Selling a house is not as easy as it sounds. There is a huge demand for properties nowadays but, typically, prospective buyers are very particular about what they want in their future homes. They are, after all, spending their hard-earned money on the property, and they hope to live in it for years to come. So, most of the time, they look around other listings, too.
They need a little nudge toward wanting to buy your home.
Why Stage?
Back in the day, staging was only done for properties that are hard to sell. People do not always see the potential of the house. They only see it as it is right now which, sometimes, can be cluttered, has mismatched furniture, and unkempt hedges.
Now, more sellers are staging their homes to sell them quicker. One report by the National Association of Realtors revealed that about 28% of listing agents stage a seller’s home before putting it up in the market.
The internet plays a huge part in this. To save time and energy, buyers go online to look at listings. They get first impressions of a house from photos posted by the owner or the agent. Photos do not always represent properties accurately. When a buyer sees that a house is disorganized or dirty, they might not want to see it in person.
Aside from cleaning up the house, staging shows buyers what the house can look like. And, according to industry experts, it works. A house can be sold quicker and at a higher price because of staging.
Staging can be done by a professional, but the homeowner can also do it on their own. They can also decide to prep the entire house for viewings, or just the common rooms.
Here are staging tips to help you sell your house faster.
Should You Stage Your Lawn?
The exterior of the house is the first that your sellers will see when they pull up to your home. From it, they can form their first impression. They decide whether they like the place or not from the exterior alone.
A well-landscape property is an advantage. It can increase the price of the property by about 5.5% to 12.7%. Moreover, it is not expensive nor difficult to do.
Homeowners can hire artificial lawn installation services, for example, to create a greener outdoor living space but without the painstaking growing and maintenance work. It looks real, and it adds to the overall appeal of the property.
It is also not a bad time to trim the bushes, tidy the trees, and add some plants around the garden. Dying plants are a bad look, however. Make sure to take care of the plants that you bring into your home or dispose of the dead ones before a viewing.
A Neutral Coat
People have different tastes. It is unlikely that all the buyers who will look at the house will like the bold color or print that you have plastered on your walls even if it is on-trend.
However, neutrals create a blank canvas that allows buyers to see the room’s potential, not the seller’s personality. Before selling, it is customary to remove wallpapers and paint the walls white. It will encourage buyers to envision what the house will look like once they move in.
Give Each Room a Purpose
Each room in the house should have a single, defined purpose because, even if the buyer does not plan to use the space in the same way, they can get a better grasp of the square footage. They will be able to see that the house offers them a lot more usable area for a library or a reading nook, for meditation, additional cabinets, and other functions.
For example, if you furnished the basement, instead of just a storage space, it can be used as a game room complete with a pool table, couches, and chair, etc. The attic can be transformed into a home office or a guest bedroom.
Reposition Furniture
You do not have to buy new furniture for the staging. Often, you only need to rearrange the items that are already in the house to make them look neat and cohesive.
It is a common belief that to make a room look larger, sofas and chairs need to be pushed to the wall. That is not always the case. By floating furniture away from walls, you actually create more space to move.
Remove Traces of Your Personality
When a buyer looks at a house, they try to see themselves living in it. That would not happen if the house is still filled with personal items from the previous owner.
Removing family photos, collected memorabilia from travels, framed diplomas, and children’s artworks should go to the storage during the viewing process. Leave only the necessary items such as the chairs and tables, the carpet and rugs, etc.
Staging can improve the interest surrounding the house. It can make the property look more luxurious or bigger than it actually is. Moreover, it does not have to be an expensive effort. To sell, homeowners should stage the property before listing it.
