Think back to the first time you walked through a home during a showing. What caught your attention first—the distracting clutter of oversized furniture, the personal photographs and trinkets adorning shelves and side tables, or the actual room dimensions and features?
Chances are, most likely noticed everything that made the home representative of the seller and their family and weren’t able to look beyond all of their stuff to envision your own family within the space. According to a survey conducted by the National Association of Realtors, 77% of buyers’ agents said staging a home made it easier for their client to visualize the property as their future home. This means you are preparing your home to sell by highlighting its unique features and characteristics and creating a space that acknowledges a buyer’s psychology.
Why Stage Your Home? Staging your home not only allows potential buyers to imagine themselves in the space, but it also allows you as a seller to showcase unique features of your home that potential buyers might not be aware of otherwise. Do you have floor-to-ceiling windows that overlook a large front yard? Does your home feature an original, one-of-a-kind stone fireplace? Highlight these features! Staging can also make the space feel bigger and more livable, eliminating unnecessary furniture and decor that may otherwise distract a potential buyer. Staged homes typically sell for or close to the listing price. Sellers find that their staged homes have a higher perceived value than unstaged spaces, spending about 73% less time on the market.
The Importance Of Image
Staging your home is a purely aesthetic solution to getting your home sold quickly. In a society where many people turn to the Internet to begin their home search, how your home looks and how well it photographs is a crucial part of reaching potential homebuyers. In fact, 86% of homebuyers believe that viewing a property online is the most useful part of their home search. In this stage, your home needs to capture their attention and convince them to set up an appointment to see your home in person.
What Should Be Staged?
Now that you’ve decided to stage your home, you need to know where to best invest your time, energy, and resources. The most important spaces to focus on when staging your home to sell include the living room, master bedroom, and kitchen. These are the rooms in which the potential buyer will spend most of their time—you’ll want to focus on freshening up these areas first, creating a space for homebuyers to envision themselves and their family.
How To Stage Your Home
There are two things you should keep in mind when staging your home: Space and functionality. Think of staging your home as a form of marketing. Your home needs to stand out and catch a potential buyer’s attention. To market your space, keep the decor simple and the furniture uncluttered. The color palette for the walls, furniture, and decor should be neutral and not distract or detract from the overall space.
Also, be sure you don’t confuse staging with decorating. Decorating is subjective and based on what you like, while staging is objective and should serve as a blank canvas for someone interested in purchasing your home. If you don’t have space to store your unused furniture and decor during staging, ask a friend or family member if you can keep items at their house for the time being or consider renting a storage unit until your home sells. Getting rid of any clutter will make your home ready for showings.
These home-staging tips could help make all the difference when it comes to selling your home quicker, closer to your listing price, and easing your anxieties about moving into one home to your next. When staging your home, remember to look through the lense of the buyer’s eyes by following these helpful tips.