Boosting the Potential For a Sale

"An empty house leads to a less profitable and slower sale," says Knox Design's Justine Knox, an interior designer specialising in "home staging" – the process of enhancing the appearance of a property for sale or rent, to ensure maximum appeal to prospective purchasers/tenants.

A recent example of her specialist work is a substantial seven-bedroom Bunyola country house, now on the market. The owner had bought the property to modernise and sell on, and Justine was commissioned to furnish, accessorise and equip the substantial home,

"It would be ready for a buyer literally to kick off their shoes and start living the dream."

Her project began at the optimum time: renovations were almost completed and the decorators were waiting to be given a colour scheme. First stage was a walk-through of the property and lengthy discussions with the owner, investor Kevin Stevens, to determine the budget and enable Justine to put together an inventory. The property has 7 bedrooms, 7 bathrooms, 3 lounges, 2 kitchens, one formal dining room, bar, gymnasium, covered terrace and 2 open terraces.

The owner had inherited some items of furniture with the house, and it was agreed to re-vamp these and incorporate them into the design. "This helped to start visualising the style that would run throughout the villa," says Justine.

A four-poster bed was lacquered white to give it a modern, unique feel; dining table and chairs were also lacquered and re-upholstered. "Although this process isn't cheap when done professionally, it costs less than buying new and you often end up with a unique piece. If it's a quality item in reasonably good condition, I'd highly recommend giving it a new lease of life."

The client stayed personally detached from the project as much as possible; Justine says it's crucial to have an impersonal, objective attitude during the process in order to achieve the end goal.

"It was a brave and difficult move for my client to agree to let me paint the front door in a lovely glossy black," admits Justine, describing the first step towards her vision. She strongly believes in maintaining harmony throughout the main living areas, and the already-furnished kitchen (black and white) inspired her to use black as the dramatic colour. "A large expanse of white can look harsh and cold, so we chose oyster as the contrast for walls and floors only, using white on the woodwork."

Glass chandeliers, lacquer, leather, crystals, velvet and brocade were chosen in black, and walls were stuccoed in near-black:

"I knew that this majestic house could take it and still feel light and airy," she says.

Black and white was the obvious choice for the dining room, which connects directly with the kitchen. Pelmets were re-vamped and sheer curtains with a smart black and beige stripe added for softness. "Stunning chrome and glass lights added a touch of drama, along with our fantastic recycled table and chairs."

The main TV room was made more casual by introducing pistachio green as the accent colour and adding modern furniture. "We kept the bookcase minimalist, adding only white and chrome accessories and leaving enough space for the potential buyer to imagine their own belongings fitting in."

In the main formal lounge, the two large sofas could easily have looked lost, so Justine defined the space to include a practical office area and reading corner.

Upstairs bedrooms were kept quite neutral "but glammed up with enormous leather headboards, classy furniture, lamps and silk curtains," explains Justine. Because the rooms are large, she left plenty of space for the next owner to put their own stamp on them.

The house has a new wing, comprising lounge, 2 bedrooms and bathrooms and a long internal passage. "Here we kept to a modern white fresh backdrop with fun accents of colour: green, blue, pink and purple were all used individually and tied together using the art that was designed to turn the internal passage into a gallery."

Exterior furniture was chosen for its practical low maintenance and stylish look, and in black to tie in with the interior colour scheme.

"The lack of cushions on the sun beds and dining chairs means that it looks chic at all times, and nothing store on a rainy day."

The covered terrace was painted for a fresh feel and existing sofas re-upholstered. Scatter cushions and accessories were chosen to connect the exterior and interior schemes, and billowy curtains added to give a sense of privacy and diffuse strong sunlight.

The result of Justine Knox's "home staging" is stunning: a mixture of old and new, textures and contrasts, that work in harmony. In a property market with plenty of buyer choice, it certainly has a competitive edge.

Justine's tips for property vendors:

• Understand who your buyer will be
• Give them some wow factors to remember
• Show a five-star lifestyle
• Make it easy for them to see ALL functional areas of your property
• Give them a home they can move into immediately
• Arrange furniture to allow freedom of movement from one space to another
• Have a focal point in each room
• Accessorise without cluttering
• De-personalise, and display nothing which could be offensive

About the Author

Dr. Helen Cummins is the Editor of abcMallorca Magazine a high quality guide to mallorca printed in three languages including informative Articles about Mallorca, up to date Events Guide and a Business Directory.

You can visit the abcMallorca website to read the original article about Boosting the Potential For a Sale or related articles about properties in Mallorca.

Blue Chip Property Culture Aids Mallorcas Recovery

Even if we've seen the worst of the global downturn as summer comes to an end, there's still the little matter of a glut of unsold properties. The good news is that maintaining the crucial balance between supply and demand has always been part of Mallorca's blue-chip property culture – a seal of quality in difficult times.

"One of Mallorca's big attractions is undoubtedly that local government severely restricts any new developments", agrees Martie Quick, Director of the Engel & Völkers office in Santa Ponça.

"The aim is to maintain a sustainable balance between the island and its population", Quick told ABC Mallorca, "and looking at the controlled fashion in which development has taken place over the years, it certainly works."

Not so on the Spanish mainland, however, where there's still an enormous backlog this Autumn of more than one million newly built homes – 1,050,000 to be exact – according to a recent report from the real estate business school, Instituto de Práctica Empresarial (IPE), based in Madrid.

The picture painted by the Instituto report is not a pretty one:

• Andalucia and the area around Valencia are identified as the two regions worst affected
• It's hard to believe, but between them they account for a massive 40 percent of all the unsold new property in the country
• Valencia is hardest hit, with as many as 155,185 new properties languishing unsold along the coast
• And even inland regions such as Extremadura – marketed to foreigners just a few years ago as "the real Spain" – have not escaped unscathed, with an estimated 8,000 new homes waiting there for cash-rich buyers

But a good many of those pristine apartments and villas are likely to be waiting patiently for another two or three years at least.

Although there are initial signs that the European market – and Spain with it – is in the process of bottoming out, there's also considerable research which argues that a real recovery won't begin until 2012.

Take for instance,

BBVA, Spain's second-largest bank, which suggested recently that property prices will drop 10 percent this year and another 12 percent in 2010

– bringing the total fall, from the peak to the bottom of the market, which it anticipates in 2012, to as much as 30 percent.

Interestingly, BBVA puts the glut of new homes even higher than the IPE – at around 1.2 million properties currently, and expected to rise to 1.5 million by the start of next year.

Next in the line of pessimists comes Citigroup, which issued a new report on the European property market recently, forecasting that the slump in Spain will last another five or six years – hitting this country harder than the rest of Europe because the boom was more extreme here.

And what about this for a sign of the times: a new property investors' club called Circulo Financiero Internacional (CFI) has started bus tours of distressed real estate along the Costa del Sol – something that has been seen up to now only in the United States.

A spokesman for the company confirmed that the first tour took place in May, attracted German, Russian and some Spanish buyers, and visited new developments in Marbella, Benehavis and Estepona. He said that discounts of between 20 and 40 percent were quite common, with some even as high as 50 percent.

"The market is stagnating and owners need to shift these properties", he said simply. "In some cases they've been built and paid for, in others they're in danger of or in the process of being repossessed, and some already belong to the banks."

So, not for the first time, the good news for Mallorca is that it's surrounded by water – with a self-contained market which leaves the mainland looking not alone unattractive, but unreliable.

And it's the reliability of the Mallorca market which appears already to be paying dividends – with the first green shoots of recovery being detected well ahead of most of the rest of Europe.

"There is a market once again", declares Michael Cunnington of MJC Associates, who work with Savills.

"The winter months were tough", he admitted to ABC Mallorca, "but happily we've been seeing a definite revival of interest. And needless to say, a good many of those prospective buyers are looking for opportunities, for a ‘good deal'."

Martie Quick of Engel & Völkers believes its Mallorca's easy accessibility from northern Europe which continues to underpin its attractiveness to foreign buyers, particularly Germans, British and Scandinavians.

"Our location here in the heart of the Mediterranean means we're only two hours' flying time from most European cities,

and nowadays flights can be found all year round. That's hugely important."

Happily, despite the economic climate, says Quick, the Spanish Airports Authority (AENA), announced in March that it will invest a total of €352 million in the three Balearic Island airports – of which a substantial €240 million will be spent on improved facilities for Mallorca's airport between now and 2012.

And that's not all, he points out. The local government has already pledged €4 million to be spent on roads, tunnels and better rail links. A new €23 million jetty is planned for Palma's West Quay, allowing "mega" cruise ships to dock for the first time. And more than €120 million is currently being invested in the new Congress Centre, which is scheduled to open in 2011.

"In my opinion, Mallorca's enduring popularity stems from the fact that it manages successfully to combine this sophisticated infrastructure and these modern facilities with its natural beauty, authentic villages and traditional culture.

"At the same time it manages to be safe and secure for families and for celebrities. Even the Spanish royal family has a summer residence on the island. Nowadays that type of all-round package is increasingly rare. It's what more and more people are going to be looking for in the future."

About the Author

Dr. Helen Cummins is the Editor of abcMallorca Magazine a high quality guide to mallorca printed in three languages including informative Articles about Mallorca, up to date Events Guide and a Business Directory.

You can visit the abcMallorca website to read the original article about Blue Chip Property Culture Aids Mallorcas Recovery or related articles about properties in Mallorca.