Kitchener Waterloo, ON

My partner Alana and I started our business nineteen months ago with a great combination of design background/experience, an inventory of home decor accessories .. and a passion for making spaces beautiful. We were lucky and landed some great contracts right away and with lots of smart marketing, hard work and combined efforts we have made Rooms in Bloom a well known name in the real estate community.

Along the way we have had numerous people make well meant comments on the fact that we are partners in what is usually a solo career. Profits are split down the middle and when you're starting a young company that can be a tough reality.

My partner and I see that - we have lived it - but we don't share a moment's regret for choosing to be partners. Everyday we say to each other - and to others - that we cannot imagine how other stagers make it on their own. We both bring to the table so many different strengths and the combination has made it possible for us to handle many different facets in our growing business very quickly. We both handle consultations - for the first year we did them together because we felt it was a learning process we needed to both experience - and now we are busy enough that we can do them separately. Our approach towards staging is different as well - but in the end we both arrive at the same design from different perspectives. We aren't afraid to voice a different opinion and sometimes its those small changes that make the difference between a good staging design and a great one. We support each other tirelessly and joke that we need to move our families into one huge home so we can cut down on our phone bills!

When one of us is sick (or our kids are sick) the other one picks up the slack without pause. When we're feeling down or we're just not feeling the design, we've got someone to talk to who "gets it". We offer each other different points of view and we respect each other's opinion and point of view which means we are open to things we might never have considered on our own. From our perspective, if a staging business survives and becomes successful it will grow and the designer will have to take on new staff or a partner at some point. Better to start with a partner, grow together, develop the business together and share in twice the success!

In two weeks we will be furnishing two model homes. Getting ready for that big day is not something either one of us would have wanted to tackle on our own. Not only that, we wouldn't have wanted to accomplish it alone. Sharing the success just makes it all that much sweeter.

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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