06
Apr

Dress to Sell

In the current UAE market, home owners aiming to sell properties often find it difficult to find the right customers. As new properties come up every day and developers try hard to attract buyers with fantastic payment plans, there are multiple attractive options for buyers to choose from. For sellers, this means that both renting and selling a property takes longer than usual.

In order to stand out in this competitive marketplace, the concept of ‘dress to sell’ has proved to be effective all over the globe.

Recently, one of Kiana Furniture’s clients decided to try out ‘dress to sell’ and asked us to furnish one unit in their building. An open house was held in this furnished unit, and the response was overwhelming. The furnished unit was quickly sold. This success has given the client faith in the concept, and we are now in the process of rolling out more furnished units in a similar fashion.

Why does ‘dress to sell’ work? When we speak of people, we often say that beauty is in the eye of the beholder, and the first impression makes a lasting impact. As with a well-dressed person, this is true in the case of an apartment or villa. A good looking, well-furnished property will entice a buyer to close the deal sooner. Another reason is that, while viewing an empty property, a buyer might not be able to visualise his/her house as fully furnished. Providing a live example often helps the buyer to decide.

Moreover, everyone wants to be different from the rest. There might be a buyer looking to buy a furnished house, and the ready availability of this option in comparison with other empty units in the area would be a deal closer, too.

For older properties, ‘dress to sell’ will rejuvenate interest. A makeover need not involve extensive surgery – just a face lift will do the trick. Changes to the flooring, kitchen cabinets, ceiling lamps, wall paint and a good set of furniture will revive the property, making real estate brokers and agents look at it with completely fresh eyes.

In this way, a relatively small investment in the refurbishment of an older property, bringing it up to the current market standards, can prove to be very worthwhile and in fact, soon pay for itself.