Addition By Subtraction Just like staging a home’s interior is mostly about subtraction, not addition, improving a home’s curb appeal is usually about paring back. Most common task: cutting back overgrown landscaping that obscures the home’s curb appeal. In this case, removing this Fern Hill duplex’s window awnings (above) was a 2-for-1: 1) it punched...Read More
Before . . . and After(!) Staging a home’s interior is usually more about subtraction than addition. Key steps include reducing clutter; showcasing desirable features like windows and any fireplaces (rule #1: don’t block them); and generally making the home as clean and light as possible. Improving a home’s exterior — and specifically, its curb...Read More
Price Range: $650k to $1.3 Million [Note to Readers: The views expressed here are solely those of Ross Kaplan, and do not represent Edina Realty, Berkshire Hathaway (“Berkshire”), or any other entity referenced. Edina Realty is a subsidiary of Berkshire.] Realtors quickly learn that valuing homes by the square foot doesn’t work. That’s because the...Read More
Learning to Love (OK, Like) Split-Level’s What’s so great about opening the front door of a home and finding yourself standing in the middle of the Living Room? Or maybe the Kitchen? That’s been my experience in any number of newer, upper bracket homes ” homes that supposedly boast the latest and greatest of everything,...Read More
Three Quibbles A new study purports to put a number on the value of curb appeal: 7%. The study’s authors did that by analyzing Google Street View photos and sales data from 88,980 properties in the greater Denver area. Specifically, they performed these three steps: “The researchers manually scored a set of properties, grading 400 images...Read More
Gutter Extension Camouflage People usually associate “staging” with the inside of a home. Before: conspicuously white. But, when it comes to selling a house, few things matter more than curb appeal, and a key ingredient of curb appeal is landscaping ” specifically, in front of the home. Ergo, the advice my stager gave to a...Read More
