Vacant vs Furnished. How will this affect your price?

This is really a question about who’s going to buy it and they want to see. The question about furnished or unfurnished affecting the sale price is valid because it can and it does. The mistake people make is that they think there is only one right answer for all properties and for all buyers. There isn’t.

You must consider how the property is presented and who is the best buyer for the property. Different groups or demographics have different interests and look for different things. For example, a home that is more suited because of its good floor plan and structure, but is in a run down state will probably get better offers from someone looking for something to do up. In this case furniture is a distraction and the property is better presented as empty. On the other hand, a property that is ideal for an older family and who probably hate the idea of needing to do work will look for a place that seems ready to move into and picture perfect. If that’s your market then you not only need to have the property furnished, but furnished in a way that the family will aspire to. That may mean using display furniture. We’ve seen display furniture used to make a tired home that wasn’t that extraordinary, look extraordinary and get an extraordinary price (not to over use the word extraordinary but you get the point).

People also use furniture as a measurement to gauge the size of a room. In fact, most people can tell room size by looking at the gaps between furniture. Think of display homes and how they are fully furnished to look like something you would love to live in. In summary, when faced with the question of to furnish or not to furnish, the answer depends on a variety of factors:

• What are the strong points of your property compared to others on the market (sometimes you need a professional to see your property’s strengths)
• Who is going to be your best buyer; the one who’ll pay more than other buyers
• What else are they looking for in a property that yours might not be so strong in or that you need to emphasis
• How can you change its presentation to make those key buyer features stand out