About Waterloo County, ON

CCSP, Certified Canadian Staging Professionals (CSP in the US) have rolled out a terrific new designation for Realtors ~ the CCSP Elite Agent program!

The Elite Agent program is designed to increase undestanding and marketability of real estate staging; to allow a realtor to differentiate their services through a proven strategic process; and to have an improved listing package with statistics, articles, DVD's and an abundance of information for sellers.

As a CCSP Elite Agent you will be setting yourself apart from your peers... you will better understand and utilize the tools provided through home staging to sell more properties quickly and for top dollar, sign more listings, get paid faster and have happier clients! And happier clients lead to more referrals... which will be sold quickly, for a better price, resulting in happier clients...

The CSP Elite Agent logo will be provided to you upon graduation which you can include in all marketing, and on-line and print advertising. Why not align yourself with one of the most respected home staging names in North America?

As an added benefit in Ontario, CCSP Elite Agents will receive a voucher to complete an on-line CE course, free of charge. CE credits vary by State/Province so you will need to check in your area for comparable offers.

As a CCSP Elite Trainer, I will be conducting the one-day workshops in southwestern Ontario, and classes will start this fall. You can contact me directly for more information or go to www.cspelite.com

Gone are the days of "Stagents"... because busy agents don't have time to stage.

Christine Bird

New View Home Staging

www.newviewhomestaging.ca

christine@newviewhomestaging.ca

This is a piece originally published in my September newsletter...

A mentor to many in the staging profession, and certainly to me, is Christine Rae. Christine is the founder of Canadian Staging Professionals, known as Certified Staging Professionals in the US. She travels the world, recently expanding CSP into Australia, and is keynote speaker internationally at both real estate and staging specific conventions. In her spare time, along with co-author Jan Saunders Maresh, Christine penned Home Staging for Dummies. Yes, there really is one, although it's for anyone BUT Dummies.

I find one chapter of this book to be particularly relevant, and would like to share some of it here. These are their thoughts, condensed by me.

Reasons Sellers Don't Stage Their Properties (But Should)

"We don't have time for home staging"

If you have time to sell your house, you have time to stage it for sale. Don't undervalue the staging process unless you are prepared to accept less than the property is worth. No one can guarantee the results, but statistically unstaged properties realize a lower return on investment than staged properties, and they may be on the market longer. Why would you gamble with the equity?

"Location and Price will do the work"

While location is important, and price is key, a house that isn't in great condition will probably still stay on the market longer than the seller would like, convincing them to eventually sell for less. Improving the condition of the home before listing will positively influence the selling price.

"I get compliments on my home all the time, so I don't need to stage it."

Remember that the home is not being sold to family and friends. Decorating a home for living, and staging a property for selling are two very different things.

Selling a house isn't about taste or decorating style, it's about what the buyer wants.

"My neighbor's house sold without staging"

Well done, but we'll never know if they got as much for their home as they could have. Again, why gamble with your equity? A property that has been properly staged leaves a positive and lasting impression and stimulates multiple offers.

"If it's good enough for me, it's good enough for anyone"

Buyers are more educated about the real estate market than ever before. They're busy, and most make a short list of homes to see off the internet. Staging before listing gives the property more opportunities to get on that short list because the on-line photos will be so much better. Remember, buying a home that requires lots of work is only appealing if the price is low.

"Staging is just de-cluttering and cleaning and I've done that already"

True, these are huge parts of preparing to sell, but far from the entire picture. There's also furniture editing, reducing, replacing and placement, correct use of colour, lighting, props and art, all targeted to the buyer most likely to be looking to purchase the home.

The home is going to be competing with every other home on the market, and many will have been staged. In order to sell the property at a price that everyone is happy with, it needs to compete with EVERY home out there ~ and win!

Christine Bird, owner and lead Stager of NEW VIEW HOME STAGING, is a Canadian Staging Professional.

We can be reached in Kitchener-Waterloo at 519-505-0892

www.newviewhomestaging.ca

christine@newviewhomestaging.ca

This is just a quick add-on note I wrote for my newsletter recently.

Keeping curb appeal current with the season is important, and early September is a good time to add some Fall flowers to your landscaping. Some ideas would be the safe standbys mums and pansies but also kale, asters, pumpkins ~white, orange and even funky looking ones. Fall is definitely the season for deep reds, golds and citrus colours of all shades.

Pull out some of the older annuals that have gotten tired, and dig the late summer plantings into gardens to add a sense of permanence and belonging, rather than just dropping a grocery store container onto the porch. There's no need to advertise "The house doesn't usually look this nice so I picked this up today".

If you're interested in home staging in and around Kitchener-Waterloo, Cambridge & Guelph, please contact New View Home Staging. Christine Bird is a Certified Canadian Staging Professional.

Call Today!

519-505-0892

www.newviewhomestaging.ca

christine@newviewhomestaging.ca

Dispite a sizzling hot market characterized short supply and and high demand resulting in quick sales, multiple offer situations and frustrated buyers, average prices do not seem to be increasing dramatically.

Number of Units Sold per Month

• Fewer properties sold in August than in July. This a normal decline for this time of year.
• 26% more properties sold in August 2009 vs. August 2008. This is a significant increase, particularily in light of consistent inventory levels.

New Listings Processed per Month

• Similar, or in fact slightly fewer properties have come onto the market over the summer months of July and August compared with last year.
• Similar or slightly fewer new listings and more sales has resulted in dramatically less inventory. The number of active listings at the end of August were 8 percent lower than at the end of July and 7 percent lower than at the end of August 2008. The inventory level is currently around 1,900 units.

Average Sale Price

• One would expect that more sales and fewer listings would result in higher prices, but such does not seem to be the case. Average prices for properties sold in August are down 9 percent from July and 4.5 percent from August 2008.
• It seems more properties are selling, but at lower prices.
• Year-to-date Average Price remains 1.28 percent lower than last year's overall avarege.

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