Costco Connection - January 2007

for your home

CONTINUED FROM PAGE 58

“as much as I can of what the homeowner already has.”

A worthwhile investment

In the slumping real estate market, buyers no longer are pulling the trigger on quick sales and bidding up home prices. Instead, people are patiently waiting for sellers to drop their asking price.

“If you don’t want to be sitting on the market for six months,” Pinsker-Brown explains, “you need to create a sense of urgency with the buyer that says, ‘If I love this place, there are other people who are going to want it too.’ In this market, it’s crucial because there is so much inventory.”

Schwarz agrees, pointing out that real estate agents in a slow market are quick to suggest dropping a home’s asking price. A 5 percent price reduction on a $500,000 house slices a home seller’s profit by $25,000, an amount many times the cost of home staging.

“The investment of staging your home is far less than a price reduction on your home,” Schwarz says. C

WAREHOUSE ONLY

Andrea Downing Peck, a freelance writer in Bainbridge Island, Washington, writes on a variety of topics including travel, real estate and military-related issues.