MARKETING
Sheila Manchester says it could play a key role in marketing property. Part of the furniture W
hat sort of year will 2011 be for property? The consensus seems to be that selling homes will remain difficult because
buyers will struggle to get a mortgage and lettings will be easy because there are so many tenants. But there is always a ‘But’. In this case, the Sales ‘But’ is the one that
says “But some people will always need or want to sell, so how can they do it?” And the Lettings ‘But’ is the one that
says “But tenants are becoming increasingly choosy when it comes to selecting a rented home”. The key to marketing in a difficult
environment is to present a property in such a way that it will capture the hearts of the first potential buyer or tenant to view it – or at least to tick lots of boxes. Chucking out the chintz and brushing
up the woodwork may not be enough; there is competition all around, so what other weapons can be primed in the battle for the buyer? That depends on the property and the
required result, but bringing in a professional furnisher/homestager may be the answer. This service used to be very ‘niche’, appropriate for posh penthouses and big budgets, where an interior designer would be drafted in to dress to impress. That part of the market continues to be big business for some, but its baby sister, the
savills
furnishing-for-all proposition, has grown up to be a very impressive player in the broad world of property. It isn’t just the furnishing companies that
have benefitted; sales and lettings agents who take an interest in additional services, have done very well indeed from faster sales, happier clients and a very welcome income stream in commissions.
ShowhouSeS In newbuild sales, it is now rare indeed to visit even a small development that doesn’t have a show house or apartment; always very cleverly furnished to fulfill the buyers’ lifestyle aspirations (and, occasionally, lets be honest, delusions of grandeur; chandeliers in the kitchen of a one bed flat in Peckham, anyone?). These showhouses are big business for
furnishers. One of the largest is David Phillips, with bases in London, Manchester and Edinburgh. They work with major developers, estate, lettings and managing agents and just about everyone else who has a requirement for furnishing. One of their largest recent tasks was to
Below: The fabulous double height large reception room was the selling point, but needed dressing to allow applicants to envisage the ways they’d use the space.
furnish more than 450 units in the Pan Peninsula development in Canary Wharf; that’s a lot of furniture. Nick Gill, CEO says, “We have the
widest product range of any specialist furniture company, with more than 1,500 items available, priced 35-40 per cent lower
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