Staging Focus

Taking the Stage

An empty home offers a bland, cavernous glimpse at bare walls and forces you to roughly estimate what each room could hold.

An occupied home shows what it would look like if someone else moved all their belongings into your house.

A professionally staged home presents a version of the home that bursts with potential, offering an approachable vision of how the house could be embraced. It transforms the house into a template that can only be enhanced by a potential buyer's personal touches. It invites the imagination and prompts an emotional connection.

3951 SW Canby - Before

After

Justin Riordan, the Creative Director of Spade and Archer Design Agency, kindly articulates his thoughts on the importance of proper home staging:

"Staging can be downright creepy. A buyer walks into a house and it seems like somebody lives there and yet it doesn't. The quickest way to tell a potential buyer that the staging is not real is to use imitation items. We never use fake plants, food, electronics (like TV's and computers). The more fake items (or fakery) used, the faster the buyer will know that nothing they are seeing is real.

"The purpose of staging is to help make the house stand out. If the staging overshadows the house, then it fails. Think of it this way, your house is the super star, the staging is the backup singers, cute, but not the main attraction. We never use items that are emotionally evocative. They pull the emotional attention away from the house. Emotionally evocative items fall into five categories: Religious Items, Political Items, Scented Items, Items with Fur, and Vice Items.

"Light is the single most important item when showing a house. 'I wish this house was darker,' said nobody, ever. People in Portland crave light, we give it to them. We remove window coverings, pull up blinds, and turn on all the lights before a showing.

"When staging your house, it is important to remember: Of all the people that might buy your house, you are not one of them. Your stager is not designing to your taste, they are designing to appeal to the most people possible."

For more of Spade and Archer's design philosophy, visit spade-archer.com or call 503-841-7506.

3951 SW Canby - Before

After

3951 SW Canby - Before

After

Newer Built Properties for Sale in NE and SE Portland

Inner Northeast and Southeast Portland are known for older homes, but in the last 10-12 years there has been a lot of new construction. Below are homes for sale that were built in 2000 or more recently. Many are under construction. These homes are mostly built to fit into the existing neighborhoods, so they have traditional styling on the exterior, but modern features and layouts inside. To view the properties click on the listings, and to see them in person call me at 503-367-1877.

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Below are All Homes for Sale in Northeast and Southeast Portland.

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Luxury Southwest Portland Homes

Southwest Portland is a fantastic residential area that is known for quick commutes to downtown, quaint neighborhoods, and easy access to suburbs such as Lake Oswego. Luxury properties are either penthouse condos in the Southwest Waterfront and Homestead, or large estates throughout the area.  The market for homes for sale in SW Portland is very competitive, there are not that many luxury homes for sale at any given time. [nggallery id=19]

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Luxury Southeast Portland Homes

Southeast Portland has a bohemian, urban feel. The neighborhoods are focused on high walk scores, and the 2o minute neighborhood idea. Many of the homes in the area are smaller bungalows and English styles houses. The luxury homes in Southeast Portland that are for sale are often on Mt Tabor, in Laurelhurst, and in Sellwood, but there are fabulous homes listed for over $500,000 all over the area. Here are the ones that are currently for sale. Click on the listings to view details and to request showings. [listingsearch shortSale=1 type="layers" layerid="15" hqid="1004" orderby="id" order="ASC" lp="500" ptype="DETACHD"]

Marking Listings the M Way

I'm super excited to share how M Realty has been marketing listings. I was on the development team that worked for several months to amp up how listings are marketed to buyers. The part I'm most excited about is that we are really telling the story of a home, and using the best print and online materials to express this story to buyers. Check out the property website to see the Story, the Gallery, and how we communicated the home to buyers. The listing that we first implemented this new strategy on went pending in just 6 days, and I know that is is due to the sheer number of people who experienced the home. The house is a quality property, and the quality was expressed in the marketing materials.

The most exciting thing about the marketing for this listing is that we really show all the main benefits of living in this home. The gourmet kitchen, the great room. the rooftop deck, the neighborhood, these are all things that most buyers are interested in, and by showing how they will be used by the future owner, they begin to be emotionally attached to the home and imagine themselves living in it.

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This marketing plan will be applied to all of my listings, if you or someone you know has a property that needs this level of marketing to sell a home, please contact me for a presentation of the full marketing materials.

Custom Built Reedway Home

Just Listed: 5130 SE 34th Ave

ML# 11141310

Offered for: $410,000

Schedule a Showing

Features:

Custom 1960 Ranch, with Full Basement

3000+ Square Feet, Including Finished and Unfinished Basement, and Two Car Garage

Formal Living and Dinning Rooms

Informal Family Room Off Kitchen

Hardwood Throughout Main Floor

Gas Furnace, Decommissioned Oil Tank, Tank-less Hot Water Heater, Heat Pump

Three Fireplaces

Large Yard with Fruit Trees, Berry Bushes, and Garden

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Photo Tour of Homes in Grant Park

Grant Park has homes of many ages and styles, but is especially known for bungalows, English cottages, and classic Four Squares. Below are many typical homes in the neighborhood, and luckily I took the photo when it was sunny and the yards were in beautiful conditions. View homes that are for sale on the neighborhood real estate map. [nggallery id=5]