Janie and John's July Real Estate Newsletter

Real Estate Insights

July 2024
A quick 6 minute read

The Importance of Staging

One of the first rules of real estate is - If you want top dollar for your home, it absolutely, positively must look its very best. In last month's newsletter we talked about first impressions and the importance of inviting front landscaping. Of equal or greater importance is how a home presents itself when you step inside. This is where staging helps a home shine.

Quick true/false quiz:
1. Staging makes a home look smaller.
2. Most people can easily visualize how an empty home could look.

It may come as a surprise that the answer to both questions is false!  A well staged room looks bigger than if empty. Furthermore, the presence of staging unburdens prospective buyers from trying to figure out just how a room might be configured and move straight to visualizing themselves living in that space. Bedrooms offer the perfect example of this. An empty 12'x12' bedroom may feel small to most, but add a bed, a couple of night stands and sitting area or dresser, and the room all of a sudden feels well proportioned, enabling prospective buyers to start discussing what art to put on the walls vs. debating about where a bed might go.

Good staging, of course, does more than just the above. Good staging also gives the eye a place to focus; it gives each room a purpose and helps a home look clean and organized. It may even help with the flow from one room to the next and add coherence through subtle consistencies and transitions. And of paramount importance, staging makes online photos and videos of a home shine whereas pictures of empty homes leave you wondering exactly what you are looking at. Staging is an art form that our stager/designer has mastered.

Generally speaking, we always recommend that our sellers stage their homes whenever possible/practical. For vacant homes, this is easy - and we do all of the legwork. But even for occupied homes, we work with the seller to stage using their own furniture or with a hybrid approach.

And to answer that nagging question, no, the vast majority of people don't live in a home that looks like it is staged (except for maybe my parents after my brother and I moved out!), but that isn't the point. The point of staging is to easily allow a prospective buyer to mentally and emotionally "move in" even before an offer to purchase is contemplated.

Construction Lessons - Part 2

In our May newsletter article, "Lessons Learned During Construction," we provided a window into our 720sf home addition and some of early surprises and lessons we learned. Now that we are around the half way point, we have a whole new batch of insights to share.

But first, you might be asking what constitutes the half way point? As the picture shows, we have a plywood roof and exterior walls, interior framing, and windows installed. We have been confirming the locations for electrical outlets, light switches, and recessed LED lights. And yesterday we made a somewhat urgent trip to pick out bathroom fixtures so that the plumbing work can start. Whew!

As for the additional lessons and insights, we now know:

Finding the right tiles, fixtures, cabinets and flooring can be hard - We have looked at a lot of these "finishes" both in showrooms and online, and it is surpising how hard it is to find finishes we like. And then it has to be available. Our bath tiles, for example, were made in Spain and shipped from Malta - which was cheaper than buying the identical product domestically despite the hefty shipping costs.
Construction takes a lot of space - I initially questioned why we had to put up tree protection for a tree that was nowhere close to the construction area. I now know that wood/materials storage, work areas, waste storage and the like take up about as much room as the addition itself. Good thing we planned to redo the backyard landscaping anyway!
On-the-fly changes are normal - Even with our highly experienced architect and extensive personal experience, the plans just need tweaking sometimes. For example, the slope of the waste line from our new bathroom to the sewer connection came up a little too flat necessitating that we add an ejector pump. A fast and easy change with everything dug up, but a change nonetheless. In contrast, a colleague who built new realized a little too late that his plans called for a toilet to go directly over a structural beam. Since moving the beam was not happening, they had to reconfigure the toilet location and associated plumbing. Ouch.
Construction now is even more expensive than when we signed on the dotted line - Multiple architects have recently referenced construction costs in the $1,000/sf range - and we thought our rate of ~$750/sf was painful! It does make sense when you think about it though since builders are invariably trying to project their costs 1-2 years out or more. One potential bit of good news is that lumber costs have come down recently, so maybe construction costs will moderate. Maybe.

We anticipate providing one more update at the conclusion of our construction. Stay tuned! And remember, if you are contemplating remodeling, adding on or rebuilding, we strongly urge you to consult with us early on. Over the years we have absorbed many lessons that will help maximize your ROI, speed the project along, and keep your expectations real! And we have contractor referrals.

Local Market Trends

We have access to a tremendous amount of real estate data, most of which is way more current than you read in the press. If you want to take a deeper dive into the latest numbers, start here:

San Mateo County Real Estate Report
Santa Clara County Real Estate Report

Links not working? Email jbarman@compass.com and I will send you a PDF of the same info.

Want to see the data for a specific city? Let us know and we will gladly forward that along!

Featured Listings and Sales

Active ~ Serene Setting with mesmerizing views

116 Foxwood Road, Portola Valley

3 beds, 2 baths plus office in 1,600 sq. ft.
$2,400,000

Off market ~ Beautifully updated with solar and battery

Los Trancos Woods, Portola Valley

3 beds, 2 baths, 1,620 sq. ft.
$2,500,000

lease Coming soon ~ Beautifully updated ~ huge backyard

1437 Park Avenue, San Jose

3 beds, 2 baths
$5,000/month

leased ~ meticulously updated inside and out

940 Myrtle Street, San Jose

3 beds, 3.5 baths
$5,200/month

Luxury Property Collection

Looking for a luxury property or even a brief escape from reality? Flip through our online magazine, Compass Luxury
, for some of the most exclusive listings in the United States.

Please feel free to forward this newsletter to friends and family - and remember, we are never too busy for your referrals!

Janie and John Barman

DRE #01270223 & #01281597
Realtors®
M: 650.759.1182
jbarman@compass.com
JanieandJohn.co

Compass is a real estate broker licensed by the State of California operating under multiple entities. License Numbers 01991628, 1527235, 1527365, 1356742, 1443761, 1997075, 1935359, 1961027, 1842987, 1869607, 1866771, 1527205, 1079009, 1272467. All material is intended for informational purposes only and is compiled from sources deemed reliable but is subject to errors, omissions, changes in price, condition, sale, or withdrawal without notice. No statement is made as to the accuracy of any description or measurements (including square footage). This is not intended to solicit property already listed. No financial or legal advice provided. Equal Housing Opportunity. Photos may be virtually staged or digitally enhanced and may not reflect actual property conditions.