Downtown Lofts HAVE to look good!

 

So the years were 2004-5.   We had just started our own real estate company and we were idealists.   We had an opportunity to list a loft, which led to a lot of buyers and noticed one thing:   Downtown listings weren't cared for.  

In those days, there were very very few resale listings, but what we did see wasn't good.  We'd see listings vacant, dirty, dark, lights burned out, no flyers, or flyers that were out of date.   Sometimes the vacant loft would smell like sewer gas because no one came by to check on things and fill up the p-traps with water.   As a new agent, I couldn't image not caring for listings better. For one reason or another, the job of making a listing desirable wasn't getting done. 

Fast forward 16 years.   Out with a buyer and looking at lofts and finding the same problem as 2005.   One after another, lofts smelled like sewer gas, vacant, dirty and burned out bulbs.   How can anyone expect a buyer to get excited about that?!?

Selling downtown has been a challenge, especially during the COVID era.  If the product isn't saleable, it can't all be blamed on novel coronavirus.    

Despite challenges to that downtown in the past few years, there's great stuff too.   The main thing to remember is that the inside of the space is what's being sold, so it can't be left looking and smelling like garbage (or worse).   Loft owners and their Realtors have to put their proverbial best foot forward.   

A home buyer anywhere is trying to imagine their prospective life when visiting a home for sale.   If a buyer can't see themselves living someplace, they won't buy.

As 2021 heads into the summer it's going to be exciting seeing downtown come back to life, and hopefully new leadership will reinvigorate local government and stimulate interest in urban living.  Downtown loft owners and Realtors need to do their part too.

New Market, Old Rules Apply

Buyer's season has really begun here in Dowtown St Louis. Lofts are getting scooped up, buyer's are enamored, and new residents are heading in. The only drag is that prices are still more "affordable" than sellers would like.

One observation I've made in the past few years is that many sellers, due to financial or other reasons, are cutting corners in the sales process. Because of expected losses or other scenarios, some lofts aren't left in showing condition. They aren't staged, touched up or re-painted, have anchors left in drywall, and have belongings left out. Some of the units are rented, and the tenants leave the unit in horrible shape too.

The bottom line, is that just because the market isn't as lucrative for sellers, all the same rules apply.

In order to attract and capture the buyer, a seller MUST consider what they are competing against and try to put their best foot forward. Homes that aren't prepared for showings often times leave the buyer in a position where they are examining walls and looking for defects, as opposed to an inviting, well staged home where prospective buyers are able to feel comfortable and make that buying decision.

A very good article on preparing your home is here. Also, a Realtor should be a good reference as well.

As we get ready for a brisk spring season in Downtown, those truly wanting to sell have to remember that the buyer is still in charge.