Reality Check: Listing Photos Westchester Buyers Are Seeing  6.24.11

Right now there are just under 7600 single  residential properties on the market in  Westchester County:   4742 single family houses, 1859 coops, and 996 condos.

There are also over 200 planned Open Houses scheduled for this weekend. While the efficacy of Open Houses continues to be a hot topic, listing photos are a constant. Photos that untold pairs of buyers eyes will scour, photos that will be the 24/7 advertisement for your house.

With so much to choose from, potential buyers might give your photos mere seconds before deciding to find out more, or move on.

Being able to see your property through the eyes of a buyer is the first step to successfully preparing your house for the market. SO-as part of a continuing series, let’s look at some of the things Westchester buyers will be seeing this week:

Bubble-gum pink in a Master BR (SERIOUSLY-pastels are out of date, period, and a warmer tone would have softened the contrast of all the wood)…

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Leftover nursery color paint in the Master Bath (again, a warm neutral would be more sophisticated, while increasing the perceived value of this bathroom upgrade)

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Institutional white in a basement…kiss of death in photos.  Seems all that’s missing are some bars on the window.  Are you thinking  ‘gee, what an inviting bonus living space for the kids!’ ?

 

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More nursery blue.  And this is NOT the same house.

Blue is a cool (some would say cold) color. EXTTREMELY bad choice for rooms you want to feel warm and inviting. It is also unappetizing-food does not look good around this non-stop blue.

 

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QUICK-CLOSE YOUR EYES!

OK< now you can look again. Is there anything else you remember about this room?  Nope, me neither.  That’s a BIG  problem, when that’s what you’re trying to sell.

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The sellers probably wanted to brighten up a dark space, but they went overboard.

Efffects are hard, garish, and unflattering to most any skin tone.  Subconsciously, we stay out of rooms we don’t feel our best in.

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It’s always easier to see the mis-steps of someone else’s property, and the spirit of  these posts is one of  illumination. My job is to help you sell your house, more quickly, and for the best price. Bad, extreme or overly personal choices of paint color not only turn buyers off,  they date, and devalue a property.

TO THAT END-I repeat my offer: Claim any of these photos as your own, and I will do up to a half-day of Staging, free of charge.  REALLY.