Last fall we brought a one-bedroom condo on the market in South Boston. It was just under 600 square feet, had a private entrance, its own patio space and was a very short distance to the Red Line. The kitchen and bathroom were updated, and the ceiling height was to die for. Best of all? It was priced at $349,000 – a price almost unheard of these days in Southie.

We had one challenge though…the previous occupants had moved out and the place was vacant. You may or may not know this, but homes don’t show well when they are empty. Rooms look smaller, the place can feel cold and un-homelike (is that a word?) and, most of all, buyers cannot envision how they would use the space. You can tell a buyer that a room is a bedroom, but that doesn’t mean they will actually see a bedroom when looking at 4 empty walls and a floor. They need to see and feel the bed, the nightstand, the rug. It’s a bizarre phenomenon (and a frustrating one for those of us in sales) but that’s just how a lot of people’s brains work.

So, to help combat this, we had the place virtually staged. What is virtual staging, you ask? It’s this incredible tool that takes photos of a vacant home and digitally adds furnishings to the space. Best of all, it’s incredibly affordable and a lot less expensive than a professional stager. Sounds hokey? Not so much. This technology has come a very, very long way. When it first came out, you could spot a virtually staged pic from a mile away. Not anymore. It’s really amazing what they can do now. It all looks so real.
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And the virtually staged pics for this condo came out AMAZING.
 
In fact, the photos looked so darn good that we were flooded with showing requests and open house traffic. People needed to see this unicorn – the unbelievably gorgeous space at the unheard-of price.

Well, this is where things took a turn. The photos set up people’s expectations so high, that when they walked into an empty condo, they inevitably felt let down. The virtually staged pics demonstrated where the furniture could go and how it might look, but it didn’t solve the issue of the place looking barren when people came to visit in person.

Enter Plan B. After receiving no offers despite the great turnout, the unit was staged for real by Boston Modern Staging & Design. We took new photos and did a small price drop to $345,000 to spur new activity. Sure enough, within a couple of days we had multiple offers on the home. The accepted offer was over the $345,000 list price – it closed for $349,000, more than covering the cost of the professional staging!
 
So, moral of the story? We do believe that virtual staging can work for some properties and would use it again for the right place. In fact, we have had success with virtual staging in the past, as have many of our colleagues. But for this particular property, which had a unique layout that could be used in a variety of fashions, it was much better served by professional staging, as it took the guesswork out of the equation for the buyers. They didn't have to ponder how they'd set up the rooms and what it would like look or what size furniture would fit. The legit staging got the job done quickly and for the seller’s desired price -- because, after all, making our clients happy is what this job is all about.

What do you think? What are your experiences with virtual staging?

© 2020 DONNA CHARPENTIER. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

Happy 2019! As we look forward to the year ahead, we thought we’d recap our 2018.

2018 was another great year to be a home seller in Greater Boston. Average home prices soared across all neighborhoods and bidding wars continued to be the norm. Much to the chagrin of potential home buyers, 2018 was the 6th consecutive year of what we would call a very strong seller’s market. Sellers had all the leverage.

Here’s a quick look at the homes The Charpentier Team listed in 2018:

(Spoiler alert – we achieved an average of 106% of the asking price for our sellers!)
 
Single Family Homes

• 37 Netta Road, Dedham – Asking Price $549,000 | Sale Price $579,500 | 106% of Asking Price
• 16 Spring Garden St., Dorchester – Asking Price $599,000 | Sale Price $708,000 | 118% of Asking Price
• 216 W 5th St., South Boston – Asking Price $699,000 | Sale Price $760,000 | 108% of Asking Price

 
Condos

• 83 Dix St. #3, Dorchester – Asking Price $349,000 | Sale Price $355,000 | 102% of Asking Price
• 351 Dorchester St. #1, South Boston – Asking Price $345,000 | Sale Price $349,000 | 101% of Asking Price
• 176 Princeton St. #2, East Boston – Asking Price $399,000 | Sale Price $440,000 | 110% of Asking Price
• 37-39 Waldeck St. #1, Dorchester – Asking Price $435,000 | Sale Price $490,000 | 113% of Asking Price
• 12 Ricciuti Dr. #3, Quincy – Asking Price $449,000 | Sale Price $463,000* | 103% of Asking Price
• 46 North Bennet St. #1, North End – Asking Price $449,000 | Sale Price $465,000 | 104% of Asking Price
• 518-520 Putnam Ave. #9, Cambridge – Asking Price $475,000 | Sale Price $508,000 | 107% of Asking Price
• 24 Forest Hills #2, Jamaica Plain** – Asking Price $475,000 | Sale Price $475,000 | 100% of Asking Price
• 5 Norcross Place #2, South Boston – Asking Price $639,000 | Sale Price $670,500 | 105% of Asking Price
• 819 E 6th St. #4, South Boston – Asking Price $725,000 | Sale Price $765,000 | 106% of Asking Price
• 125 B St. #4D, South Boston – Asking Price $889,000 | Sale Price $925,000 | 104% of Asking Price

 
Not too shabby, if we do say so ourselves! We are proud of these numbers and worked tirelessly for each seller on a pricing strategy. We helped them stage their places and get them ready to sell and, as the photographers who we hired can attest to, we micro-managed all of them to get the most beautiful shots of these homes that we could (it’s all about the marketing!). We negotiated and bent over backwards. And, the results paid off for each of our sellers.

But, what will 2019 bring?

In mid-fall 2018, the Boston real estate market experienced a noticeable shift. More properties came on the market and didn’t sell as quickly, leading to an increase in available inventory (i.e. more choice for home buyers). Some of this is seasonal: fall is always a softer, less-advantageous time for sellers in the Boston area. But, for the first time in a long time, we saw sellers needing to do price drops before getting an offer. However, the fact of the matter is that a lot of these sellers still got an offer ultimately – so we would hardly ring the alarm bell at this point.

Time will tell in terms of what 2019 has in store. Interest rates have gone up a little and while they are still historically low, any increase in rates can impact what a buyer can afford. The stock market also saw wild swings in the last quarter in 2018 and many expect this will continue in 2019. But, Boston is a resilient real estate town and weathers market volatility like a champ.

Here at The Charpentier Team, we are busy preparing for what should be another busy spring market. You won’t see us panicking…our noses are to the grindstone and the phone is already ringing with people looking to sell and buy. Stay tuned for upcoming listings and news, and may you all have a most wonderful and prosperous New Year!

Author: Donna Charpentier

*Final price was $453,000 but net proceeds to seller was based on an achieved sales price of $463,000
**Off-market listing