Now that the holiday season has passed, we're receiving a lot of calls from folks who want to discuss what they need to do to prepare for a successful sale. This is a fun time of year for us, because we're helping a lot of clients come up with a clear set of steps that will help them sell for top dollar in this year's hot spring market. 

Creating value with staging and cosmetic updates

Many of our clients are preparing for their sale right now by working with our stager, Debbie Lea. In many cases Grant Priehs, one of our favorite contractors, is also a part of the collaboration. These are proving to be incredibly productive meetings. Not only are we working as a team to create a great staging plan for each property, we're also implementing the

Martin Menocal is more than a photographer; he's an artist. Martin's attention to detail and dedication to his craft are truly remarkable, which is why Martin is one of our preferred photographers. Here are just a few examples of Martin's work from some of our recent real estate listings. 

Interior photos by Martin Menocal

Exterior and outside photos

Photos are the most important part of every listing

A listing with beautiful photos receives more looks and clicks online, which leads to more requests for showings, more buyer competition, and a higher price on the sale of the home. Remember, we don't have a set budget for our listings. This philosophy allows us to work with the best

We recently listed and sold this condominium in the Town of Westport for $10,000 above the list price, which far exceeded our clients' expectations for their sale. The two biggest reasons for our clients' success were the staging and photography plans that we included in the marketing plan. The "before and after" photos below show the dramatic, positive impact that our stager and photographer had on this listing.

Living room photo before and after staging

The photo on the left shows the living room before the staging process began. The professional photo on the right shows the living room after our client worked with our preferred stager, Debbie Lea. 

Enhancing a listing with aerial photography

Next, we took our marketing to the next level

At Mad City Dream Homes, we create an individualized marketing plan for every home and condo we sell. Each property has its unique selling points, and our marketing plans reflect that. We design our marketing plans to maximize each client's return on investment.

Customized marketing solutions

Every successful listing begins with a good plan and a great team of professionals to carry it out. Below we share a few examples of how our team customizes our marketing according to the unique needs of each client. 

Staging an occupied home

The most effective way to increase a property's value is to stage it under the guidance of a qualified professional. This is why we connect you with Debbie Lea, the best professional home stager in the Madison

Recently a Madison-area home owner contacted us and asked us to assist her with her sale. Her previous listing with another brokerage had expired without selling, and she was looking for some new ideas, more showings, and a quick offer.

When we visited with her at her home, we saw some opportunities to improve her listing and help her accomplish her goals. The "before and after" photos below demonstrate why we were able to help our client move forward with a successful sale. 

Master bedroom: before and after photos

This listing photo shows the master bedroom after we helped our client prepare her home for showings. 

This photo shows the master bedroom before we began the staging process. 

The results

We spent two weeks preparing

At Mad City Dream Homes we create a customized marketing plan for each home-selling client. A key part of our marketing is the staging plan that we develop for each new listing. As you'll see from the 5 recent listings below, we customize our approach according to the needs of each individual property. 

Success story #1: staging an occupied home by Debbie Lea

This listing was prepped for sale by home staging extraordinaire, Debbie Lea. Debbie's staging plan helped our seller receive multiple offers and a record sales price for this condo association. 

Success story #2: staging a luxury property with rented furniture

For this luxury listing, Debbie Lea collaborated with Brook Furniture Rental by selecting the furniture, artwork and

When the best of the best collaborate, good things are bound to happen. We recently watched this unfold with our Nolen Shore Condo listing, which drew multiple offers and accepted one above listing price in just 3 days.

This downtown high-rise overlooking Lake Monona is stellar on its own, but with the help of professional stagers and a photographer we were able to quickly transform this vacant property. "It demonstrates what can happen when you have all the right players involved to plan, execute, and manage a project," said Realtor Dan Miller.

Behind the scenes were stagers Debbie Lea and Karla Gones and photographer Justin Lackner, whose combined expertise helped make this condo shine. 

While most of our listings only use Debbie Lea,

The National Association of REALTORS (NAR) has released it's 2017 Profile of Home Staging. The profile is based on a survey of several thousand agents and focuses on the impact of staging on the home selling process. 

Among the Key Findings:

• 77% of buyer agents say staging makes it easier for buyers to visualize a property as their future home
• 49% of buyer agents say staging a home increases the dollar amount offered
• 62% of listing agents say staging a home decreases the time on market

Other Interesting Data

The survey also reveals only 8% of real estate agents hire a professional to stage their listings. Our real estate team falls within that 8%. We hire Debbie Lea to stage our occupied homes and The Cozy Home to stage our

These photos come from the historic "Johnson House", an 1875 farm house in McFarland. This property sold last month after receiving multiple offers and having 100 people attend the weekend open. You wouldn't know it from the pictures, but this was actually a staged, vacant home. The Cozy Home provided all of the staging and Beau Meyer shot all of the listing photos. The photos drove a huge amount of traffic to this listing and ensured a quick sale.

Photos of the Historic Johnson House in McFarland

Thanks to thoughtful staging and beautiful photography, all of these images convey a warm and cozy feel while capturing the rustic charm of the home. 

Photos of a Vacant Staged Condo

A different property, same concept. These

Yes, home staging really does work. According to a recent survey by the National Association of REALTORS, staging provides a great return on investment. Among the key findings:

• 96% of all buyer agents report their clients are positively impacted by home staging. 
• 81% of all buyer agents report home staging makes it easier for clients to visualize a property as their own. 
• 71% of all listing agents report staging increases a property's value by a minimum of 1%. 

In another report issued by the Real Estate Staging Association, properties staged prior to listing sell 90% faster than "un-staged" properties on the MLS. 

In our own experience, professional home staging is a huge reason why our sellers average a full-price offer within 15