realtor's dream.

nautical.

via The Wall Street Journal - Estate Sold for $100 Million

Where:  Los Altos Hills, California

Size: 25,500 square feet

Buyer: Yuri Milner,  Russian Investor

A Russian investor has bought a French chateau-style mansion in Silicon Valley for $100 million, marking the highest known price paid for a single family home in the U.S. Yuri Milner is the head of  Digital Sky Technologies and whose investments include Facebook Inc., Groupon Inc. and Zynga Inc.

home staging.

The Wall Street Journal - Sotheby's International Realty Micro-site Home Staging

I always talk about what a great tool staging is for sellers. Depersonalizing and staging a home makes for a quick sale and gets the seller near their top dollar. Below is a fabulous article from the SIR WSJ.com micro-site about staging. 

HOME STAGING

Depersonalizing as a Sales Tool

By Iyna Bort Caruso

A picture may be worth a thousand words, but when you’re selling your home, that picture may cost you time and money.

Family photos, along with personal collections and even works of art, make a house a home, but they don’t necessarily make it more saleable, say real estate experts. Home staging ¬— the art of neutralizing and depersonalizing to allow a prospective buyer to mentally move in — does that.

Staging solves common design dilemmas, clutter among them, and employs tricks to maximize a home’s best assets. According to one report, staged homes sell up to five times faster than their non-staged counterparts.

In the 1970s, Barb Schwarz coined the word “staging” and developed it into a marketing concept. Using her background in interior design, theater and real estate, she’s since staged thousands of homes and founded the International Association of Home Staging Professionals.® “A house is like a theatrical set,” she says. “The audience is the buyers coming through.”

Staging is not the same as decorating. In many ways, it’s just the opposite. Decorating personalizes a property to an owner’s tastes. Staging depersonalizes it to show off the space. Buyers only know what they see, not the way it could be.

Surprisingly, even an estate that has been transformed by an interior designer’s touch can benefit from professional staging. A fine work of art might be considered an acquired taste or a period antique collection, however valuable, could distract would-be buyers and cause them to dwell on the items, rather than the home’s features, energy and flow. “In this economy, buyers have so many homes to look at, they can be extremely picky,” Schwarz says. “The star in each home should be the space.”

Staging can be as modest as a paint job and some decluttering or as extensive as a room-by-room overhaul involving furniture rental, repurposing or rearranging. Among the considerations: Is anything impeding flow? Are the areas where the eye settles positive or negative? Think model home — sparkling clean.

Among Schwarz’s suggestions:

• Remove family photographs, trophies and certificates
• Pack away religious items
• Stow personal collections and controversial artwork, no matter how valuable
• Declutter countertops and dresser tops
• Use neutral colors on the walls and floors; for pop, use “movable” color on pillows, towels, etc.
• Neutralize smells from smoking, pets, even strong room deodorizers

A 35- to 55-page home staging consultation report detailing what work needs to be performed averages about $350 and can run as high as $750 for a larger home, Schwarz says. Homeowners can use the report as an action plan and do the work themselves or hire the stager at an additional fee for a turnkey solution. Depending on the size and condition of the residence, that could be $1,500-$8,000 for an average high-end home, plus rental and storage fees, if needed. The numbers sometimes surprise sellers, but as Schwarz puts it, “An investment in staging your property is far less than a price reduction.” However, she says two things sell a home — staging and pricing. Staged homes sell for more money, but they still have to be in a price range that makes sense.

Robbie Briggs of Briggs Freeman Sotheby’s International Realty in Dallas, Texas,

figures about 35-45% of his clients’ homes are staged in some way, whether that involves professional stagers or recommendations from real estate agents. “We believe in it quite strongly. Every one of us gets used to our own home. We don’t see it through a professional eye,” he says. “A professional gets it looking its very best so buyers pay more and buy it quicker. Staging is a very important process in the overall marketing plan of a property.”

Briggs says some homeowners initially don’t see value and are even offended at the suggestion. But it is not a reflection of the owners’ tastes or their design sensibilities.

“As an example, an owner could have exquisite museum-quality mounts, but we know that half the buyers might find even beautiful animal heads offensive.” Cutting out a large share of the potential market is not the best way to sell a home.

While Briggs says staged homes sell faster, sometimes staging can also turn the “unsaleable” into the saleable. He cites the example of a property listed by another agency for its lot because the home was considered a teardown. The property languished on the market for nine months. Briggs Freeman Sotheby’s International Realty eventually took the listing and had it staged with new furnishings, carpeting and paint. It sold in two weeks. “That kind of effort pays off time and time again,” he says.

John Poole, of Sotheby’s International Realty Canada in Toronto, Ontario, is another proponent of staging and says any home will benefit from it, no matter what the price. His firm works with a number of professionals. “It’s an important relationship we have with them. You have to trust in the person that you’re turning your clients over to.”

He says more agents are taking the initiative in suggesting staging to sellers. “The way you live in your home is not the way you sell a home. At the end of the day, our job is get sellers the most money for the property, as quickly as we can. Staging is one of the things that can get us there.” He says the rule of thumb in his market is that every dollar invested on staging yields a $1.60 return. “It might not show up in actual dollars, but time on the market might be shortened quite a bit,” Poole explains.

A downside? Sellers sometimes fall back in love with their homes. “That’s happened,” says Poole. “And on the rare occasion, they take it off the market.”

celeb sales.

 Michael Lee Aday, a.k.a. Meat Loaf

 Calabasas, CA

 $3,200,000

 7,142 square feet, 7 bedrooms, 7 bathrooms

love.

West Elm

house proud.

One of the fun things that comes along with my job, besides getting to see all different kinds of homes, is getting to imagine and envision the design of the new rooms with my clients. Once a client becomes interested in a home one of the first things they do is they start visualize their own furniture in the home, and they start thinking about what they want to buy, and what each room will be designated for. I always find it interesting that when people are house hunting they skip some of the important questions like, how much the condo fees and taxes are, and they ask what they really want to know......"Where would you put the TV?" I spend hours with clients placing imaginary furniture and discussing room usage, and after seeing so many homes and different layouts, I actually have gotten some insight on how to be creative with uniquely shaped rooms. The home buying process can be emotionality draining, so you have to make it fun somehow. Here are some rooms that give me inspiration for my own style, compliments of the Nate Berkus Show.

The Nate Berkus Show Website

5 tips to sell.

I feel like a broken record talking about the fact that "Spring market is here," but it is! This time of the year a lot of people know that the market will begin to pick up, and the weather brings people out and about with their buyers hats on. I have experienced this market cycle first hand, and it is currently in full effect. We have some listings that have been on for a while and had few showings, and suddenly we have had 4 showings per week. It also seems that many of our buyers who we have been talking to for a while and who have been on the fence about buying, are now suddenly ready. This is all good news for us in the housing industry, and although all things seem fine and dandy, we must remind our sellers that there are deals out there and everyone knows it. It seems that all buyers are looking for a deal, and rightfully so. When there is a high volume of listings and a buyers market, all sellers must come out with their best foot forward. Here are 5 things all buyers should do to be on top of their game!

1. Stage - If you want top dollar and to sell quickly, hire a professional stager. This will cost you upfront, but in the long run it saves you money. Statistically, staging brings a faster sale.

2. Disassociate yourself with the home -  Get rid of personal pictures and items. People like to be able to envision themselves in a home, and if all they can see is your family, it makes it difficult for them.

3. Rent a Storage Unit - Get all of your clutter out. Anything that is not perfect for a home, get rid of it for showings.

4. Make Minor Repairs - Make it so the buyers have nothing to pick at. Paint, repair holes and cracks, repair leaky faucets, replace light bulbs. The little things do count!

5. Curb Appeal - People will not even want to enter a home if they feel it is ugly. Make your home look as desirable as possible front the curb. Paint the front door, cut the grass, keep the lawn clean, plant colorful flowers. It is good to clean the windows and wet the mulch before pictures so it makes the colors stand out.

Once you do these few things, you are on your way!

celeb homes.

One of the things I love to do is to gawk at amazing architecture, and fabulous celebrity homes. Every once in a while Architectural Digest will feature a celebrity and their home, and this particular one is amazing. Below are the photos of Cheryl Crow and her home featured in Architectural Digest. 

property crush.

I am missing my college town of Charleston, South Carolina today, so here is a Charleston edition of property crush, compliments of sothebysrealty.com. Enjoy.

mi casa.

I have embarked on the journey of decorating my upstairs bedroom. My house is a Cape Cod style home, so it is three bedrooms; two bedrooms downstairs, and one large room/bedroom upstairs, which I plan to turn into my master. After spending countless hours on HGTV.com and other interior design sites, I have decided to go with a gray, black, and white theme. I am in the process of painting the walls Vintage Gray (Valspar Paint), and I am going to buy black furniture and white accessories. Above is the bedspread that I MUST HAVE to complete my vision. This duvet is from West Elm. I am a true believer that the whole look must be purchased to get the desired effect, and I think the Euro Pillows are a must have. West Elm has great new inventory and everything is priced very fairly. I strongly suggest checking out their site and signing up to get their catalog! 

realtor chic.

Even though it is FREEZING cold here in Ohio, Spring is technically here. We can feel it in the Real Estate world. Buyers are out, new listings are popping up, and open houses are getting heavy traffic. This is the time us Realtor's love. Along with Spring market comes the need for cute Spring attire to show houses and go to listings appointments in....right? I am having a little Charleston, SC nostalgia, so I went the Lily route. Check out these adorable Spring must haves!

Lilly Pulitzer Website

celeb sales.

Neil Patrick Harris and David Burtka
Studio City, CA
$1,599,000
2,408 square feet, 3 bedrooms 3 bathrooms

 

kiki's kitchen.

By no means am I ever going to claim that I LOVE to cook, but I do LOVE to eat, so I figure I am up to the challenge. My sister gave me the most amazing, thoughtful Christmas gift ever this year- it is a personalized cookbook with all of our family recipes, the ones I am constantly calling her for. This gift sparked my interest, and yes, I know it was 3 months ago, but I am now proclaiming here, to everyone, that I am officially going to familiarize myself with the kitchen.

I knew it was bad today when I went to the grocery to get ingredients for my most recent endeavor, Chinese Chicken Salad, and I found myself feeling very inadequate, almost embarrassed. I am not exaggerating when I say I called my sister (a.k.a. Martha Stewart), TEN TIMES. The most pathetic question was, "are chives the same thing as green onions?" Once I got past finding all of the ingredients (with the help of Sally and a very nice employee) I entered the danger zone- preparation! Sally received another set of 5 or 6 phone calls at this time....PATHETIC. Well, I made it through and I documented the experience. The salad was AMAZING and just as I had remembered. I feel very proud and even motivated to continue on my mission to at least be able differentiate between onions and cloves.

So, this is the first of my reccomendations. If I can do it, anyone can!

Recipe: Chinese Chicken Salad (Compliments of the Tesner Women, Thank You!)

Dressing:
1 clove garlic
¼ c Taragon Vinegar
¼ c Soy sauce
2T sugar
1t dry mustard
3/4t minced ginger
1/2t Worchester Sauce
3/4c Peanut Oil
2T Oriental Sesame Oil

Salad:
½ grilled chicken breast per person
Cabbage- 1 large handful per person (1 large head cabbage)
Scallions (1 or 2 bunches)
Slivered Almonds
Chow Mein Noodles
Toasted Sesame Seeds

Mix it well and be generous with the dressing