Home sweet home
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Updated: June 24, 2009 3:48 PM
Mmmmmmmm, cookies.
Some potential homebuyers may actually think with their noses when deciding about purchasing a property.
“Some people make cookies, (and) put them in the oven so the home smells good and homey,” said Eva Bachmann, founder of her own home staging company Eva Bachmann & Associates.
Bachmann was interested in home decorating for 20 years before she was pushed by friends to become a certified home staging consultant. It’s a field that’s grown significantly, she said.
“A number of realtors have their own home stagers,” Bachmann noted.
The idea is simple — allow the buyers to picture themselves living in the home. But getting to that state is not so simple, she said.
It requires house owners to de-clutter, neutralize wall colours and take down family pictures.
“Normally that’s a good thing,” Bachmann jokes about an abundance of shots of grandpas, cousins and aunts.
A house needs to look spacious, which sometimes means waving goodbye to big chunky couches. And of course flowers always make things a little brighter, Bachmann adds.
But since the economic downturn, Bachmann said less people seem to be willing to dish out a little extra cash on flowers and tips. And that’s backwards, she notes.
“This is one of those times when people really need (home) staging,” Bachmann said.
Staged homes sold in half the time, approximately 13 days, than unstaged homes, reported a 2004 survey by Coldwell Banker Broker. Of the sampled 2,772 properties, the professionally 129 staged homes sold for an average of 6.3 per cent difference over their selling price. Research shows emotions have an important role in big purchases, said Dr. Cara Zaskow, a member of Capilano University’s psychology department.
“Home staging plays into that quite well,” she said.
People don’t want to invade someone’s home and sometimes family photos can do that, Zaskow said. This may prevent them from opening closets and getting a good look at the property, she said.
And those cookies could remind a buyer of baking with mum or visiting grandma. Smell is powerful in conjuring up the past, Zaskow said.
“It is one that we are not necessarily aware of but it plays on memories.”
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