Jeremy Fain: On Price & Presentation

Berthea is interesting because I was involved in it’s purchase and sale. Initially, Berthea had been on the market for about a year. I helped my client buy it at about $200k under list since it was priced too high. My client, however, never wound up moving in, so back on the market it went- which is risky because you might lose money. 

That being said, we ended up making more than what we bought it for in about a month– and I attribute that to having a great presentation.  

When it was initially listed. that agent had done the staging herself but it just wasn’t the same as Shelley’s Restyle.  I think having a robust presentation this time around is what really sealed the deal.  

Berthea is a special place and showcasing the space made a huge difference. The people who wound up purchasing the house attended one of my open houses.  After multiple offers, we got a full-price contract in about 4 weeks.  That’s impressive for a luxury townhome in the Museum District.

Columbus was a townhome in a great location: Montrose. The problem was they had listed it about $40k higher than where it needed to be to sell.  I had sold multiple homes in that development so they came to me for help.  I showed them the data and what neighboring units had sold for so we could get to a price that would get traffic and offers. 

If you’re overpriced, buyers just don’t bother. You have to be realistic.  

Once we got the price right, we did increase traffic a bit but after a month of not getting the traffic I wanted, I decided we needed to get it staged. 

After Shelley came in and staged it, it was a completely different ballgame. We got  a near full-price contract in about 3 weeks.  Had it been staged from the beginning, it would have spent way less time on market.

When you talk about presentation, what specifically do you mean?

If you don’t have good photos, you are losing your audience.  

The first 3 – 5 photos on your listing need to captivate and hold attention. Whether it’s night shots or the most impactful room, the first few need to wow the viewer.  Because if you’re enticed enough to flip through 20+ photos, you’re invested. You’re going to go see that listing.  

    TK Images

How do you feel about virtual staging?

I’ve done it in the past and the photos may get people through the door- but once they walk in the room is empty. Instead of seeing furniture, they see the blemish on the wall where the couch was once rubbing against it. It just doesn’t showcase the home the same and it’s kind of a let down.  So I’m a firm believer in having actual furniture in the space. If you’re really trying to make an impact and get the full effect, then furniture is the way to go.

What advice can you give sellers in this market?

You don’t sell a house the way you live in a house. You have to concede to what the market wants.  So what I do is provide a book of comps and previous listings that have sold so the seller can see the interior and exterior of similar homes with a selling price.  Now we can look at the product, the price at which it sold, and how quickly. Now we can see what your home needs to look like to sell for as much and as quickly as this home in the comps did.  

No heirlooms, no antiques, none of grandma’s relics. That’s not what a buyer wants to see.  Your presentation needs to be on point from the beginning, or else you will lose time on market.