A hint of luxury sells houses FAST!

Definitions of luxury:

1. Great comfort: expensive, high-quality surroundings, and the great comfort they provide.
2. Pleasurable, self-indulgent activity: an activity that gives great pleasure, especially one only rarely indulged in.

CSP International is always changing the face of staging. CSP students know today’s buyers are looking for luxury!

No matter the price point of property, professional stagers can increase their success ratio and business share by adding a higher level of luxury to the staging work they provide. Research supports the fact that people buy aspirationally; emotions connect on a platform of want vs. need. Their decision to buy is usually supported intellectually, but the emotional connection must be visceral.

The word luxury as it pertains to real estate has taken on a whole new meaning too, particularly over the past few years. Trendsetters agree: what used to pass for luxury is now commonplace for many. Features that were once exclusive only to the high-priced real estate market are now expected in lower price markets (that’s aspiration at work).

The emerging high-end trends like home cinemas, gyms, and computer controlled everything (security, window coverings, water faucets, stereo and television equipment, and more) are percolating down to suburbia.

As style and tastes change, so do buyers’ expectation levels; the change of expectation is evident at every price point. Buyers want more, they want to do less work when they move, and they are willing to pay more money for move-in ready property.

The evolution (or revolution) of decorating TV programs has certainly helped grow and expand the mindset as well as the expectation level of the “average” home buyer. Even as high-tech gadgets become more commonplace, today’s consumers are still looking for space, functionality, ease of living, peace and tranquility.

Common mistakes I consistently see across the industry are the use of lower priced products such as accessories and bedding, incorrect placement of color, incorrect size and scale for art and accessories, acceptance of POGE (principle of good enough), and still the belief that staging is decor. CSP staging training is based on a proprietary proven 8-7-6-5 process, which involves various emotional connection points using color mapping, decor layers, size, scale, and correct placement. It starts with condition, then followed by anticipating and marketing to the targeted buyer, and engaging all the senses of those prospective buyers. The results are outstanding finished products, results, and photographs. “I remain steadfast in my belief that if a buyer is looking at art and not the fireplace there is a problem.”

Photo by Anthony DELANOIX on Unsplash

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