How Staging and Pricing Sold an Easton Addition Home for $800K Over Asking
How Staging and Pricing Sold an Easton Addition Home for $800K Over Asking
I wanted to share a story that really shows why presentation and pricing strategy matter so much, especially in situations like this one.
When a Great Home Doesn't Sell
Last spring, a beautiful home on one of the best blocks in Easton Addition hit the market at $3,750,000. The sellers had lived there for about 30 years. The location was fantastic, with no through traffic, high tree density, and a street where few listings ever come up for sale. In my experience as a buyer's agent, I'd say 80% of Burlingame buyers would be interested in this stellar location: it checked all of most people's boxes. Back in the Spring, the sellers hired a well-respected agent who took great care with the listing.
Despite a price adjustment to $3,595,000, the home sat. No offers.
The seller is a designer herself, and understandably, she loved her home exactly as it was. The home was photographed with the two of them living there, surrounded by her beautiful pieces. We understood why she wanted to showcase her aesthetic.
Sometimes buyers need to see a home as a blank canvas. When she and her husband hired us to take over the listing, we knew we needed a completely different approach.
A Fresh Start: Our Strategy for Relisting the Easton Addition Home
We approached it as a complete reset focusing on:
Professional staging that appealed to many buyers and opened up the buyer pool so more buyers could imagine themselves living there.
Pro photography with proper lighting (sometimes it's as simple as changing bulbs to brighten dark spaces).
Strategic cosmetic updates: Fresh paint, new lighting fixtures—about $16K total investment.
We even worked with the neighbor to replace their dead front lawn (the sellers paid for it) because first impressions start before buyers even walk in the door.
Minimizing Friction for Buyers
We advised the sellers to address potential repair and upgrade issues upfront. Not just to make the home show-ready, but to broaden the buyer pool. Our goal was to eliminate any possible objection about anything in the disclosures, no matter how minute, as a reason not to buy the home.
When buyers don't have to worry about what they'll need to fix after closing, more of them feel comfortable making an offer. And especially here on the peninsula, where many buyers do not have the bandwidth to address anything in the disclosures, taking care of these items in advance, from my experience, is a smart strategy.
The Result: $3,900,000 Sale Price in Burlingame's Easton Addition
That's $800,000 over the new listing price. And $305,000 over where it had been listed before, with zero interest.
The home received 8 competitive offers including three cash offers.
The sellers invested roughly $16K in staging, inspections, and cosmetic updates. That plus our pricing strategy, returned about $50 for every $1 spent.
When a home isn't selling, it's rarely about the home itself. It's usually about one of three things:
Presentation — Can buyers see themselves there?
Pricing — Are you positioned to create competition?
Strategy — Are you addressing what's really holding the home back?
In this case, all three needed attention.
If you're thinking about selling—or if you know someone whose listing has gone stale—the fix isn't always obvious. Sometimes it takes fresh eyes, honest feedback, and a willingness to do things differently.
I'd love to chat with you or someone you know about how we can help get you the most money for your home.
In Their Own Words: Client Testimonial
"We will be forever grateful to Raziel and his team for selling our home in the Easton Addition of Burlingame, where we lived for 30 years! Raziel is a very special real estate agent. He has the rare ability to combine his broad skillset with extremely strong interpersonal and communication skills. We really appreciated and benefited from his market knowledge and insight; his transaction experience and expertise; his business savvy and negotiation skills; and his strategic vision and leadership qualities.
Even when the inevitable challenges arose, we always felt calmer after speaking with him, and we could rest easy with the confidence that everything was going to be okay under his leadership and guidance. His consistently upbeat, high-energy, and optimistic personality made everything feel easier and more enjoyable!
Raziel's ability to consider the buyer's experience also contributes to his success. By advising us (as the seller) to minimize repair & upgrade issues for the next owner, he greatly broadened the interest in our property and was able to obtain multiple competitive offers (8 in our case!), resulting in a sales price that exceeded our expectations.
Prior to hiring Raziel and his team, we unsuccessfully marketed our house for sale in April. Our decision not to initially hire Raziel was based on our view that our house was already turn-key, we didn't need to stage, and we couldn't justify paying a higher commission, as we felt like our home sale would be a quick and easy process. It turns out that his pricing strategy, marketing efforts, staging advice, and upgrade suggestions led to an outcome well in excess of both the cost of improvements and a higher commission rate. Selling a home that you've lived in for 30 years is such an emotional journey, and Raziel's understanding of how to deal with our ups and downs during the process was incredibly valuable and so very appreciated!
Finally, Angilee, Jenny, and Emily were incredible to work with. Their responsiveness, advice, professionalism, and great personalities were a large part of our amazing experience with the Raziel Ungar Team. One final thought to share - the team's philosophy around communication and transparency was so refreshing. We always felt like we were in the loop of what was going on in 'real time' which was a great benefit to us. We cannot recommend Raziel and his team more highly!"
— Mark and Terry Kuperschmid, Sellers, Easton Addition, Burlingame
What We Learned from This Easton Addition Sale
Professional staging opens up the buyer pool: Even designer-owned homes benefit from neutral staging that helps more buyers visualize themselves living there
Strategic pricing creates competition: A bold price reset ($455K reduction) generated 8 competitive offers vs. zero offers with incremental adjustments
Address repairs upfront to eliminate objections: Taking care of disclosure items in advance—even minor foundation cracks—removes buyer hesitation, especially important for Peninsula buyers with limited bandwidth
Engineering inspections provide clarity: For any structural concerns, get expert analysis upfront to prevent buyer confusion
Transparency builds trust: Detailed disclosures and open communication resulted in zero condition questions during marketing
First impressions extend beyond your property: Even working with neighbors on curb appeal can impact your sale
Small investments yield major returns: $16K investment returned approximately $50 for every $1 spent
This article is copyrighted by Raziel Ungar and may not be reproduced or copied without express written permission.
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