Having seen the work of top long time franchisees in other markets, and understanding the high standards they keep, we are truly honored to be counted in their company and are proud to see Showhomes Park City spotlighted on the national level. We look forward to further raising the bar of excellence in design and staging here in Park City in 2010!

Trying to sell a vacant house adds obstacles and depresses the sales price, says Showhomes, a nationally franchised home staging company. Showhomes uses live-in home stagers to lower the cost of staging and produce faster home sales. Take a look at its top five reasons why selling a vacant house is often a mistake in today’s market:

1. People don’t simply buy houses; they buy the next chapter of their lives.

This is an emotional experience and emotion influences what people buy and how much they will pay. Vacant houses are devoid of life, and the chance to make an emotional connection is lost.

2. Vacancy distracts buyers from looking at the house itself.
They wonder: “Is this a divorce? Why did they move out? Are they selling because they have money problems? Is this home hard to sell?” They’ll make a low-ball offer, thinking the owner is desperate.

3. When a house is vacant, buyers focus on flaws.
They look at nail holes, carpet wear and gaps in the molding rather than how the space works. In a vacant house, floors, walls and ceilings are all buyers see. This drives the price down.

4. People can’t visualize how furniture fits.
An empty bedroom might appear awkward or a living room might seem cavernous. Some spaces might confuse buyers because a use is not obvious. Buyers are derailed and move on to the next house.

5. Vacant houses don’t show as well as staged and occupied homes.
Without people, even the best home quickly looks and smells vacant. Dust settles, leaves scatter, and stale smell spreads. These cues often shorten the showing time, leading to fewer sales.

“Home owners don’t realize how much harder a vacant home is to sell. In today’s market, you have to win the beauty contest,” says Thomas Scott, VP of Marketing at Showhomes. “Vacant houses simply underperform staged homes and the increased sales price provides an excellent return on what staging costs. Choosing to stage your home should be an easy decision in today’s market.”

Park City, UT (Grassroots Newswire) March 15, 2010 – Last year was a bleak year for business.

But, one national home staging company, Showhomes, which has a business that serves the Park City area, bucked the downward trend and posted sizable gains in the 2010 report.

The national company moved up from the No. 13 to the No. 6 spot in the exclusive Franchise Top 50 ranking and ranked No. 3 in the real estate franchise category. Showhomes placed behind real estate category leader Sotheby’s and ahead of Coldwell Banker for the second year in a row.

“What’s great about our parent company is that they see the down market as an opportunity to grow and provide valuable services,” said Katja Cain, franchise owner for Showhomes – Park City. “We are very proud of our company’s accomplishments, which have allowed us to thrive in today’s harsh real estate market.”

Franchised businesses, which typically outperform independent small businesses, were not immune to the downward pressure on businesses in 2009. The Franchise Business Review (FBR), which surveys individual franchise owners in franchise systems all over the country, reported that overall satisfaction scores dropped from the previous year.

Kyle Stites, FBR marketing manager, said many of the 500 franchises surveyed are struggling in the down economy, so Showhomes stands out among the rest. “This is an outstanding showing for Showhomes,” Stites said. “They’ve earned some bragging rights.”

Of the 500 franchise companies surveyed, only 133 made FBR’s list of winners and only a handful placed as high as Showhomes.

Stites sees a pattern among franchises on the rise. “The best franchises communicate well,” she said. ”They beat the competition by reaching out to franchisees, and by continually striving to get better through innovation. They are honest with themselves and embrace anything they can to continue to get better.”

Franchise Business Review, a New Hampshire-based franchise market research firm, is the only organization that publishes a rankings based on overall satisfaction of franchise owners.

“We’re extremely proud of Showhomes rankings, especially since Franchise Business Review has such a strong emphasis on performing businesses,” said Bert Lyles, CEO of Showhomes. “We believe we have positioned our franchisees to best help the huge number of stressed home owners in today’s market and our results helping them beat market conditions and sell homes today is proof of our success.”

For more information about Showhomes – Park City, please contact Katja Cain at 801-647-5399.

About Showhomes
Showhomes is a home staging business with a twist: the company uses live-in caretakers to manage vacant homes while they are on the market for sale and offset a home owner’s expense to stage a home. The innovative marketing strategy has been producing results since 1986 and the company has helped over 25,000 homeowners sell vacant houses valued at over $8 billion.  For franchise opportunities and more information, please visit www.showhomes.com and www.showhomesfranchise.com.

Ingredients

• 1 Cup Butter
• 3/4 Cup White Sugar
• 3/4 Cup Brown Sugar
• 2 Eggs
• 2 tsp Vanilla
• 2 1/4 Cup Flour
• 3/4 tsp Salt
• 1 tsp Baking Soda
• 2 Cups Oatmeal
• 1 Bag Chocolate Chips (Semi-Sweet Belgian)

Directions

Preheat oven to 375º

In microwave, soften butter in a large glass mixing bowl.
(only soften, do not liquify. the warmer the butter, the flatter the cookies.)

Mix in white and brown sugar
Add eggs and continue mixing.
Add the flour/salt/baking soda mixture until well combined.
Add oatmeal
(at this point the mixer may clog and it may be nescessary to continue mixing by hand)
Mix in chocolate chips
(easiest if you mix in by hand)

Using a 1 1/2 inch cookie baller (or by hand of course) place balls on greased cookie sheet and bake for 7 minutes @ 375º. Remove from oven and leave on cookie sheet 2 additional minutes before moving to cooling rack.

Pour a big glass of milk and enjoy with friends.

Share

We’d love to hear your cookie stories! If you’ve tweaked the recipe or have an experience to share, please leave us a comment.

Showhomes, a nationally franchised home staging company with offices in 60 markets, polled 500 Realtors and brokers from all over the country at the National Association of Realtors Expo recently in San Diego. The survey uncovered some startling Realtor feedback about the value of home staging in today’s market:

96% believed buyers react better to fully staged homes than vacant ones.
94% believed vacant homes take longer to sell than fully staged homes
94% believed vacant homes sell for less money than fully staged homes

The majority of Realtors surveyed agreed that vacant homes take twice as long to sell and sell for at least 15% less than a fully staged home.

“Home staging has become a necessity,” said Thomas Scott, VP of operations for Showhomes. “These numbers say it loud and clear. The home staging industry is at a tipping point. If you want sell a home quickly and for top dollar, there’s no other reasonable choice. In today’s market, if a home is not staged, it does not sell.”

Shell Brodnax, president and CEO of Real Estate Staging Association, said she’s not surprised by Showhomes’ findings.

“Home staging provides economic stability to real estate by leveraging a property’s appeal to buyers,” Brodnax said. “Sellers get the most they can for their property and buyers benefit from a move-in ready property.”

“Home stagers are doing a great job at getting the word out about the effectiveness of staging,” Brodnax added. “The home staging industry will continue to add to the recovery of the real estate industry.”

Statistics provided by RESA show staged properties consistently spend 78 percent less time on the market.

“The decade ahead is a new era for home staging,” Scott said. “If your Realtor doesn’t educate you on how much you stand to lose by not staging your house, then they are doing you a disservice.”

It’s fantastic to see these types of articles finally making big news. Real estate is in an up-swing and recovering at a steady pace. Would-be home buyers sitting on the proverbial fence waiting for the “bottom” to arrive to take advantage of the soft real estate market have likely missed it altogether. With 4 solid months of momentum, the fall season which has been strong for Park City in years past is breezing in with a refreshing  air of optimism this year.

You can read the entire article on CNN’s website HERE.

In the back of our minds, we all know that a vacant home can become a target to vandals, squatters and the like. What we often overlook are the not so obvious issues that can arise when a home sits vacant for an extended period of time. Besides the obvious dust bunnies, cobwebs and musty “empty house” smell, more serious issues can arise that gone unattended can quickly become a deterrent to prospective buyers.

A recent LA Times article warns of the many pitfalls that an unoccupied home may pose for a would-be buyer.

No matter how large or small or expensive the house, every plumbing fixture and appliance has at least one valve, gasket or hose that can dry out if the item in question is not in use, Kuhn says. That causes gaps that can result in leaks or even floods when a new owner moves in.

The article also warns about mold that can grow in a sealed up home, not just between the walls, but out in the open as well. The article touches on some even more disturbing issues such as squatters and rodents…

Insects, rodents and small animals such as raccoons can cause as much or even more damage. Even when vermin make themselves at home for a relatively short period, they can leave fleas behind and their droppings can cause unsanitary conditions.

As if we needed any more compelling arguments for Managed Staging.

You can read the entire article HERE.

My name is Drew, the Creative Director here at Showhomes Park City and I’m excited to announce the launch our official blog. I look forward to providing you with information on homes we are staging here in the Park City / Salt Lake City areas, as well as available homes, information about our company and any other goodies I feel compelled to throw into the mix along the way.

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