I'm not sure about you, but I spend a lot of time looking at real estate photos. Why may you ask? Because I love homes, can't have enough of them and I dream about them all the time.
My approach in looking at a property is possibly more analytic then the average person, I tend to look for potential and go behind the first impression. I start thinking about what I would do, how I would stage it, why did the agent decided to go for that specific demographic target, and so on. But what does the real home buyer look for? This is the most crucial question a real-estate agent needs to be clear about because everything else will be a consequence of this decision. I love staging. It gives me the chance to create a story to tell, a home to love and a dream to fulfill!
My staging style will represent the marketing strategy that the seller and the agent have decided to follow. Are we pitching to young families, or professionals with busy careers, or maybe successful individuals looking to upgrade, or is it space in the country and lifestyle we are targeting?
And this is where the first impression comes into the game. Statistics say that buyers, believe it or not, will decide in the first 7 to 10 seconds if they love your property or not. That's it, all that hard work, all the staging and styling, decluttering and preparing for a little 10-second window of opportunity!!!
So when it comes to choosing your agent, look for a person that relates to your demographic target and when it comes to preparing your home for sale, follow the advise of a professional styling consultant, because the difference between success and fail it's in that 10 second window and first impressions, as you know, last forever!