About fifteen years ago after attempting to sell a vacant, unfurnished loft, we broke down and took a trip to IKEA to buy a basic set of furniture to stage the property. Style-wise we kept everything mostly white with some black accents, simply to help prospective buyers visually 'scale' the home.

We created an appealing living room and dining area, added some cowhide rugs and bought a Le Corbusier chaise to 'up' the look a bit. It worked! The loft sold rather swiftly after that. Later we added staging 'artwork' - framed blown-up photos that I'd personally taken that were abstracted enough to potentially be 'real' art - as we found so many blank white walls looked cold and uninspired. We re-used that suite of staging items dozens of times afterward with great success. Flash forward and today, I cannot even imagine showing an unfurnished home ever again. It would be marketing suicide, especially on the high end. Professional staging has elevated this from my IKEA-fueled days to an entirely new level where buyers (even at the $20m+ level) are askiing to buy the staged homes fully furnished.

I recall meeting with Rob Lehman about two years ago. He asked me what the one cost-distracting item was that was most critical to what we do and of course I answered STAGING. If we could stage all our listings, and offset the cost for the seller, I thought we'd have a winner.  At the time I envisioned a warehouse full of furniture, but of course that would have been unmanageable.  Of all the value-adds that we bring to the table, I truly believe that COMPASS CONCIERGE's role in providing us the ability to stage by financing the up-front cost is a game-changer for our industry. Anything that makes our role easier and takes away the stress of our clients is a certain winner.

Furnishings not only help buyers scale a property: now, professional staging creates an aspiration lifestyle too. Competing against a staged property with an unfurnished property is almost a waste of time unless deep discounting or a super-hot sellers market is a consideration.

Yesterday was EARTH DAY another great way of reminding all in the world just how important our awareness has to be in improving our environment and minimizing the negative effects we humans have on it. While I love these days of awareness, I thought I would write about it today - a day later - to emphasize how doing something for one day pales in comparrison to the effect we can have when we are aware of something - and do something about it - EVERY day of the year. So here are some simple suggestions - primarily focused on our real estate world - on how all of us can contribute to improving our planet for future generations:

1.  Avoid Plastic wherever possible. It is extremely toxic. There is enough science behind what plastic does to the environment, so even if you don't care about that landfill 'over there' know that microscopic - and not-so-microscopic - plastic particles are finding their way into our food. And you don't want to be eating plastic! Avoid plastic water bottles. They are toxic for you and the planet.

2.  Take public transportation, or try never to be alone in a car.  Not easy in out profession at all! So when you cannot do this, try to be driving a car that burns as little fossil fuel as possible, or an electric car. Shared rides and cars help too. Walking and cycling is good for you as long as you aren't completely distracted by your tech!

3.  Encourage green energy sources by subscribing to them personally and encouraging builders and homeowners to install geo-thermal, solar and other non-carbon energy into their homes.

4.  Use LED light bulbs. There are many now that emulate almost the exact light quality of an incandescent bulb and they dim well. Use 2,700K temperature bulbs. We don't have to look ugly to be responsible. Turn off lights when not needed, even in your office. Use natural light wherever possible.

5.  Avoid clothing made of fibers that aren't bio-degradable. Much of what is in your closet could possibly take decades to biodegrade. And chances are those un-natural high-tech fibers are not good for the environment.

6.  Take a look at what you throw away and cut it by half. We waste SO MUCH! Try to re-cycle everything. Compost.

7.  Try to eliminate as much unnecessary paper mail. Yes, we are agents and need to do mailings to market ourselves and our properties, but be aware of what this does to our environment. Plastic-wrapped mailings are not good for our planet.... Pay bills online.

8.  Eat local, organic food that has not been subjected to pesticides and chemicals/antibiotics. This will encourage less use of these products that are known to be ultra-harmful, especially when they make their way into our drinking water. Transporting food long distances is not great for the environment.

9.  Love that super-green lawn?  Use organic fertilizers and soils. Yes, those chemical-infused additives are very effective, but are also very harmful. Maybe plant a small vegetable or herb garden.

10.  Conserve water, especially in areas that are prone to drought. It may be as simple as not running your water non-stop while brushing your teeth! Fix leaky faucets and toilets. Collect rainwater.

11.  Insulate, insulate, insulate. Most homes are energy-inefficient because of poor sealing and inadequate insulation. Use programmable thermostats to increase efficiency.

12.  Clean your air at home with house plants. Plant trees. Eliminate artificial, toxic odors. PS: many candles emit toxins into the air.... There are organic alternatives.

13.  Buy energy-efficient appliances and use them with efficiency in mind.

14.  Buy used/existing products to avoid unnecessary waste. Used furniture is a good example.

15.  A shared living environment is GREAT for the planet, ie: apartments. Renovating an old house - and retro-fitting it for energy efficiency - is far better for the environment than tearing it down and replacing it with a new home.

Imagine if we ALL did these things EVERY day, or as much as possible!.....Let's love our planet and do our share to keep her alive!

And a very happy VALENTINE'S DAY to you! 

DID YOU KNOW? J.P. Morgan Chase moves more than $6 trillion around the world every day for corporations in its massive wholesale payments business. In trials set to start in a few months, a tiny fraction of that will happen over something called 'JPM Coin,' the digital 'cryptocurrency' token created by engineers at the bank to instantly settle payments between clients. (CNBC)

DID YOU KNOW? Signs that the Federal Reserve may be done with its yearslong campaign to raise interest rates are sending ripples through fixed-income markets, holding down interest rates for a wide swath of borrowers. Low Treasury yields are a boon for stocks because they hold down borrowing costs for companies and push some yield-seeking investors out of government bonds and into other types of assets. They also could provide a lift to the housing market. (WSJ)

DID YOU KNOW?  Airbus will cease production of its monster-sized A-380.....maybe planes are not that dis-similar to houses where jumbo-sized is also waning in demand? (WSJ)

DID YOU KNOW? Housing investments make up as much as 18% of the U.S. growth rate, so why is housing not faring as well as the robust US economy? Here are some reasons:

1. Student Debt: Home buyers 36 years old and younger comprised some 34% of the market in 2016 (NAR). Millennials are the largest customer base for mortgages, but student debt continues to weigh heavily on their personal finances with 46% having a median student loan balance of $25,000. According to a survey, 49% of home buyers said that student debt prohibited them from obtaining a loan.

2. Housing shortages: There aren’t enough houses on the market. In 2017, there were 1.25 million new homes in the country, yet the U.S. requires 1.62 million houses each year. The 370,000 shortfall puts intense upward pressure on home prices. Because of the surge in prices, home purchase sentiment has fallen - a 12% decrease in Fannie Mae’s sentiment index - home buyers aren’t as keen on purchasing a home, opting to rent instead. 

3.  Low Interest rate addiction: home buyers enjoyed super-low-interest rates for almost 10 years. New mortgages and refinancing was more affordable. Now financing has become more expensive, and home buyers are highly attuned to the increase in their payment amounts. Add in rising operating costs due to higher inflation and higher real estate taxes..... (Marketwatch)