Does Staging Matter For Million Dollar Properties (Update)? 1642 N. Bell in Bucktown
We last chattered about this 5-bedroom French Provincial single family home at 1642 N. Bell in Bucktown in October 2012.
See our chatter here.
Two years ago, the home had no furniture or window treatments.
It didn’t sell.
It’s come back on the market in 2014 with furniture and window treatments.
Built circa 2006 on a wider than normal Chicago lot of 38×127, it has a coveted 3-car garage and a walled yard.
Three of the 5 bedrooms are on the second floor with the other two in the lower level.
There’s also a game room and a sewing room in the lower level.
In 2012, the kitchen had Wolf and Subzero appliances but I don’t know if the kitchen cabinets were the same. The current listing says they are Poggenpohl.
This house was bank owned in 2010. Here’s a link to what it the interior looked like before the last sale in 2010. The kitchen is obviously different in the current listing.
Back in 2012 it was listed at $1.775 million.
It came on the market in March 2014 at $1 million more- at $2.7 million.
It has since been reduced to $2.542 million.
Will the staging close the deal on this home in 2014?
And is the market strong enough to get the higher price?
James Prendergest has the listing once again. See the current pictures here.
1652 N. Bell: 5 bedrooms, 4.5 baths, 6200 square feet, 3 car garage
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- Sold in June 2006 for $730,000
- Lis pendens filed in April 2009
- Bank owned in May 2010
- Sold in December 2010 for $1.38 million
- Originally listed in March 2012 for $1.775 million
- Was still listed in October 2012 at $1.775 million
- Withdrawn in 2013
- Re-listed in March 2014 for $2.7 million
- Reduced
- Currently listed at $2.542 million
- Taxes are $22,156 (they were $17,686 in October 2012)
- Central Air
- Partial kitchen in the lower level
- Decks on roof and the garage
- Bedroom #1: 28×19 (second floor)
- Bedroom #2: 14×19 (second floor)
- Bedroom #3: 14×19 (second floor)
- Bedroom #4: 14×20 (lower level)
- Bedroom #5: 14×20 (lower level)
- Sewing room: 11×7 (lower level)
- Game room: 14×13 (lower level)
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If they are going to stage it, they should use furniture of the proper scale. Looks like a doll house.
You call this staging? The furniture is totally inappropriate for this style house. It’s like the stager totally disregarded the formality of the home and architectural style and loaded a bunch of contemporary Ligne Roset pieces in place. When staging, you should always consider who the prospective buyer is and create a mood and setting that allows the buyer to see themselves with their family enjoying the space. Staging can definitely sell houses but in this case I imagine it leaves most serious buyers confused.
Interesting to me….I think the previous ‘non’ staged photos before the last sale in 2010 actually look better than the current stage-job. I wonder if it will produce lower bids.