No, it is not a photo of a tacky wedding dress store, it’s a property listing.
A three-bedroom home in South Lake Tahoe, California, features dozen of dressed up mannequins, including babies, children and animals, set up throughout the house.
The listing says the “property to be sold as is,” which means the buyer gets dozens of mannequins as a part of the deal.
The life-size dolls dressed up in ball gowns are captured sitting on the sofa, leaning against the dining table and the fridge and are a spread around the rest of the house.
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Over a dozen life-sized dressed dolls are spread out through the three-bedroom property in Lake Tahoe, California. Photo/ Supplied
The marketing photograph of the bedroom is particularly creepy with four baby dolls, a male mannequin in a suit and a dog posing amongst the antique furniture.
But even with its staging with life-sized dolls, the property on 3695 Primrose Rd that needs TLC is asking US$650,000. That’s a relative bargain in the hot resort town where average prices are up 41 percent on last year to $801,000. With a desperate shortage of listings, agents are reporting that even the worst homes are now selling in 30 days or less, as people leave cities like San Francisco for the safer small towns.
In New Zealand, Professionals Point Chevalier agent Derek von Sturmer says fun staging will definitely grab attention, but there are rules around it.
Professionals Pt Chevalier agent Derek von Sturmer was going to stage 28 Walker Rd with original 40s furniture. Photo/ Supplied
He was very close to doing quirky staging a run-down bungalow on 28 Walker Rd that he sold for $2.8m at auction last month.
“I was very tempted to stage it with original furniture from the 40s but we have to think of the top buyers who buy these houses.”
Funny staging is a great way to get attention, but it could make or break a sale and has to be carefully done.
“If the agent puts too much personal flair into it, it can be detrimental to the sale result,” he said.
The viral image of Bernie Sanders at the US presidential inauguration was photos-hopped into Hillcrest property's marketing shots. Photo/ Supplied.
Agents use the help of stagers to set up the property in a way that helps buyers visualise what it would look like with suitable furniture and design.
“No matter what the house is, we have to talk to stagers about the colour and the furniture to appeal to the targeted market,” von Sturmer said.
And on Auckland’s North Shore, one real estate agent has taken to virtually staging an empty property in Hillcrest, upping the game by picking up on the meme that broke the internet after the US presidential inauguration last month.
Tim Webber from Agent of Change photo-shopped the viral image of US politician Bernie Sanders, complete with a mask and hand-knitted mittens, sitting on the couch – also a virtual image - and looking out of the window of the two-bedroom brick unit.
