem like the buyers don't live there.
• Sparse is better than cluttered...too much furniture is usually a turn-off to buyers
• Don't overload mantles, shelves, or counter tops with personal things.
• Replace dim 60 or 75 watt bulbs with 100 watt bulbs (or CFL's) to brighten up the room
• Open blinds...let the house be seen!
• Clean...clean...clean! It's cheap and it makes quite an impression. No one likes dust bunnies.

Bathrooms and Bedrooms...the icing on the proverbial cake

• Think about comfort in everything you do. Nothing sells a home like comfort.
• Use neutral color and paint schemes. Earth tones are safe...pastels are not. Never have I seen a buyer LOVE a purple bedroom.
• Limit the furniture in bedrooms and bathrooms to make the space appear larger and feel roomier.
• Clean out your closets! Buyers hate to see their own cluttered closets...they certainly don't want to see yours.
• If you have nice matching bedding great...if not...get it. It will more than pay for itself in the sell of your home.
• Remember to remove personal pictures. Leave art, landscape and building photography, sculptures, etc. in the home as part of the decor.

Your home will sell because of what you do or don't do just before it shows

• Strong fragrances are a complete no-no when showing any home. If you have to cover up a smell...bake some cookies or use some febreze one hour before the home shows. Here's a good example of polishing your home before a showing...the right way.
• If you have pets...do something with them. Whether the buyers love dogs or not, no home was ever bettered by Fido following buyers around the house or barking the whole time.
• Keep the house 'show ready'...shoes in the hallway, towels in the bathroom, paperwork on the kitchen counter...all these things are like personal pictures...it reminds the buyers that this is not their house and distracts them from the showing.

While home staging can be a lot of work, it benefits far out weigh the costs in most situations. If you need justification to spend the time and effort here you go:

• Staging helps you organize and de-clutter your home, in other words, it helps you get ready to move.
• Staging helps you justify the price you are asking. The better staged the house, the less concessions buyers will ask for.
• Staging helps reduce the homes days on market...effecting a quicker sell.
• Staging differentiates you from your home's competition...creating demand for your home, increasing showings, increasing offers, and creating a home that sells for a higher price.

If you would like additional staging tips by email or a list of reputable staging companies in Northwest Arkansas please contact me for more information. Are there some off-the-wall staging tips that you would like to share? Please leave a comment below.

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http://exitrealestate540.com/2009/02/23/24-easy-staging-tips-that-will-help-sell-your-home-in-a-tough-market/

Much happened in January, a presidential inauguration, a tough economy, a slow realization by the American public that we’re not quite out of the woods yet. As the coldest of winter slides behind us so to does the worst of housing crisis, or so we hope. Foreclosures made up a fair percentage of property sales in January as evidenced by the numbers. Below is the January 2009 Northwest Arkansas home prices and market report from EXITrealestate540.com, Bon Appetito.

Northwest Arkansas Home Prices

There are currently some 5500 homes listed for sale in northwest Arkansas with an average Days on Market of 176. It looks like 208 properties sold in the month of January and 277 went pending. The fact that the number of homes pending is higher by a third than the number of homes sold is a good sign that there is some additional buying activity going on. The average sale price for all of Washington and Benton Counties combined was $162,050 at an average sale price per foot of $84.40. That’s a far cry from the list price of $109.98 of the properties currently for sale. This may mean that many of the home sales have been lower end properties and foreclosed or distressed homes.

Here are the January numbers broken down by major city:

Please notice the Avg SP (Average Sale Price) of each town in Northwest Arkansas. For January, Fayetteville is the winner with an average sale price of $222,538 out of it’s 27 sold properties. Springdale is on the low end this month with it’s average sale price of $140,938 on it’s 43 sold properties.

Notice the average DOM for current properties is lowest in Springdale at 153 days and highest in Rogers at 181 days. It looks like a saleable listing will take, on average, some where on the order of six months to sell in today’s market.

Compare these numbers with those of other months in 2008 and 2009 in our market conditions category.

If you are curious what your Northwest Arkansas property is worth, contact me for a complete neighborhood analysis and accurate home evaluation.

Other Great Reads:

1. Northwest AR Home Prices and Market Report for November ‘08 (52.553)
2. Northwest Arkansas Housing Market Report for 2008 (45.765)
3. The Skyline Report - Northwest Arkansas Residential Real Estate Market Report for Third Quarter 2008 (36.924)
4. White Elephants Tough to Sell in Northwest Arkansas (23.317)

Click here for original at EXITREALESTATE540.com:

Northwest Arkansas Home Prices and Market Report - January 2009

Who says Northwest Arkansas real estate isn’t hopping? Virginia’s Grove Subdivision is one busy, bustling place.

A great little subdivision in Bentonville

With room for less than 25 homes, Virginia’s Grove is already half-way built out with 13 houses on the ground. Located just south of highway 72 (central) in Bentonville, Virginia’s Grove is close to Wal-mart Home Office, Interstate 540, and many of Bentonville and Rogers’ restaurants and shopping areas. Check out the map below.

Virginia’s Grove offers quality new construction homes at near foreclosure prices without the hassle!

Homes in Virginia’s Grove range in price from $185,900 for a 3 bed 2 bath with 1850 square feet up to $219,900 for a 4 bed 2 bath home at 2200 square feet. There are also floorplans with 3 beds 2 baths and a bonus room with 2367 square feet. These homes are price at between around $93/foot up to $104/foot, great deals with land prices in the middle of Bentonville being what they are.

The lots are low-maintenance, perfect for the busy homeowner that doesn’t have time to mow a large yard.

The neighborhood does have covenants that limit the size of storage building and does not allow for permanent placement of pools on the properties. A POA will be formed if the residents decide to create one.

Fantastic high-end finishing at a rock bottom price

• 2×6 Rafters
• No crown seams
• Sod in front and back
• Weed barrier under flower beds
• Minimum 8 options brick color
• Architectural shingles (30 year, not 20)
• 30lb. felt on roof (again, not 15)
• Standard granite, slate, or wood entry
• Satin nickel or oil bronze fixtures
• All granite countertops
• Stainless undermount sinks
• Stainless appliances…Frigidaire
• Ceiling fans in Bedrooms
• Will install can light if 1/2 through build
• Multiple color packages
• Flat paint for easy touch ups
• Dense pad under carpet
• Double pained tip out windows for energy efficiency and easy cleaning
• HVAC minimum 3 1/2 ton
• Furnace in attic for noise reduction and efficiency
• 50 gal water heater
• Closets have braced shelving and metal or wooden rods
• Attic pull down ladder with plywood sheets in attic for storage
• All plates are sealed for energy efficiency and insect prevention
• Batting and Fiber walls with 13R-Factor
• Fiberglass ceiling insulation with 38R-Factor
• Provides a list of all subcontractors to buyer at closing

Options

• Gutters - $1,000-$1,400
• Blinds - $800-$1,000
• Fencing - $15 per linear foot
• Custom Room Coloring - $400/room for non-standard colors

This is just a short list of the quality techniques and materials that Roth Custom Homes uses in the construction of homes in Virginia’s Grove. Below is a sample floorplan and pictures of just some of what you can expect in Virginia’s Grove.

That’s just a little taste of what is available in Viriginia’s Grove in Bentonville right now. Contact me to get the latest information on listings in Virginia’s grove or schedule a showing. The subdivision has an agent on duty to answer your questions every weekend so stop by and see what the great subdivision in Bentonville has to offer.

Click here:

Virginia’s Grove Subdivision in Bentonville is a Hot Spot for Home Building and Buying

OH, where to begin? Either because of the cold weather or something in the water, January was a pretty good month for posts on EXITrealestate540.com. There were the usual smattering of gems, quality content, and an uninspired post or two. January saw some major changes as a new president was sworn in, we watched the recession deepen, and home prices gave us some pleasant surprises. Check out the best posts of Jan. 2009.

Your One-Stop-Shop for Great Real Estate Posts

I hosted the Carnival of Real Estate in January, so if you haven’t already, check out all the great posts from around the country at EXIT Real Estate 540 Presents CoRE #126 “Change” where I thought a goofy butterfly based change theme was appropriate for the week. Congratulations to all the winners! Now check out some of the other posts that I actually wrote in the month of January.

Entertaining, yet informative:

White Elephants Tough to Sell in Northwest Arkansas This post shed some light on how many high-end homes are for sale in Northwest Arkansas and how long they have been on the market. It kind of made you feel like you knew something others didn’t.

Why Subscribing to My Blog will Help You Lose 5 Pounds is a poignant look at how a good local real estate blogger is worth his (or her) weight in gold…All joking aside, I point out some great things about local content that will keep you from wasting your time on the ‘big’ real estate sites and see what’s really going on in your neighborhood.

Curious Facts to Celebrate the 56th Presidential Inauguration was another entertaining, yet informative post that had little if anything to do with real estate. Sometimes you just have to branch out.

5 Proactive Steps to Take When Your Home Won’t Sell speaks to our market and how sellers that are having difficulty can still get our of their current home in one piece.

Just Entertaining, but with a lesson:

26 Things that will Make you Move When you Least Expect It was a big hit (for me anyway) on reddit and stumbleupon. It had that perfect mix of entertainment, wit, and pointless banter that made it interesting. I’ll probably do a top 100 list one day.

Snoozeville, but super-duper informative:

Northwest Arkansas Housing Market Report for 2008 where I use my actual formal education in finance to make some sense of last year’s crazy market. It’s definitely worth the read if you have cup of coffee in hand.

I do hope you enjoyed January. It looks like EXITrealestate540.com is picking up some steam going into 2009 so be on the lookout for ever more informative, more in-depth, more real estatey posts mixed in with some flavorful morsels to keep the boredom at bay.

Please give me a call at (479)586-1525, email me through my contact page, or connect with me on twitter or one of the other social networks I use. I’m always looking for interesting and up-to-date content to bring my readers so if you have some development news, a great story, or you just want me to give a shout out to some event you’re organizing….let me know.

Click here:

Best Posts for the Month of January ‘09

Rogers Mayor Womack has declared Saturday February 7th a city-wide clean-up and “help your neighbor” day. Any civic groups or other volunteers that would be willing to help clean up brush and start the process to recovery are invited to participate. You are welcome to contact me for details on the clean-up effort. Let’s all pitch in and get Rogers and Northwest Arkansas back to their natural beauty.

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February 7th has been Declared a Clean-Up Day in Rogers After Last Week’s Ice Storm