How the DeLeon Design Team Made Our Seller Over $800,000 with Less Than $35,000 Worth of Improvements
By Ken DeLeon
It is rare to create a win for everyone in business, and DeLeon Realty is the rare brokerage with a client-focused approach that seeks to achieve this optimal outcome for both sellers and buyers.
Silicon Valley buyers are extraordinarily time constrained. This has become even more pronounced as the AI industry continues to intensify work schedules. The 9-9-6 schedule, working from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m., six days a week, has become increasingly common. Because of this, buyers are paying an ever-greater premium for turnkey homes.
To give our sellers the best experience and reduce their stress when moving, the DeLeon Team provides an interior designer in the preparation of every listing. Instead of presenting a boring, homogeneous home that feels artificially staged, our homes feel thoughtfully designed. The key difference is that our interior designer creates an overarching plan for updating the home, then selects the best stager and conveys the design vision needed to achieve that goal.
Every DeLeon seller gets an integrated team working on their behalf, including an interior designer to establish the vision and a stager to execute that vision. DeLeon Realty pays for the staging, while repairs and upgrades are partially included when completed by our field coordinator.
Homes that are thoughtfully designed and beautifully presented resonate more strongly with buyers and increase the price buyers are willing to pay. Moreover, buyers are willing to pay a significant premium for remodeled homes because they avoid the time, expense, and uncertainty of remodeling themselves.
The power of these strategic mini-remodels was very clear in a recent Palo Alto sale. Our client spent less than $35,000, and through that investment we completely transformed the home. Every major room was updated, and the property went from feeling like a dated home that had not been updated in 50 years to a well-cared-for residence that was light, bright, and move-in ready.
Our strategic improvements are illustrated in the before-and-after photos included in this article. They are particularly impressive when you consider the relatively low cost required to transform each room. This is possible because DeLeon Realty negotiates excellent pricing from our vendors, who offer favorable rates due to our volume, long-term relationships, and repeat business.
This home was listed at a high price per square foot of $2,742, based on the list price divided by the county’s official square footage. Yet the home still received multiple offers and sold for an exceptional amount, shocking the seller with a final sales price of more than $800,000 above asking.
This was a great outcome for our sellers and was only achievable through the DeLeon Team’s strategic preparation and enhancement of the property. However, it was also a win for the buyers, who were able to secure a home that required no immediate work, allowing them to move their family right in.
This synergistic outcome became even better because the buyer approached us directly, and by using a DeLeon Realty buyer agent, the seller and buyer avoided paying any buyer-side commission. The seller gained substantially more proceeds, and the buyer was able to purchase the home for less than they otherwise might have needed to pay to beat the competition.
As the premium for turnkey homes grows, especially as AI buyers’ wealth increases and their free time decreases, homeowners will benefit from our ability to maximize their home’s value by differentiating it from competing properties. No other agent or team can provide the design expertise, preparation strategy, vendor relationships, staging resources, and integrated execution needed to transform a home with such a high impact at such a low cost in a short period.
Ken DeLeon (DRE #01342140) | ken@deleonrealty.com | 650.543.8501
DeLeon Realty, Inc. | DRE #01903224 | Equal Housing Opportunity
