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First Time Buyers: Bright Side of Slumping Real Estate Prices

Debra Gould
April 16, 2009
Part of the reason for the current foreclosure situation is that people were buying homes they just couldn´t afford. This was due in no small part to the fact that home prices were increasing at unprecedented rates, and salaries could in no way keep up with these inflated prices.

If the real estate market becomes more realistically priced, is that really a bad thing?

NAR´s Housing Affordability Index (which measures the relationship between home prices, mortgage interest rates and family income) rose 10.9% in December 2008 to its highest level since tracking began in 1970.

In other words, more people can afford to buy homes now than in the last 39 years!

First-time buyers currently make up a full 41% of all buyers in the United States, and with the rising Housing Affordability Index, this percentage will probably grow. These first-time home buyers often have the strongest emotional response to homes that have been staged because they´ve never had the experience of buying a home before. Stagers help them see the home in its best light and help them imagine themselves living there.


Canada, with a total population of just over 33 million, is a much smaller real estate market. It has not experienced the same turmoil as the United States because of much stricter banking and lending laws. However, the Canadian real estate market has declined both in the total number of home sales and in average prices.

According to The Canadian Real Estate Association (CREA), national MLS home sales fell 17% in 2008 and are expected to fall an additional 16.9% to 360,900 units in 2009. They project a rebound in 2010 with total national home sales increasing 10% to 396,600 units. CREA President Calvin Lindberg says, "The essential selling ingredients in today´s market are realistic pricing, marketing, and preparation."

Preparation = Home Staging!
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Debra Gould

Debra Gould, aka The Staging DivaŽ, is President of Six Elements Inc., an internationally recognized home staging company. Inspired by many requests from aspiring home stagers wanting to start similar businesses, Gould created the Staging Diva Home Staging Business Training Program.

Gould has trained 1000+ Staging Diva Graduates worldwide to start their own businesses. All shared a natural talent for decorating and interest in real estate, but didn't know how to make a living in their own house staging business before learning her secrets.

Debra Gould's mission is to inspire and empower others to use their natural talents to earn a living. She followed her dreams and wants to teach others to be able to do the same.

Gould pursued an MBA in Marketing and began a corporate career before moving to advertising. In the 1980s, she launched one of the first integrated marketing firms, which she ran for 10 years. Wanting a more creative life, Debra gave it up to design home accessories. She created the Debra Gould Home Collection, landing a magazine cover story and book feature, followed by her first of several HGTV appearances.

Buying decorating and selling six of her own homes in four years lead to an interest in real estate staging which she turned into a new staging career with the launch of sixelements.com in 2002. Since that time she has staged homes for hundreds of clients in addition to providing home staging training.

Gould is the author of "Staging Diva Ultimate Design Guide: Home staging tips, tricks and floor plans", "Staging Diva Ultimate Color Guide: The easy way to pick colors for home staging projects", and "Staging Diva Ultimate Portfolio Guide: Winning clients with the perfect home staging portfolio".

In addition to HGTV, Debra Gould's media coverage includes: CityTV, GlobalTV, CBC, CBS Radio, CNNMoney, Wall Street Journal, Woman's Day, Reader's Digest, MoneySense, Entrepreneur, House and Home, Home & Decor, Style at Home, Centre of the City, USAA Magazine, FabJob Guide to Become a Home Stager, Home Style, National Post Homes, This Old House, Home Business Magazine, Globe & Mail and others.