There is a fascinating project underway, courtesy of Deluxe (yea, the check people), where 9 small businesses were selected to receive a marketing revamp, $5,000 marketing dollars, marketing consultant and some coaching from SCORE.
ProjectRev is a "vital read" for anyone intrigued by marketing... and of particular interest to home stagers. Why? Coz there's one in it!
Felicia Frazier is a creative soul, who was downsized out of Limited 2 and is now a home stager in Ohio. The biggest surprise about running her own business?
“That I actually had to go out and get the business!” Frazier laughed.
“And the hardest part of that is knowing where to go, determining who that key customer I need to target is. What I learned from Project Rev was that I needed to be going after an older market. I was focusing on late twenties and mid-thirties, and I needed to be targeting homeowners in their late forties and up, along with Realtors.”
This has consumed me this morning!
1. Yes, "asking for the business" is the hardest and least liked aspect of a stager's life.
2. We have all long been confused as to who the target customer is - the realtor or the home-owner. After all, the home-owner pays you, yet more often than not it is the realtor that gets you the work.
3. Then this aging statement -- 'I needed to be targeting homeowners in their late forties and up, along with Realtors.”
Do any of you agree with this?
I put it up on my Facebook page and Michael Fortuna, a man I think of immeasurable discernment, wrote
""IMHO: I get more hands-on business from 50-65, but more vacants from 30-50..."
WOW! Really? I never noticed or thought to look at it this way. My clients were always just folks who wanted to sell their home. They seemed to be all over the place. Looking back I can't think of a through line among them! Except that many became friends along the way.
I'd love to hear your opinions on this ~
Newly interpreted statistics for July suggest that Myrtle Beach real estate is seeing less price erosion but a slow down on volume. For while we are still up, 24.1% year to date, in volume for July we are 5.3% lower this year over last year - 2009.
Pricing, for single family homes, seems to have stabilized and in some cases even rebounded some over the summer months. We all knew this without the statistical reports because at new construction sites, the signs showing base prices have mostly moved upwards, in some cases by as much as 10%.
Condo sales, however, are down for the 3rd month in a row. Pricing is thought to have “bottomed out” on the basis of median sales remaining at $120,000. So we’re selling fewer of them, yet, finally, at similar prices. Since 40% of condo sales are distressed sales, this might suggest that the banks are standing firm on what they’ll accept. A responsible position for the banks to take, in my opinion. Someone had to step in and stop continually declining prices.
Inventory levels in both homes and condos remains unchanged.
The Dunes Club
Established, exclusive, elegant and yet, a warm family neighborhood.
There are currently 13 homes on the market for sale at the moment in the Dunes Club. This is an unusually high number for them, given that only 2 have traded in the last 6 months, and only 5 over the last year!!
In the last 12 months, 5 homes have sold, ranging in price (original price listed) $445,000 - $649,000. The average selling price was $414,480, with each home averaging a closed price within 7% of asking. The average days on market were 128 (range: 32 - 228).
The majority of homes sold in the Dunes Club, including the 2 that are pending tend to be 4 bedroom properties. [Those pending transactions, by the way, have an average price of $362,500, with an average of 206 Days on Market!]
The Mid-Year Report - 2010 “We’re running 45% cash sales, so these are people that don’t need financing. They have been helping to make the Grand Strand market not too bad, we’re actually seeing a lot of activity,“ said Maeser. He says 66% of the Grand Strand market is made up of investor properties with owners who can pay out of pocket."
Good news, apparently.
"Market Analyst Tom Maeser says single family home sales have gone up 29%, and condo sales have gone up 19%." Largely, because we have a lot of 2nd home buyers in on the Grand Strand.
“Because these government regulations are getting tighter, it’s impacting purchasers here. So it’s hard to get a loan, and hard to get a building to qualify for mortgage,“ [Maeser] said.
So, as one considers short lived success on the Grand Strand, what do the numbers look like, neighborhood to neighborhood?
The black tube is the 2010 total solds which compared to 2009's orange tube shows that gains were only made in Carolina Forest and Surfside.
Sales outpace inventory/supply in Myrtle Beach, Carolina Forest, Surfside and Murrells Inlet - which should help reduce our absorbtion rates. The pending numbers look gloomy to me, but that could just be that closing periods have narrowed , which would make sense if most of our current sales are CASH. Those deals can close in 28 days or less!
Bargain hunters? Why not take a look at Garden City and Surfside - look how much they've got to move!
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Social Media Marketing Specialist serving realtors, home sellers and small business w/ online visibility, web based marketing & social media strategy. Veteran luxury home stager & corporate event pla
A nationally recognizable voice-over actress for The Cartoon Network, Sirius Satellite Radio and ABC Radio, this former Manhattan Realtor, Juliet Johnson, has been a professional home stager in NJ for the last 6 years. Recently, she and her family relocated to Jacksonville, FL after a quick 14 months in Myrtle Beach, SC.
Juliet was raised in the UK and first came to the US to attend Smith College. Following college, she moved to New York City and after a stint selling Manhattan's residential real estate, she had robust career in live marketing, organizing corporate events, trade shows, in-store promotions and street fairs. In order to spend more time with her growing family, Juliet gave up live on the road and started a home staging business, that successfully staged NJ luxury real estate for 8 years.
Rather than pay a web guru, Juliet learned internet marketing promotion, local seo and the ever-shifting landscape of social media so as to get her site to #1 on Google's Page 1 - a position she held for 3 years. Now, Juliet shares those techniques with companies looking to boost their online visibility.
Johnson now brings several services to the marketplace in Jacksonville, FL. Home Staging, Property Marketing, Online Visibility for websites and web based marketing.
Juliet has trained with several of the industry's luminaries, synthesizing and constantly refining those techniques to create the appropriate look for high-end homes in New York suburbs of New Jersey. The goal is always to show that each home can support a lifestyle of luxurious simplicity. It is tremendous fun working with sellers and developers, helping them "appreciate" what they've got!
If there's one thing that makes Juliet Johnson different, it is her sense of humor, her positive energy and her ability to make it the whole experience great fun. The British accent doesn't hurt, either.
It's The Nanny meets Designed to Sell meets Mission Organization...a great formula for succes$!
Back in November[2008], during an annual staging convention, I had the pleasure of experiencing first hand Juliet's energetic, enthusiastic and engaging personality! That made me want to join RESA, IF and when Juliet became involved with it. With each meeting I grew more fond of our state president, I found myself looking forward to meeting everyone in our group and especially Juliet who always came prepared and armed with new and empowering ideas for each and everyone of us. Juliet is a great leader as well as a knowledgeable person who you can rely on as a colleague and on a personal level. Her innovative approach led her to create the first Staging Show house back in June, and involved our entire chapter with a high-end new construction. The project was a complete success, primarily thanks to the guidance and direction of Juliet, who helps her colleagues stay organized and on task.
As a colleague of Juliet's, I had the chance of working closely with her on our June Bloom project; she was an absolute pleasure, always professional, and easy to work with. Juliet is an excellent project manager, and makes the whole staging process seem effortless and seamless. If any problem arises, she swiftly finds a solution so that it is just a minor hiccup, rather than a huge road block. As a stager, she has a great European style that accentuates the specific look of any home. In the show house, Juliet staged a suite-style bedroom and creatively transformed it into a teenager's dream room. Her color scheme and choices of modern furniture creating an upscale urban setting that was distinctively unique and chic. I highly recommend Juliet, she is well versed and efficient you are sure to have a pleasant and easy staging experience! Juliet's charismatic sense of humor is something we all looked for and enjoyed, and I guarantee you will as well!
Rima Hamade
July 7, 2009
Hi Juliet, WOW!!! Thank you so much for coming to 10 Garden Ave this morning. Ida is so pleased with the rearrangement of furniture and all of the suggestions. She and I both found you so delightful to work with! Your suggestions are pertinent and right on the money!! Wonderful job! I will recommend you to anyone with a listing! And especially if the home needs some “help”. Thank you!!!! Margie Tompkins, Realtor, Chatham, NJ.
"Juliet was our "Stager 911." She is action-oriented and results focused. Within days, she developed and executed a practical plan to clean up, dress up and position our house for sale. Our house sold in less than 2 weeks and we got just 2% below our asking price. We couldn't have done it without her!" A. Mohl, 15 Winding Way, Short Hills, NJ
"Juliet Johnson's staging services transformed the feel and look of the home providing a light, sophisticated, and practical style. The home showed very well and as a matter of fact went undercontract in a matter of days. Juliet's ability to work with the sellers and her fast turn around was a key to the success of the sale." Robert Northfield, Realtor. Maplewood, NJ.
Juliet was a force of energy in getting this property prepared for sale. She was totally available and flexible to accommodate the seller's schedule. She managed to purge and stage with a smile on her face at all times and was even able to enlist the help of the seller's children. The result was a beautiful home that put its best foot forward. The response to the property has been extremely positive and it should sell very quickly. Wendy Drucker, Burgdorff ERA, Short Hills, NJ on 104 Wellington, SH, which had multiple offers the opening weekend.
My listing at 18 Tree Top Lane is a luxury home and my clients were concerned that the quality of the furnishing reflect adequately the quality of the home. We need not have feared! Juliet furnished the home beautifully with style and grace. Many Realtors congratulated us on the finished result - the house looks terrific and my clients are very pleased. Juliet does a great job and I have thoroughly enjoyed working with her. She brings energy and enthusiasm to the task and of course a great sense of style." Janet McKeown, Coldwell Banker, Madison
"The client didn't have time to prepare their home for sale. Calling in Juliet to stage it for them eased that pressure and stress. She is to the point, efficient and brilliant at what she does! The house sold in 3 days, with multiple offers, well over asking. I recommend Juliet's staging services to all of my clients. We always get great results: she can make any house shine!" Saritte Har-El Burgdorff ERA - Short Hills
"Juliet - Estelle and I are now believers! If we hadn't seen it for our own eyes, well, we'd still be sitting on the market. Moving our furniture around and bringing in pieces you said were congruent made a HUGE difference. The rooms looked larger, brighter and way more inviting. No wonder we sold our house the same month you completed. I would have bought it again, too! Money well spent, thank you. " Michael of Maplewood.
"Dear Juliet, Thank you again for all your hard work and the extraordinary results! Your energy, enthusiasm and good taste transformed shambles into an elegant home. We're all impresed, and deeply grateful. Sincerely, Barbara, Karl and Sam."
"Have I told you lately that I love you? All you did was move some rugs around and cover up those revolting sofas. I think. Whatever it was, it worked. We relaunched this weekend and as of Monday we are in contract. Keep it up, girlfriend!" My favorite realtor; I probably owe her money now.
"Thank you, Juliet! Your staging, organization and speed have made it possible for us to get our Short Hills home onto the market. The feedback all around has been really positive. You transformed a house we dearly loved into a serious "WOW" home! You were professional, yet fun to work with. My kids loved everyone on your team, as did we. No wonder we had such great results. Will you come to Europe to stage our next one?" Nita, Short Hills.
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