Press & Media

Absolutely Magazine | April edition

DRESS TO SELL

In the current economic climate people are looking to optimise on their property and get the best price they possibly can.  ‘Staging’ a property for sale can be the difference between evoking a desirable home and missing out on that all important first impression.  

David Kirkup, Branch Manager at aspire’s Clapham South office, tells us why you should not leave selling your vacant property to chance:

“When you show people round an empty property the first thing they do is walk to the window and look outside.  If a property is well presented and furnished tastefully, right down to the finishing touches of lamps and cushions, it sells so much quicker than if it was simply presented as an empty shell.  Furnishing a property helps potential buyers to figure out the purpose of a particular room and allows them to imagine where their belongings might fit in.  In vacant properties, buyers tend to focus on every imperfection.

“We recently had an empty house on the market for a couple of months in Narbonne Avenue and it was not attracting the level of interest it deserved.  Once it was furnished to a tasteful and high standard – using neutral colour schemes for the furniture and providing colour in the accessories - it attracted a lot more activity and subsequently sold within a matter of weeks.

For this particular ‘ makeover’  aspire used ARP Interiors, a company who help create a space buyers want to live in.  Founder, Alexa Vere Nicoll comments: “When we work on a project such as Narbonne Avenue we try to create a calm and attractive environment.  We want potential buyers to remember the property and not the furniture and, most importantly, we want them to have a good feeling when they walk away.”