If you are planning to put your home on the market, it’s important that you have it staged properly. While that might seem like an unnecessary step in the process, having your home staged before selling can be invaluable!
Benefits of Staging Your Home
To help you determine if staging your home is worth the time and effort, let’s talk about some of the key benefits that can often be expected.
- Staging increases the likelihood of a sale. Staging allows you to showcase your home in the best way. With the right staging, you can make your home look larger by maximizing the useable space. Additionally, each room can be arranged in a way that there’s no confusion about its purpose. By doing all that, you’ll likely sell it fast and for the highest possible price.
- Staging gives the impression of a well-maintained home. Staging is your chance to tackle those basic repairs that may have been put off. Not only should you focus on fixing what’s broken, but it’s also a good time to focus on any cosmetic changes that can improve the look of your home.
- Staging helps you justify the asking price. While you certainly need to find the fair market value for your home, potential buyers can also be swayed by what they see. If a lot of things need repairing and replaced, they’ll most likely balk at the asking price. However, if the home looks move-in ready, they’ll be more willing to meet what you want. Considering that there may be other homes for sale in the area, you want to make sure that your home isn’t just comparable, but that it stands out from the rest.
- Staging allows the buyers to see themselves in it. If you think about it, isn’t this what the ultimate goal is? When staging your home, be sure to remove yourself and your family from the decor. Essentially, you want to create a blank slate, offering potential clients an opportunity to make a personal connection to the home.
If you still aren’t sure about staging, here are some quick statistics. According to the National Association of Realtors:
- Forty-seven percent of buyers’ agents cited that home staging had an effect on most buyers’ view of the home and eighty-two percent of buyers’ agents said staging a home made it easier for a buyer to visualize the property as a future home.
- Staging the living room was found to be very important for buyers (46%), followed by staging the master bedroom (43%), and staging the kitchen (35%).
- The most commonly staged rooms when selling include the living room (93%), the kitchen (84%), and the master bedroom (78%).
- Forty-four percent of buyer’s agents say that staging a home increases the dollar valued offered.
How to Stage Your Home to Sell Effectively
So what’s the best way to stage your home so that you can get top dollar? Well, the first is to hire a professional as mentioned earlier. However, if doing so isn’t in your budget, there are ways that you can achieve this on your own. Below are some essential tips that will help you style and upgrade your home in a way that will give you fast results.
- Enhance the curb appeal. If the outside of your home doesn’t look the part, most people won’t even consider giving the inside a look over. You can easily lure house shoppers in by completing tasks such as hanging new house numbers, mowing the lawn, repainting the front door or porch, planting more greenery and flowers, and power washing the siding and walkways. Adding some nice outdoor furniture with durable fabric, some solar lights up the walkway, and a fresh welcome mat can also spruce your exterior up.
- Thoroughly clean the interior. A dirty house certainly won’t leave a good first impression with a potential buyer, so make sure you take the time to get your interior sparkling. This also includes ridding the home of any unpleasant pet odors. If you have a large home, you may want to hire a professional cleaning service to tackle the tough stuff.
- Declutter. The point of selling a home is to make it appealing to all potential buyers, so purge out anything that’s unnecessary or unsightly. This even includes closets (yes, potential buyers will look in the closet) and toys. Less clutter equals more space in the eyes of those shopping for a home of their own. Even if you have to move items to an offsite storage facility, it’ll be worth it. Once you’re done with that, slowly bring in a few items to make the home appealing. Things like vases of fresh-cut flowers or a bowl of fruit on the counter come across as “lived-in” rather than cluttered. And be cautious when it comes to personal accents— if they aren’t in pristine condition, it’s best to tuck them away.
- Neutralize the color palette. You may love bold and exciting colors (and that’s okay)–but now is not the time to experiment. Think whites, creams, browns, and grays. A neutral backdrop will look more sophisticated and will also allow you to add a pop of color or pattern by scattering some pillows covered in pretty fabric or laying down a decorative rug.
- Rearrange the furniture. Furniture placement is very important even if you aren’t staging a home. A good rule of thumb is to stick with a symmetrical arrangement. It also helps to create inviting conversation areas by pulling furniture away from the walls and pairing them when possible. When it comes to rearranging furniture, keep in mind that you are arranging in a way that makes it obvious what the purpose of the room is.
- Style your entertaining areas. Many homeowners like to entertain, so if you have spaces that would allow potential buyers to do so, make sure you focus on those areas, too. Whether it’s a dining room, a breakfast nook, a screened-in porch, or the back deck, turn them into areas any future owners would love to host a party in.
- Add a functional office space. Working and schooling from home are becoming commonplace, so for many potential buyers, office space is essential. If you don’t have a dedicated room to create an office, simply carve out a nook in a spare bedroom or a corner of the living room. You can even create a mini-office area in a closet!
Cutting Corners is Here to Help With Home Staging Extras
Remember, staging is incredibly important— especially if you’d like to sell fast or simply get a better offer. Before putting your home on the market, come visit us for your staging needs. We have a wide variety of discount designer fabric that’s perfect for those staging extra, such as custom bedding or decorative pillows. We also have furniture and accessories that can make your home stand out from the rest. We look forward to helping you make your home staging a successful one!
