Brandon and Elisa Macomber, owners of Showhomes of Santa Fe. Photo by Kirsten Laskey/ladailypost.com

It can be overwhelming selling a home; once that for sale sign gets erected, homeowners can be faced with a long to-do list from decluttering a house to making an older home look more updated.

However, Santa Fe has two professionals who can make the task of preparing a house for the market less daunting … in Los Alamos as well as Santa Fe.

Brandon and Elisa Macomber have operated Showhomes of Santa Fe for a year and have already gained a great amount of success. Showhomes, a national company, hosted its annual conference in Tennessee in April and the Macombers received several awards:

• Circle of Excellence;
• Fastest Average Sell Time; and
• Best of Staging Design in Home Makeovers.

“It was a big accomplishment for us,” Elisa said. “It’s nice to be recognized for those achievements.”

Their business offers four services to customers. These are traditional home staging, home makeovers, home updating and home manager staging.

When the Macombers go into a home they can do anything from arranging furniture and decluttering to updating fixtures and painting. Brandon said they work within the customer’s budget.

“We try to add value back into the house,” he said.

He explained that the exclusive home manager staging service is for vacant higher-end homes that tend to sit on the market longer.

Elisa said they hire a live-in professional to furnish, clean and maintain the house to keep it show-ready for buyers. Their services are valuable, Elisa pointed out, explaining that real estate statistics show a staged home is likely to sell faster than an unstaged home. People are very visual, she explained, and it can be hard to visualize how furniture will look in an empty room.

Brandon added, “A lot of people can’t actually see it. We fulfill that kind of mental cue.”

The Macombers’ services also can make things easier for the homeowners. Elisa said their makeover service helps homeowners to let go of their current house and move forward to their next home.

“Sometimes that process is overwhelming for them,” she said.

They also bring experience to the table. Elisa has a degree in art and design and a career in visual merchandising and design. When they moved here four and a half years ago from Albany, N.Y., Elisa opened a small staging business for a year when she and Brandon decided to expand. Brandon was working as an asset manager for a bank but said he was looking for a change. Ultimately they decided to go into business together.

“There was a need in the market that wasn’t being served,” Brandon explained. Houses in Santa Fe didn’t seem to show well and they felt they could put value back into the houses.

Their work does provide results; one house had been on the market for a year and when the Macombers finished staging the house, it was under contract in 30 days. Their average days on the market (DOM) last year was 33 days.

“Overall what we do really does help,” Brandon said.

What they have seen in Santa Fe is a lot of older homes with “grandma styles” or houses that have more outdated designs and furnishes. What they try to do is “freshen up” the house to appeal to a wide range of buyers while also staying true to the style of the house as well as to the Southwest.

“We try to put the house in the best light,” Brandon said.

For more information about Showhomes of Santa Fe, visit showhomessantafe.com or call 505.470.2511.