I just returned from a meeting of top real estate agents in North County San Diego. There was much discussion about what is selling and what is not. Aside from market issues (luxury home market is strong here and multiple offers are not uncommon for buffed homes in the $1.5 million and up range), the issue of home presentation and staging was at the very top of the list.

Books could be written about all the things sellers might do to increase the sales price and decrease marketing time for their listed homes and I invite competent real estate stagers and decorators/designers to add to that list here in another article.

I think one of the reasons home staging has become such a hot topic and necessity in the marketing of homes today is that buyers expect it. At least in San Diego, builders go over the top in decorating their model homes. Home shoppers are accustomed to being WOWED when they walk into a model home and are disappointed when they don’t have the same visceral experience when going through a resale home.

There is little real estate agents and sellers can do when buyer expectations are so elevated other than meet their expectations especially in a buyers market. That is one reason we are suggesting that our sellers prepare their home for sale and bring in the experience, talent and taste of a competent stager if at all possible.

Builders know that sizzle sells. That is why so much attention and money is spent on the models. And savvy sellers throughout the country are beginning to realize that the return on the dollars and time spent to stage their home for sale will yield multiples of the original investment.

Also read:

Luxury Home Gotta-Haves
Real Value in Real Estate Gossip
Value-Range Pricing in Homes
Home Pricing Dangers
Gold in Gossip
Whats Hot Whats Not in Homes
United States a Bargain for Million Dollar Homes?
Luxury Homes Reach Nine Figures
The Venetian Plaster Master

The post Home Sellers Competing with Model Homes appeared first on Luxury Home Digest.

Upgrades anyone?

Last night, I spent a fun evening with an interesting Carlsbad Realtor who probably set a world record in San Diego luxury home upgrade sales in the late 1990s into 2003. Shara’s experiences in new luxury home sales will be an article for another time, but I thought it might be important to peer into the current hot items being demanded for new luxury homes.

The list isn’t hot off the press, but is certainly worth repeating. Last fall, Forbes reported on the features that were topping the lists for new, high-end luxury homes. An important thread running through this list is the importance of green in home features. Those eco-friendly items are all big energy savers, as well as being non-toxic building materials, earth-friendly woods, and energy efficient technologies that integrate lighting, heating, security and communications controls in the home.

The Forbes short list?

• Spa-like bathrooms with saunas, towel warming drawers, amd heated floors. Serenity is the guiding mood.
• Extensive computer-controlled systems to sensor control panels throughout the home. Light the pool, turn on the tub the spa or outdoor lighting, view surveillance camers scanning the outdoors or check to see if the garage door is closed. The possibilities are limitless.
• Space flexibility. How about floor-to-ceiling bookshelves that slide aside to open up a room? Or a wall of glass doors that move aside to bring the outdoors in? Or the indoors out?
• Outdoor kitchens are still on the must-have list. The compleat outdoor kitchen and entertaining area can cost anywhere from $50,000 to $200,000 or more. In addition to WOW-end outdoor cooking eqipment, the luxe owner might want a cabana, granite surfaces, wine cooler, ice maker , warming drawer, dishwasher and more. And swimming pools are also going over the deep and. Another story in the making.
• Oenophiles rejoice! Custom wine storage made the list. Make it a wine cave, make it a small room, just make it for wine and keep the temperature and humidity under control.

For additional luxury home gadgets and reading, see:

The Snoring Room
The Self Service Spa (Do it at home?)
Long-Lasting Roses
Induction-Cooktop for the Luxury Kitchen
Ultimate Phone for the Luxury Bath
How to Hide the Bedroom TV
Switchable Mirror Glass Windows
SONOS: The Ultimate Sound System
Haute Refrigerators for Cool Kitchens?
The Overflowing Infinity Tub
Wine Storage for Oenophiles
The Illuminated Bathtub

The post Gotta-Haves and Upgrades for Luxury Homes appeared first on Luxury Home Digest.