Home "Staging" Helps Sell Homes Across Delaware Valley
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) - The slightly lived-in look is helping to sell homes across the Philadelphia area.
Amanda Alligood (at left in photo) is the owner of Sunflower Creations, a Philadelphia-based home "staging" and interior redesign company. I caught up with her as she was adding the final touches to a newly constructed, 2,000-square-foot, three-bedroom home about to go on sale in the 1600 block of South Fifth Street in South Philadelphia.
"You want to evoke emotion, you know, you want a feeling," she explains.
So what does she bring into a bare home in order to make it more appealing to potential purchasers?
"Everything from art to accessories -- chairs, couches, rugs, curtains -- basically like you are moving into the house. I set it up like somebody lives here, minus all their personal clutter," she says.
John Farina (at right in photo) is with US Construction Inc., located in the 200 block of South Street in South Philadelphia. The company designs, builds, and does general contracting. John hired Amanda to stage the property.
"It adds a significant interest from buyers, because now they have a vision and they can see themselves living in here," he says.
It all depends on the job, but to stage a typical city home, Alligood says it will cost between $1,200 and $2,000 on average to keep the rented home furnishings in place for three to four months.
Reported by John McDevitt, KYW Newsradio 1060.
