It looks like staging is everywhere today, a slap in the face to Property Grunt and those who think the whole practice is just common sense and doesn't deserve its own name or profession. First we had Bob and Bonnie, of course, but the Post also gets in on the action, providing a primer on the business of dressing for-sale apartments up. In the article, stager Jill Vegas claims that she spends an average of $6,000 on one-bedroom apartments, which usually sell between the asking price and 5% over (her personal best is 10% over the asking price).
And seemingly out of nowhere, all-star Elliman broker Rob Gross dropped us an email explaining how staging helped him get three full-price offers in just three days on this Tribeca loft at 47 Walker Street (shown at right):
The owners have lived there for over fifteen years, and though the space had lots of character, it needed some serious staging. We started by removing the 40 or so Madonna icons on the west wall (the shicksa, not the Kabala/yoga/neo-brit one) that had a tourist shop in Trestevare feel, deforested the freakishly large banana plants that ran amok like pod people throughout the space and turned the bathroom from its Hopi sweat lodge appeal to something a bit more akin to the handicap restroom on the Sloatsburg NYS Thruway stop, minus the automated crapper cover. The loft looks great, still has its cool groovy real loft vibe, but is a lot easier to see and feel.So there you have it. And thus, a new art school major was born.
· Stage Right [NYPost]
· Listing: 47 Walker Street, Apt. 3A [Elliman]