Staging Statistics & Design Tips
(this page is constantly updated, so come back soon!)
Staging Statistics You Can Use...
* Please scroll to the bottom of the page for our article, statistic or tidbit reprint policies page.
June 26, 2009: 
Gee, your home smells terrific!
Consumers today are using scent to decorate, adding an individual touch that represents their personality and tastes. Companies are branding scent to create an emotional connection with the brand, evoking a mood or memory, so why shouldn't homesellers do the same?
The decorative fragrance market has surged in recent years, and will grow to an estimated $7.2 billion by 2010, according to Euromonitor.
According to Scent Technologies, LTD, the sense of smell is the most powerful human sense as it has a direct trigger to the brain invoking instant reaction.
According to the Sense of Smell Institute, a recent study indicated that pleasant odours do in fact increase lingering time in stores and museums, so of course, we would expect the same to hold true in a home!
According to our research the most popular scents are consistently:
- Vanilla
- Fresh Linen
- Gingered Pumpkin
- Pumpkin Spice
- Lavender
- Cinnamon
_________________________________________________________
June 08, 2009: The Power of Color in Marketing
Research conducted by the secretariat of the Seoul International Color Expo 2004 documented the following relationships between color and marketing:
- 92.6 percent said that they put most importance on visual factors when purchasing products. Only 5.6 percent said that the physical feel via the sense of touch was most important. Hearing and smell each drew 0.9 percent.
- When asked to approximate the importance of color when buying products, 84.7 percent of the total respondents think that color accounts for more than half among the various factors important for choosing products.
Plus...
- Research reveals people make a subconscious judgment about a person, environment, or product within 90 seconds of initial viewing and that between 62% and 90% of that assessment is based on color alone.
Source: CCICOLOR - Institute for Color Research
- Color increases brand recognition by up to 80 percent. - University of Loyola, Maryland study
June 08, 2009
25% of Sellers Reduce Asking Price
Sellers have dropped their asking prices on 25 percent of homes listed for sale on Trulia.com, according to a report the online real estate company released last week.
The average price-reduced home has seen a listing price cut of 10.6 percent.
Not only are cities with lots of foreclosures hard hit, but traditionally strong markets also are among those with large-percentage price reductions.
Among the 50 largest U.S. cities, the 12 locales with the largest percentage of price reductions are:
1. Jacksonville, Fla. – 36 percent
2. Tucson – 32 percent
3. Boston – 32 percent
4. Los Angeles – 32 percent
5. Columbus, Ohio – 31 percent
6. Dallas – 31 percent
7. Honolulu – 31 percent
8. Minneapolis – 31 percent
9. Austin – 30 percent
10. Washington, D.C. – 30 percent
11. Baltimore – 30 percent
12. Las Vegas – 30 percent
Source: Trulia.com (06/05/2009)
May 14, 2009:
May 1, 2009:
According to The Humane Society of the United States:
- 39% of U.S. households own at least one dog.
- Nearly 34% of U.S. households own at least one cat.
This means that between 61-66% of homeowners do not own a cat or dog. Whether the reasons include allergies, aversions or other personal preferences, it's clear that a large portion of prospects viewing your listing with a household pet could turn off a potential buyer.
Try to encourage your sellers with pets to come up with creative solutions to keeping pets and their "pet evidence" out of sight when their home is on the market!
April 3, 2009:
- 63% of all buyers say they are prepared to spend more money on a house in great condition than one that needs work.
April 3,2009:
March 08, 2009
- According to the National Association of Realtors, a typical buyer walks through 9 properties, looks for 8 weeks, and moves 12 miles from their previous residence when buying a new home.
- What's the Magic Color for Selling a House?
Well, there may not be a magic color, but we can tell you some of our favorites:
May Fav's:
Benjamin Moore - Taos Taupe: 2111-40
A beautiful taupey-gray that is flexible and accomodating.
Valspar Toadstone 319-2
This earthy green-beige has just a hint of yellow and is a fabulous anchor color. Accent with red, orange or purple hues.
Benjamin Moore - Stratton Blue: HC-142
A blue-green which is a bit muted. Far from bland, yet not too bold. Perfect for a spa-like master retreat, a beach house or a west-facing room which needs a little cooling down.
Want to know more about color? Check out one of our favorite color experts, Leatrice Eisemen, and The Color Answer Book.
April Fav's:
Benjamin Moore HC-36 Hepplewhite Ivory. This creamy butterscotch adds a quietly uplifting element to any room, while softening any harsh lighting.
Benjamin Moore HC-111 Nantucket Gray. I always refer to this as being a gray-green with chameleon-like qualities. It changes to fit a variety of situations.
Benjamin Moore Silken Pine 2144-50. Because green is so often seen in nature, and it has universal appeal, this celadon-ish green is a great choice for pick up a space, without making a statement too bold for staging.
As always, remember when choosing paint colors for staging:
1. Avoid the two B's - Bold & Bland. Try to stay somewhere in between.
2. Make sure the color palette flows from room to room.
3. Pay attention to the orientation of the house so that you don't end up choosing a color that will be overly-intensified at certain times of the day.
4. Don't just paint a small space white because it's small. You'll just end up with a small white space! Sometimes darker, cooler colors will help the walls and corners recede, making it harder to tell where the walls and corners begin and end.
MORE REAL ESTATE STAGING STATS
• 98% of Realtors perceive staging as having value, yet 20% use it.
• Studies show that staged homes sell, on average, for 6.9% more than un-staged homes, or homes that aren’t properly prepared to sell.
• Studies show that staged homes sell faster. At Interiority Complex, when we conducted a recent study of our staged properties, we found that listings we had prepared sold in ½ the time as the average home in Austin.
• According to a National Association of Realtors survey, homes that sold after four weeks on the market sold for 6% less than ones within the first four weeks.
• Only 10% of buyers can visualize the potential of a home.
• 92% of home searches start online for the above demographic.
NEW STATISTIC REPORT RELEASED BY THE REAL ESTATE STAGING ASSOCIATION:
1.) In the 2008 study of vacant homes vs. staged homes days on market were:
190 DOM (Un-staged) vs. 28 days DOM (staged)
2.) In the 2008 study of occupied homes which were staged vs. unstaged, the average days on market were:
57 DOM (Un-staged) vs. 6 DOM (staged)
Click here for the full report from the Real Estate Staging Association.
________________________________________________________________
From a Decorator's Notebook...
CALCULATING PAINT QUANTITIESTake the length of all the walls of the room you’re going to paint (the perimeter) and multiply it by the height of the room to get the total square feet you are going to paint. Next, take the total square feet and divide it by 400. This will give you the approximate gallons needed for one coat coverage. (Allow more for multiple coats.)
A MUST SEE BLOG
Living in Color with Sonu: Sonu Mathew is the Sr. Interior Designer at Benjamin Moore & Co. and her blog is full of whimsy, color insight and musings over her color and design obsessions.
COFFEE TALK...Coffee tables should be 2/3 to ¾ the width of your sofa or loveseat, and should be placed at least 12-16 inches from the sofa to allow for knees and legroom.
GET OUT YOUR MEASURING TAPE...
Artwork above a sofa should at minimum be 2/3 the length of the sofa. That does not mean you only use ONE piece of artwork above a sofa. What it means is your collection or the one piece you are using must be at minimum of 2/3 the length of the sofa. If you are thinking of extending the artwork or collection beyond the sofa or piece, there must be something to relate it to; otherwise it will seem very top heavy.
YELLOW, NOT SO MELLOW?
Since yellow is the most visible color, it is also the most attention-getting color. Yellow can be used in small amount to draw notice, such as on traffic sign or advertisements. But beware, too much yellow can also create feelings of frustration and anger and can be fatiguing to the eye. While it is considered a cheerful color, people are more likely to lose their tempers in yellow rooms and babies tend to cry more in yellow rooms. If you're on a diet, watch out...yellow can also increase the metabolism!
THE LIGHTING RULE OF THREE
It is usually better to have many small light sources rather than one large one. If a room still appears too dark, check to make sure that all the lighting sources all have the correct voltage. If one gives a room proper lighting, not only will the room look great, it will also give the room just the right touch.
In interior design the “rule of three” applies to almost everything. Lighting is no exception. If you have one lamp, you probably need two and if you have two lamps, you should have three. It’s important to distribute light to all the seated groupings in a room; typically, this will create a triangular shaped pattern.
________________________________________________________________
Reprint Permission Policies
All content on our Web site and in our newsletters is copyright protected
Copyright © 2000-2009 by Interiority Complex - All Rights Reserved. All content, graphics, and HTML code are protected by US and International Copyright Laws, and may not be copied, reprinted, published, translated, hosted, or otherwise distributed by any means without explicit written permission.
How to request permission to reprint one of Interiority Complex University's Staging Stats or Design Tips:
If you would like to request permission to reprint one or more articles or tidbits by The Interiority Complex University, please submit your email request to: university@theinterioritycomplex.com .
Please put Reprint Permission in the Subject line and include your name, your web site or publication name and the name of the article you would like to reprint.
Also tell us how you would like to use our article or tidbit, (eg. reprinted on your web site, within your newsletter, in your hard copy publication, etc.)
All reprinted articles must include the author's name, and the following copyright notice as well as a description and working link to the Interiority Complex web sites as follows:
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The URL must be a workable, clickable link to Interiority Complex or The Interiority Complex University's home page.
Permission is granted on a case by case basis, and permission may be withdrawn in the future.
(if you like this and want more, be sure to sign up for: 
