Home Staging, as it’s called in the US, or Home Doctoring if you’re in the UK, is a long-established practice when preparing a home for sale. Traditionally, this is almost always an inhabited home or property being ‘staged’ in preparation for a sale or open house.
The reason a house is arranged is to make it look fresh and attractive to interested people who come to see it. In many real estate markets around the world, a real estate agent or consultant will always advise you to stage a house yourself or seek the services of suitable home staging companies.
Yes, such a service may not be so familiar to residents and even real estate agents here in the UAE, and why should it be? There are hardly any houses that are lived in for so long, that they need to be staged in order to sell them.
In fact, it’s radically different here. Properties and homes still have that fresh brick and paint smell every time there is an open house. If there is such a thing as an open house! With most properties being purchased within hours of their listings, it’s still a virgin market for real estate. But the market is changing, and there are many sought after projects that have been completed, lived in, and most importantly become established communities to live in.
The homes in these projects are the ones that would benefit from Home Staging services. Projects like The Greens by Emaar, which feature only apartments, and projects like Springs and The Lakes, which feature villas and townhouses, are now being challenged by newer villas and apartments coming on the market.
Are these ‘old’ structures really so old and inhabited that they need Home Staging? Far from there! they are about 4-5 years old, barely what you would call ‘lived’. However, as with all things pretty and shiny that are the way of life here, it’s not uncommon to find clients who say they just want to buy new projects.
This is where there is a small home staging market opportunity. But wait, that’s not really the market potential we’re talking about here in this article…
Home Staging New Construction Homes:
This is a different version of Home Staging and would be more suitable for the unique real estate market in Dubai and the United Arab Emirates. Currently, as you can see by reading a newspaper, there are apartments and villas being completed and delivered at a phenomenal rate here. There is also no shortage of ready investors, as well as people moving to this oasis to start their lives. So why organize them in the first place if everything sells effortlessly?
The reason we see a good business opportunity in staging new construction homes is to attract the attention of buyers who will soon be able to physically visit these finished projects and may have a completely different perspective than when they were only being sold in brochures and DVDs. previous videos.
Consider some truths…
1) The building is finished, but it is in the middle of a construction site, because other buildings and towers in the surrounding area will still be finished for the next two years. – Will homebuyers prefer a home here over a quieter town?
2) On print and on DVD, a 389 square foot studio apartment doesn’t convey a true sense of space, after all, the tiny graphics used to indicate beds and closets always seem to fit perfectly into a drawing, don’t they! in real life! Therefore, a properly appointed Stager/Interior Decorator is needed to remodel a studio apartment to convey a sense of comfort, space and richness to the client. An empty studio is a box and it won’t make the cut!
These are just some of the reasons why home staging is a win-win proposition for new build homes.
Getting into the Home Staging business:
Typically, a home staging business uses what is available in the house that is for sale, or has an inventory of furniture and other home accessories that they rent to a client to set up a house for the open house. .
This is exactly how Home Staging works… They come in, fix up the place and then take away the equipment that has been placed.
Now, there is no way a Home Staging business can cope with having inventory for the multitude of homes that are freshly ‘baked’ here and online. So how would a small real estate developer or interior decorating company branch out into the home staging arena?
We saved the best advice for last! – By partnering with luxury goods companies, furniture giants and home electronics here.
Consider this: one of the main reasons people buy a home in Dubai, and soon AbuDhabi, is that they are already sold on the country’s way of life.
They are sold for luxury, the environment (social and climatic) and have made the decision to want to live here. The real estate speculation phase is soon coming to an end, and thankfully, actual homeowners are showing up asking to buy property.
So for a single person looking to live in a studio apartment or a small family moving into a one-bedroom apartment, keeping in mind that space will be a compromise, organizing it with the right type of furniture and electronics is of great help. they make a decision, even more so if the project is in the middle of a construction site!
This is where a proper partnership with a furniture company can mean a win-win situation for the furniture company, the home buyer, and the Home Staging company. People will most likely go for the (discounted) furniture and interior package with their new apartment.
This would definitely be true for larger villas and duplex apartments where money is not an objective for the home buyer and a (R)(Tm) Jacuzzi and private outdoor sauna room could make all the difference by bridging the gap. between a Villa by the sea or a villa with a desert landscape.
Home Staging Company staging skills is what will bring you success!