In the ever-revolving door of real estate, homeowners are sometimes required to take extra steps to make a sale. For sellers trying to make a lasting impression on potential buyers, home staging has become a popular way to increase a home's selling price and decrease selling time. Have you ever wondered what the philosophy underlying this strategy, is and how home staging works?
Home staging is arranging furniture and decor with the intent to showcase the space of a home for sale. It can cost you nothing—a simple cleaning and the removal of day-to-day living items can be all you need. But it can involve financial investment—like painting, improving the landscaping, and adding furniture and plants to give buyers an idea of what their new home can look like.
Continue to read to find out what home staging is, what it isn't, and if investing in a professional staging company or undertaking the process yourself is the better option.
Hiring a Home Stager
Home staging is not a new concept, but one that started in the 70s. There are typically three factors that home shoppers consider when deciding whether to purchase a property: the location, the condition, and the price. You can't change the location of your home and may want to stay firm on your price point, that leaves the most important variable: the condition. Staging a home involves subtle improvements that make a home more attractive to prospective buyers. A benefit of a home stager is they have their own supplies—like furniture, rugs, and art—which reduces both time and money looking for "natural" items. They also provide objective insight.
The Cost
If you are trying to keep money in your pocket, adding another person into the mix might not be feasible. When you consider many sellers end up lowering their price by about $10k from the initial offering, it can be worth it. Estimates put the average home-staging fee around $500 per room, per month, which means you may end up spending well over a couple thousand. However, if staging is necessary, like new paint and furniture or landscaping, that price can very quickly rack up.
DIY Home Staging
If you decide to go the route of DIY staging, you can take some tips from the pros. Advice for do-it-yourselfers is to ask for honest opinions from family and friends about what needs to be changed. Most homeowners will be too personally connected or might be objective about their home's contents. A key factor to keep in mind: your home is no longer your home, but a product on the market.
Rearranging Furniture
Professional stagers contend most people will have to spend little to no money on extra furniture and accessories. There are three major exceptions:
If you are selling a multi-million dollar property, inexpensive or outdated furniture will need to be replaced. You can usually rent upscale furniture for a few months.
If any appliances are out of date, they will drop the value of the house. Stagers recommend buying stainless steel, and as long as everything looks current and is in good working condition, you will have more luck selling.
If there is extreme color in your home, buyers will have a tough time imagining themselves living there. Experts will recommend investing in neutral paint and floors and replacing unusual furniture with less eye-catching pieces.
Store Away Personal Items
A good investment is renting storage space. There might be enough room in the house for you to stash everything you need to hide, but you will want to free up that space so potential buyers can see it. A storage space can be a safer place for valuables and important documents, which you might want to have easily accessible to buyers.
Curb Appeal
In real estate terminology, curb appeal is what makes or breaks the first impression. Cross the street and consider what you see when you look at your house. The pros of this advice include the following:
- Can you see the house? Trim overgrown hedges, trees, and grass so that you might be able to view your house in a "framed" view, like a photo. Uniform those messy hedges and add color with new flowers.
- Color is good in flower beds, but not on the exterior of the house. Many experts will advise a three-color maximum, and many advise using only two paint colors. If you don't have the money to paint, pressure-wash the house, shutters, and walkways.
- Make sure the yard is mowed, raked, and generally in good shape. Remove toys and pet accessories. Ask friends or family if they can watch your pet during a showing, so you can hide their belongings, such as water bowls, dog beds, and bones.
Home Staging Tips
There are easy, affordable ways to spruce up the inside of your home. Advice is this:
Invest in Cleaning Supplies
This crucial rule of staging a home is typically the most important. Cleaning doesn't just mean vacuuming the carpet and scrubbing the bathroom. It includes cleaning under the countertops, replacing shower curtains, cleaning the grout of tiles, steam-cleaning carpets, dusting the crown molding and ceiling fans, washing the windows, polishing all fixtures, and wiping down all appliances.
Sell the Space, Not the Things You Own
You are going to have to clear out your personal belongings so buyers don't have to look at your past family photos to see your home. To prevent potential buyers from being distracted, you should remove all memorabilia. Stagers even recommend removing mirrors so buyers don't get sidetracked by seeing themselves. Clearing kitchen counters of appliances allows you to sell the counter space instead of the appliance. Walls should be empty, so many home stagers will find cheap art outside—it can be as simple as gathering leaves and enclosing them in simple frames. Most stagers recommend depersonalizing bathrooms by replacing personal hygiene items with plants or pottery. Arrange furniture so it is easy for potential buyers to navigate a room. Typically, this will involve removing furniture.
Enhance Your Natural Light
If a room is clean, let the buyers see it. Maximize natural light by opening curtains and blinds—some professionals even recommend removing all window dressings, as long as there are no holes and nails in the wall when they are taken down. Open windows to let in fresh air, a bonus because it removes your scent, which can further distract buyers. Turn on all lights in the house to make rooms appear brighter and bigger.
Is Professional Staging Worth It?
Reputable stagers and real estate agents agree staging can not only help so much. If no one comes to view the home, it is the fault of the price, not the appearance. If a lot of people are looking but not making offers, staging can help. Buyers just need incentive—and if they see a more attractive house, they can imagine it being worth the price.
Interested in the allure staging that can bring your home value when selling? Use this guide to stage your Palm Desert home in the most perfect light, bringing in all the potential buyers to sell your house faster to get you into a new one sooner. Explore the best of Palm Desert today.