Jennifer Youngren: in real estate, staging and pricing is the key

Jennifer Youngren, a distinguished Realtor for Coldwell Banker Landmark Group, has received several awards throughout her career. These accolades include the Sterling Society Award, Diamond Society Award, two Outstanding Performance Awards and a Customer Service Award.

The real estate market lull has not slowed Youngren down much, because her method in helping a seller succeed in a transaction is based on a dual methodology: set the stage to “wow” potential buyers and be highly competitive with the listing price.

According to Youngren, there is an important window of opportunity in which a seller can make a great first impression to other Realtors and buyers.

“The first two to three weeks is the time when you [the seller] will have the most exposure,” explained Youngren. Pictures and virtual tours of the property will be running on the Multiple Listing Service (MLS), Realtor caravans will arrive for a tour and interested buyers will follow for a peek.

This is why the first step of staging a home is very important before the ‘For Sale’ sign is raised. A home should look nice, comfortable and inviting.

“At this time in the market, in order to make your property stand out amidst so much inventory, I would advise somebody to make the best first impression that they can,” she explained.

Youngren said there are professional people who can ‘stage’ a home. “It’s very hard to be objective staging your own home,” she added. “These professional stagers come in at all different levels, using your own furnishings or adding new things to spruce things up a little bit.”

Youngren has a talent for staging as she can instinctively pull out and/or add items which add more charm to a home. For jobs needing more attention, Youngren can point her clients in the direction of capable staging hands.

Nevertheless, steps that future sellers can take to stage their home is to de-clutter, said Youngren. “You want walkways to flow so there is no confusion,” she explained.

“I sometimes mention to take out personal photos or don’t have a lot of them; you want people to walk into a home and picture themselves there,” she said. Throughout the years, she has noticed how pictures can often distract potential buyers.

For Youngren, the whole concept of staging is tied into the buyer’s senses of sight, smell and sound. With this in mind, fresh flowers and subtle fragrances provided by the aroma of incense and/or candles is always a nice touch. Soft background music is a nice addition, said Youngren.

During the fall months, it’s a great time of year to have potential buyers smell those cookies baking in the oven or beef stew cooking in the crock pot, added Youngren. Making buyers feel like they are in their future home is the goal.

Make sure the landscaping around the home looks pretty and fresh, said Youngren. “Put some color outside and clear up the weeds.”

Once a home is staged, the next step is pricing. Because inventory is high, prices must be competitive.

“You need to price a home aggressively to make things happen,” said Youngren.

To contact Jennifer Youngren, call (760) 791-5194. You may also log on to http://www.JenniferYoungren.com to view her Web page.