Beyond White Walls and Empty Rooms

The challenges of selling a vacant home are especially relevant today. It's taking longer to sell homes, and foreclosures across the country have hit record levels. These are two reasons why, according to the U.S. Census Bureau, there were 18.6 million U.S. homes that were unoccupied during the second quarter of this year. That was a record, and up 6.9 percent from the same period last year.

Bob Callis, with the Census Bureau, added that about 14.2 percent of all housing units in the United States were vacant last month.

There are several steps sellers can take to help move their vacant homes. Susan Mekenney, an agent with Re/Max Allegiance in Alexandria, said it's most important for sellers to keep their houses "squeaky clean." Owners should add a fresh coat of paint before putting their empty homes on the market, she said.

"You can't hide anything behind the furniture and wall hangings," Mekenney said. "If nothing is in the home, the only things you can see are the walls. If the walls are dirty, or if the paint is old and faded, that's what the eyes will focus on."

Everything in an empty home must be in working order, she added. If the hardwood floors are scuffed, potential buyers will notice immediately. If a long crack runs along the ceiling, shoppers will have nothing to distract them from it.

These flaws, which people might overlook in a house filled with furniture and artwork, suddenly became serious problems in the eyes of potential buyers.

"The sellers are better off making all repairs, cosmetic, mechanical, all of them," Mekenney said. "If not, the buyers will beat that seller up. It's just that kind of market. In a vacant house, you can't hide sins. They jump right out at you."

This is why Monica Murphy, owner of Preferred Staging in Alexandria, recommends that homeowners hire someone like her. Stagers argue that hiring them, which can cost thousands of dollars for a big job, is cost-effective because it helps a house sell more quickly, for more money. Murphy says that homes she works on sell in an average of six weeks.

By putting furniture in an empty room, sellers do two things, Murphy said: They show buyers how much furniture a room can hold. They also highlight a workable layout, showcasing exactly how, for instance, a large couch, entertainment center and love seat can fit in a living room that may have seemed too small without those pieces strategically arranged.

"To really capture a sale, buyers need to be able to mentally move into the home they are considering," Murphy said. "When you stage a vacant home, you're providing an example for a buyer. The worst thing you can do is make your potential buyer guess. You need to do the work for them."

Not all real estate agents agree that staging is always best.

For instance, Chuck Burger, an agent with Coldwell Banker Residential Brokerage's Capitol Hill office, said the market in the District has some quirks that reduce the need for staging, even in empty homes.