Home Staging Is Key to Selling for Top Dollar

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Today I want to talk to you about something that is important whether you are buying or selling in Vero Beach. We are here today at one of our newest listings, and I wanted to use this great space to tie in with our topic today, home staging. 

Prior to us listing the home seen in the video above, it was a vacant home that was listed by another broker. The home sat on the market with this broker for a long time, and on the inside everything was pretty vanilla. The home was basically naked, as it didn’t have one piece of furniture or decoration that would elicit an emotional response. So, I started doing some research as far as what we could do to help the seller better showcase their home so it would sell for a higher price. 

I pulled out a report I want to share with you, the 2015 profile of home staging. A lot of the things in here are very intuitive for me after being in the business for over 20 years, but I found this one statistic very interesting. The National Association of Realtors polled their members in the last few months to determine their views and their buyers’ views on staging homes. What they found was that 49% of agents believed home staging was an important component for buyers to have desire to look at a property. 

Another very telling statistic we came across was that 81% of agents said their buyers were more likely to buy a home that was staged over a home that wasn’t, which is even more impressive. If 81% of buyers will look at this one factor as a major point of interest in a home, it’s definitely something you should consider.

Vacant homes aren’t the only ones that need to be staged, however. We all live in our homes and will inevitably miss a few things when it comes to preparing the home to sell. It’s nice to have a third party in there to lend an eye and help you put your best foot forward. The average seller spends between $600 and $800 on home staging, but the return is definitely worth the price, as you can see in the video above.

If the look of the home doesn’t convince you, maybe this will. Home staging, on average, can get you 5-10% more money on your property than you would get if it wasn’t staged. It’s really a no-brainer!

If you have any questions for us, or are thinking of selling your Vero Beach home, give us a call or send us an email. We look forward to speaking with you!

What Does a Hot Vero Beach Market Mean for You?

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As you probably know, our market is awfully hot right now.

We are currently at the lowest level of inventory of available homes we've seen in years. As of today, there are about 1,300 homes for sale in Vero Beach, Sebastian, and Indian River County. Demand is through the roof!

We've had several homes sell before they even came on the market and bidding wars are happening more and more. In other words, it's been an incredible summer, even though summer is usually not the busiest real estate season in Florida. In addition to the busy market activity for condos and resale properties, new subdivisions of homes are being built all over the Vero Beach area.

With so much going on in this market, what can you do to be prepared? If you're a seller, you're in a great place right now, as there are a limited amount of homes for sale and a ton of buyers. One issue that comes up is short appraisals; because there are not enough homes for sale, buyers are paying more than they might based on closed sales. Sometimes, the appraisal will come in too low and negotiations will have to take place. Remember, this is completely normal in a rising market, and we can help you solve these problems.

Now is a great time to get top dollar for your home. Because interest rates remain low, there is no better time to make your move. If you would like our assistance in this market, please don't hesitate to reach out to us. We would love to hear from you!

Are You the Right Fit for Our Team?

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Today, I have a special announcement: We are now hiring!

For the past 12 years, serving your real estate needs has been wonderful! We are very thankful for your continued support.

We've served so many families and met so many wonderful people. Since we love you guys so much, we thought we would come to you first with this news. Are you or is anyone you know interested in joining our growing team?

We are always looking for talented, hard-working people to join our team. We have recently promoted a member of the Kelly Fischer Team, which has created an opening we're hoping to fill soon.

We're currently looking for a full-time office manager, someone with outstanding customer service skills, fabulous communication skills, and top-notch computer skills! If you are that person, or if you know that person, we would like to talk! We look forward to hearing from you soon!

What Makes Biking Such a Special Thing to Do in Vero Beach?

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Today, Sharon LaPoint of Vero Cycling Club joins us today to discuss a very important distinction they've received. 

Recently, Vero Beach was recognized as a bicycle-friendly community! This is good for Vero Beach because it encourages people to move here who live an active lifestyle. A bicycle friendly community indicates the people there are active, and it's not a closed community where everyone stays indoors.

The League of American Bicyclists named Indian River County as one of 42 newly designated bike friendly communities because of the hard work of a coalition of civic and business leaders and bicycle enthusiasts who have worked and planned to make the county as friendly as possible for cyclists. They taught bicycle safety training to more than 3,000 elementary school kids and gave each one a helmet. This is just one of the many yearly programs this coalition has passed to make the Vero Beach area as bicycle friendly as possible!

A lot of people who come and ride with us are here visiting family in Vero Beach, so even if you don't like to ride, your guests might truly enjoy it! If you're visiting, or if you're unsure whether you want to invest in expensive biking equipment, there are bike shops here that let you try out gear before purchasing! One of the many great shops in Vero Beach is called Orchid Island Bikes. They support biking events in the area and offer free classes. There are also sponsored rides that the Vero Cycling Club offers to people of all ages! 

In short, there are a ton of people who are passionate about cycling in Vero Beach and want to help people of any skill level get involved! If you have any questions about this wonderful club, or if you need real estate assistance of any kind, give us a call! We would love to hear from you!