2019 was not a great year for the Hong Kong property market and, so far, 2020 is set to be even worse with the impact of CoronaVirus.
Yet, we just helped to stage and sell an apartment in Pok Fu Lam in just 4 days. There is hope and we think there has never been a better time for property staging.
What is Property Staging?
In the US, UK and Australia, Property Staging is a proven business model with 28% of sellers’ agents staging all their properties. It’s now time for Hong Kong to catch up and in the last 2 years, THS has seen a sharp increase in requests for staging services.
Home staging is the process of preparing a property for sale or lease with select pieces of furniture and decor. The goal of staging an otherwise empty space in this way is to help potential buyers or renters easily imagine themselves living there. By creating a feeling of ‘home’ with clever styling details, property stagers are able to sell homes for more with less time on the market.
According to the US National Association of Realtors, for every $100 invested in staging, the potential return is $400. “A staged home will sell for 17% more on average than a non-staged home, and 95% of staged homes sell in 11 days or less. That is statistically 87% faster than non-staged homes.”
Here is how staging can help sell property in 2020:
Going Virtual
The owner of this rented apartment in Regent Palisades, Pok Fu Lam called in The Home Stylist to help sell the property while it was still being rented. As the unit was still occupied when we first came on board, we began by creating digital renderings of the property and ‘staging’ them virtually.
Digital rendering is a cost-effective way to showcase the potential of a property and provides plenty of marketing opportunities too.
Once the property was staged, we were able to display the digital renderings to show the versatility of the space.
For viewings, the large outdoor rooftop space was left empty but our detailed digital rendering helped to give potential buyers ideas of how this space could be used in the future. We were able to place the digital rendering on an easel at the bottom of the staircase leading to the rooftop.
We also showed how the staged study could also be a child’s bedroom, displaying the digital rendering of the same room as a child’s bedroom in an A4 frame on the desk.
Accessories Staging
For this apartment, we kept the furniture to a minimum, with plenty of neutral tones. We wanted to give the space a New York loft vibe. We then accessorised with accents of colour.
This is our key skill – we can take a lovely neutral palette and give it life with colour highlights to suit the space. We can then change the look each time with our own collection of accessories, including Bragg and Co lamps and artwork. Many of these items are from our Hero Collection.
For this living space, we added a palette of blues to help the central staircase become a feature rather than a distraction, which brings us to our next point.
Staging for difficult features
Many fantastic properties have that one feature that might put people off, or at least have a very distinct love/hate reaction. Clever staging helps to minimise the impact of these features, helping people look past them and rather take in the overall feel of the space.
As we’ve mentioned, in the living room this was the blue staircase. For the digital rendering, we were able to show the staircase with railings rather than the glass.
When we staged, we helped the staircase blend into the rest of the room with matching decor elsewhere. We were able to choose artwork that included similar shades to help blend the staircase into the scheme. So now it ‘fits’ rather than stands out as a problem.
The other problem in this apartment are the relatively small second and third bedrooms. By creating a minimal home office in one we helped to show prospective buyers how best to use the smaller rooms. Then, by adding the framed bedroom rendering, we were able to demonstrate the versatility in small spaces.
Room Zoning with Staged Furniture
Another key staging trick is to use furniture to create ‘zones’. Most Hong Kong apartments are open-plan and it can be difficult for people to understand how space can be used. We maximise space and create specific ‘zones’ with cleverly placed furniture.
The living room/dining room almost had too much space. So, we placed the grey velvet love seat in an empty corner to create a new ‘zone’ and give this dead space a cosy feel. This is now a lovely spot to sit and read with a cup of coffee!
Staging Gets Results
As soon as the new photos of the stage property went online, Okay had over ten viewings a day when previously they’d had 1 or 2. In today’s very challenging market, this is amazing.
Within 4 days, the apartment was sold.
This particular Hong Kong staging project is a real showcase of several different services we offer working towards a sale. From digital marketing to detailed staging, all the ideas have been about maximising the effect of staging for both the agent, the owner and the buyer.
View more of this property here or browse our Staging Portfolio for more examples of how staging sells homes.
