The greatest wish for any seller is to have their home sold in within the shortest time possible and for top dollar. One of the best methods that can be used to achieve this goal is home staging. This entails making the house more appealing to potential home buyers in order to catch their attention and influence their purchasing behaviour in your favour.
As a home owner, you have to make sure that you do your home staging wisely in order to create the right impression and capture the mind of the home buyer. As a Real Estate Investor that has successfully staged their homes for sale and given suggestions to others, I offer you the opportunity to send me your images for free advice. Email julie@primoagents.com with your name, contact info and images, along with any specific questions you have. Here are some ideas on ways to stage your home for sale this festive season.
Keep the Property Sparkling Clean and Clutter Free
Home buyers are very sensitive to dirt and clutter within the home and around the property. It shows lack of proper attention when it comes to taking care of the property. Home staging includes having a spotless home. A clean house will show that you really value the property. This will improve the home buyer’s confidence and creates a lasting memory. You should make sure it is dusted and that there are no marks on the floor that could discourage the home buyer. In a buyers’ mind, if an owner has maintained the aesthetics of the property and home, it is more likely they have maintained the essential parts of the home that can’t be seen. Pack up a bunch of your stuff in boxes and move them elsewhere, too much clutter distracts the buyer. That being said, don’t pack up everything and empty the home if you have already moved. Buyer agents will look in closets for clues if people still live in the home. If the Real Estate Agent gets the idea you have moved on, they will try to find out if the sellers are divorcing or have already purchased another home; they can use this information to negotiate a better price for their buyer.
Create Memorable Moments
Everyday, home buyers see new homes in the search for their ideal property, home staging helps make your home stand out. The property that is most memorable may win the day when the buyer is making a purchasing decision. The features that you add in the house and the creative use of different spaces will help in making sure that the buyer can easily remember your house when making the final purchasing decision. Make sure you are creative in your home design and use unique pieces that will help the buyer remember your home. Pieces can be borrowed from family and friends or pieces like furniture can be rented. For higher end homes, you likely want to hire a designer or home stager where you will get a good return on investment. Remove any personal items such as photos from the home; you want the buyer to imagine themselves living in the home, not you.
Add Natural Touches
This is a great way of creating a warm and lasting appearance of your house. Regardless of where you live, you can use natural art creativity to make the house more attractive and warm.
- bring plants inside the home
- create a seasonal centrepiece with things found in nature
- use seashells in a bathroom display
- display furniture and decor made from natural materials such as wood or stone
- add a statement wall of reclaimed wood
Live Edge furniture is very popular because people are drawn to the beauty of nature; it may be a good idea to borrow or rent one of these statement pieces of furniture. Mother Nature creativity makes one feel natural in the space and is appealing to a large audience. It avoids forcing a specific look on the home that might exclude some buyers. It can also be an inexpensive way to add creative touches to the home as you can literally gather pieces from your backyard to use.
Room Transformations
Transform any room not being used into a resourceful space so that the home buyer gets a clear picture of the function of the room. If there is a bedroom being used for something else, you should change it back into a bedroom. This idea goes for other spaces in the home as well. For instance, you don’t want workout equipment in your living room or a kids’ playroom taking over the main living room. The most traditional use of the rooms will appeal to a larger market. That being said, if there is something your home is lacking, such as an office space, it is best to be creative and incorporate one, even if it is small. Don’t forget about focal points of the room. If there is a fireplace in the room make sure the furniture is arranged so that is becomes the focal point; sometimes this requires moving a TV above the mantel or removing it entirely. You can also make creative use of all spaces including space under the staircase. This will bring out the real value of the home and make sure that the buyer finds the property worthy of the amount you are asking for.
Use Creativity to Direct the Home Buyers Attention
Through home staging, you can successfully direct the buyer by making sure that the features of the house are easily noticed. Don’t block entrance ways or walk through points within a room that would prevent the buyer from fully exploring the space. Strategically placing a pop of colour, an accent wall or a larger piece of artwork can all successfully draw the buyers eyes where you want them. There should also be flow to the home in setup (moving room to room) and design. One look that continues throughout the home is key and one way to do this is by sticking to only three main colours. Keeping a simple and consistent look will also help to keep the home buyers attention on the features of the home rather than getting distracted with flashy design. I once walked in a million dollar home that was beautiful but had an overflowing amount of pillows and decor pieces that covered every surface. People in the open house were noticing and talking about the decor rather than the home itself.
Entice Home Buyers to Explore the Whole House
The opportunity you have with the buyer should be maximized and making sure they see the whole house is one of the strategies to ensure the buyer sees all the features of the home. Therefore, you should stage your house nicely and attractively so that the buyer will always want to see what is in the next room. You can strategically place something that will draw the buyer closer to the room you want them to see. Let the buyer have the curiosity to see what is in there and this can be done by placing something attractive to the eyes of the buyer such as a vase of flowers. Home staging also helps create a beautiful home which means most buyers will want to keep looking at all of your rooms.
Pay Attention to Lighting
Natural lighting is number one, and therefore you have to make sure the house can show off any large windows that let the natural light in. Make sure you have the curtains open and that furniture is not blocking the windows. Secondly, you can increase the wattage of the bulbs to make sure that the house is properly lit so that the buyer can see all the rooms and features clearly. Poor lighting will make the home buyer disregard your home and thus you will be disadvantaged when he is making the purchasing decision. Lighter coloured paints can also help to reflect the light better and create a brighter appearance to the home.
Create an Online Curb Appeal
Your Real Estate Agent can draw traffic to their website by posting nice and elegantly furnished home images online. This will help in attracting more attention since most people shop online for houses. You have to make sure that the image is catchy and can drive people to the listing even without them noticing. This is a method that helps in reducing the buying cycle since the buyers can check out the most significant features and go straight to the home they identify as attractive. Home staging helps to make attractive images. Making use of a professional photographer will help in achieving a more appealing image; this cost is typically covered by your Real Estate Agent.
Rearrange and Neutralize the Rooms
After removing excess items in the rooms, you should creatively arrange the house to make your home more appealing to the buyer. You have to make the house more appealing by making sure everything is placed in the right spot and that there is neither too much emptiness nor clutter in the house. This will help in creating a good image to the buyer since the room will also look larger and more spacious if neatly arranged. Less furniture in the living room is one way of making the room more spacious. Getting a second opinion from friends or your Real Estate Agent is a good way to identify pieces that should be added or removed from a space. This can be done from simply sharing a photo of the room and asking their thoughts. It is easier for outsiders to see what should or should not be in a room rather than the people that have been living in the current setup.
Choose Sophisticated Neutral Colours
The colours you choose should be appealing to the eyes of the home buyer and appear stylish. Sophisticated and neutral colours are a better option. A paint job gives a clean and fresh feel to the home making it feel new again. Painting is a lower cost renovation that can make a huge difference in the resale of the home and is worth the investment. Unless you have experience, it is usually a better idea to hire professionals to paint your home. To reduce cost, you could choose the main living areas to paint rather than the entire home.
Once you get your home staging correct, you will have a better chance of closing the deal faster and for top dollar. Make sure you choose a REALTOR® that understands the value in home staging and is ready to give you advice on what to do to get your home ready for sale.
By choosing an agent that belongs to the PrimoAgents group, you know you are picking someone that has the experience and know-how needed to get you top dollar. Search now by clicking here. If you don’t find someone in your area, send a quick email to Julie@primoagents.com with your contact information and area, and we will find someone that is educated, experienced and reputable to work with – at no cost to you.
For more articles on home staging and curb appeal go here.