Dear Friends,
Real estate is changing fast. In some ways, it’s getting more exciting. We hope you’re still excited about finding your dream home or closing the perfect sale. More than ever, we’re here to help.
This month, we begin a series of articles about staging your home. Staging often leads to faster sales at higher prices. Does it still make sense to stage your property right now, with fewer showings? Absolutely.
And that brings us to the next article for the month: Live Virtual Open Houses. These are scheduled online events with real estate agents presenting properties for sale via live, streaming video on platforms like ZOOM. They’re doing guided walk-throughs for potential buyers, online, in real time. Stage your home for optimal online appeal!
Finally, this month, we get you thinking about those hot summer days when you hit the beach… and do absolutely nothing. You can have a lot more of those days if you buy a property in a lake community. Check out our Neighbourhood Profile below!
As always, we look forward to talking to you about buying, staging, listing, selling, live virtual open houses, hot weather… or anything you’d like to chat about!
6708 23 AV SW, Summerside $366,800
Welcome home. Summer nights will be well enjoyed with the large yard that this corner lot provides. Entertain on a large deck (w/ gas for the bbq), tend to the garden boxes, play a round of boccie or enjoy the view of the park to the west. Of course you can also enjoy the private lake and beach club this community offers is residents. This one has it all!
10010 93 Street NW Northwest, $949,000
Live your BEST life in this 2200 sq ft modern home on one of the best streets in the highly sought after Riverdale. From street appeal to an amazing private back yard retreat with maintenance free turf, this homes outside space is the envy of the neighborhood. A large roof top patio overlooks the park and river valley.
Good staging can help sell your home faster for a higher price! Check out these eight tips we researched on how to stage your backyard for the best return when selling.
1. Stage it so they linger
Set up your backyard and deck as you would to entertain visitors: Clean, cozy and inviting! Don’t clutter it, but keep some comfortable, stylish patio furniture in place so prospects can relax for a moment here. You want them to linger.
2. Paint!
Fresh paint on your deck and fence are going to pay dividends! Even if the new owners prefer other colours, it doesn’t matter. Brand new paint is the cleanest, most up-to-date statement you can make in your backyard. Anything else says “we’re not ready to sell.”
3. Zone it
Remove everything from your yard. Yes, everything. Next, put your best outdoor furniture and accessories back out there, but create several zones for suggestive lifestyle vignettes.
4. Grow something
Buy some plants and flowers to suit your space and get them out on display. Flowers add colour and plants -- more than anything else -- bring vitality to outdoor spaces.
5. Cover the patio
Those patio lanterns! In attached homes, you’re often staging a small patio space not a full-size yard. Optimize it for romantic sunset dinners or casual entertaining. A roof-style cover can add intimacy and define a comfortable space.
6. De-clutter the balcony
The best balconies are about the view. Don’t get in the way with too much staging. Help buyers imagine themselves relaxing on a lounge chair with a book or sharing a bottle of wine across a small table for two. If the view is amazing, show off the balcony as much as possible from inside.
7. Install new lighting
During late evening showings, your backyard can look spectacular with the right lighting. During the day, it won’t shine so bright, but brand new, contemporary lighting fixtures are still going to impress buyers and show off the yard.
8. Stage for active lifestyles
If you’re moving somewhere you can use it, buy a high-end BBQ and stage a gleaming outdoor kitchen concept with the grill, a food prep island and a bar. Or, if your ideal buyers are certain to be young families with kids, leave swings in place or set up a brand new volleyball net.
It’s a fun new way to tour multiple properties or your entire city in one afternoon!
If you’ve continued to look for a property in recent weeks, you’ve probably self-toured some homes in 360 degrees and watched some agent-guided video walk-throughs. Neither of these qualifies as a Live Virtual Open House. Both, however, can be included as part of the event (which is the operative word).
Live Virtual Open Houses are scheduled events. They start at specific times. They can be added to -- and launched from – your online calendar. They get streamed via ZOOM (or another platform) and feature a host who is live on location. The host presents the property to multiple remote viewers whose cameras are usually off and mics muted. This is so everyone sees only the host and the home. Viewers ask questions via Chat. The host walks through the home, answers questions and can cut to slideshows and video segments.
Live Virtual Open Houses are brand new to most of us, although they’ve been used to sell luxury properties across oceans and continents for a few years. Who knows what they’ll look like in the months to come!
Paddle boarding and kayaking are popular summer sports. You’ll see people enjoying both if you visit Summerside, an active, lakeside community located east of Highway 2 in Southeast Edmonton.
Residents here live in a resort-style environment right inside the city. They can rent boats or play tennis and volleyball at the private Summerside Beach Club. Or they can simply lounge on the beach. Those lucky enough to have landed waterfront properties can sit on their docks with their feet in the water.
This idyllic setting also features good access to the South Edmonton Common, with big box retail and movie theatres. Highway 2 is less than a minute away, taking you quickly to the Edmonton International Airport, then south to Red Deer and Calgary.
There are also great amenities and businesses very close to the community. Adjacent, you’ll find a supermarket, brew pubs, many small businesses, car and motorcycle dealerships. Most properties in Summerside are detached single family homes. There are also nice apartment- and townhome-style condos.
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