We GET It
Some of the most beautiful old buildings in New South Wales can be found in the Inner West, an area that is a magnet for those who love a slightly citified way of life. The profile of home buyers in the Inner West is best known by those whose specialty is property styling Inner West. To those individuals, the challenge of identifying and catering to the Inner West home shopper can be daunting.
Homes and apartments for sale in Sydney’s Inner West are served by a plethora of interesting shops, galleries, second-hand shops, bars, cafes, restaurants, bookshops and design shops that line the main streets of each of the several neighbourhoods that make up the Inner West. What we know of the character of likely buyers in this area is that they enjoy a busy lifestyle, enjoy shopping, the arts, and good cuisine. We also know that they seem to be unwilling to exchange the availability of such pursuits for the relative peace and quiet of other, more suburban settings. Not just busy young professionals like these things. There are certainly others.
For example, we often picture retired people as wearing gardening hats and carrying watering cans. Some retired people, however, prefer the proximity of an art gallery or a theatre to mowing the lawn. These individuals, part of the baby boomer generation, are not always so predictable. Like the Generations X and Y, who make up the lion’s share of the current buyer pool, these retired couples are just as happy with a balcony as they would be with a large garden full of lawn and trees.
Knowing the people who make up your buyers’ pool is critically important when you want to make a really spectacular real estate transaction. Unless you know and understand the habits and haunts of your buyer, it’s more difficult to stage, or style a home or apartment to lure them in. Particularly in Sydney’s Inner West, there are plenty of homes available – so many in fact that your competition is quite keen. You have to take a few extra steps to make your property shine and stand out from the rest. That’s where property styling Inner West specialists step in.
By using the exhaustive information about your buyer to which a property styling professional has access, your designer can use his/her insider information to customise your home to appeal to the broadest range of potential buyers possible. The fruit of surveys, studies, and focus groups help your stylist to know what colours and fabrics please the buyer. By harvesting and implementing these intimate preferences, a good stylist can transform your property into a magnet for buyers. That’s why most real estate sales agents agree that hiring a home styling team is the first, best move in selling Sydney properties in this market.
Property styling should never be thought of as an expense. Actually, it’s an investment. Not only does the price go up, the number of days on the market shrinks. That alone represents huge savings in mortgage payments and other costs that the seller incurs while the house sits vacant.
People are, indeed, seeking homes in the Sydney suburbs where prices are lower. Price, however, is seldom the only motivator. Home buyers want style and harmony in the homes they select. They want a home that welcomes and envelops them in a stress-free environment.
Your best bet for combining these qualities in a way that means a profitable sale is to call in the property styling Inner West specialists at Urban Chic Property Styling. Our decades of successful real estate sales experience and our extensive training are only two of the best reasons to call us. Perhaps the best reason is that we ‘get’ the mindset of both Inner West and suburban home shoppers. Allow us to demonstrate. Call us today.
Your Biggest Deal
How old will the buyer for your house be? One might not imagine that age would create a significant impact on how you go about staging property ahead of listing your home on the market, but it’s hugely important. Not too many years ago, the largest and most influential segment of the market was that group we call baby boomers. These are the people who were born in the 40-year period following World War II. The baby boomers have now been eclipsed by the millennials, buyers who came of age nearer the dawn of the 21st century. This group is now the largest collection of home buyers on the planet.
As one can see, age seems to be the primary factor in differentiating one of these groups from the other. In the Sydney area real estate market the millennial buyers and their particular wants and needs drive much of what is done in terms of presenting property to buyers. From the colours on the interior walls to the level of maintenance required in the garden, millennial buyers have very specific requirements. Your home styling professional will be able to help you make your home answer the millennial requests.
Legitimate house styling companies spend considerable resources identifying the ways in which one segment of the market differs from others. By doing constant research, the house staging professional can discover the needs of a segment of buyers and respond by making strategic design decisions in the homes they prepare for sale. They work to make your house appealing to the largest body of buyers possible and, in doing so, are more likely to create more interest and more offers for your property.
What kinds of things are millennial buyers looking for in a home?
Millennials have a very busy lifestyle. Unlike their baby boomer parents, they seem to have little or no interest in buying a home that needs much attention. They are generally uninterested in ‘fixer uppers’ and high maintenance backyards will most likely send them elsewhere. Millennials are interested in safe-guarding spare time for their other passions.
Millennials would rather go parasailing than prune their roses. They don’t want a house to shackle them or hold them hostage. They want a house that is in excellent shape already and does not require the immediate expenditure of time and/or money. They are looking for a home that is “move-in ready”.
Millennials are also more than a little concerned with the natural environment. They are passionate about the planet because it’s their favourite playground. For this reason, environmentally friendly appliances, systems, and other features strike a chord with them. This is why your home stager will recommend that when you’re upgrading kitchen appliances or the toilet, you go with a model that doesn’t squander resources. They are also attracted to features that save money in the long run.
When your windows and doors promise savings in terms of heating and cooling, that means the millennial buyer can toss those savings into a holiday fund that might take them to the top of a famous mountain or send them scuba diving on the Great Barrier Reef. They work hard and play hard. They don’t want a home that wastes resources – the natural kind or the hard-earned ones.
If your plan involves selling your home, you will be money ahead to consult first with a professional house styling company. Selling your house will not be as easy as clearing your stuff out and signing a few documents. Today’s real estate market demands so much more. The flip side is that staging will reward you handsomely for doing your homework.
Houses that are professionally staged sell for far more money. Even an average home or apartment in the greater Sydney area will sell for more if it has been carefully and thoughtfully prepared for presentation. (Staging nearly always pays for itself.)
Staging property requires more than just a flair for style. It works best if the upgrades and final touches you put into your home are strategic – even surgical – in terms of appealing to the most buyers possible. This could be the most important financial transaction you’ll ever undertake. Treat it like the biggest business deal you’ll make in your lifetime, because it probably is.
