11 August 2020
When it comes to selling a home, first impressions count, so make yours a good one!
It can be difficult to pinpoint exactly what needs to be done before you go to market. You may think the walls need a lick of paint, or perhaps that the garden needs a bit of work.
To help you set the scene for prospective buyers you may want to consider staging.
What is staging?
The real estate market is highly competitive, and if you want to sell quickly, and at your desired price, you need to ensure your home stands out. Enter: home staging.
Home staging involves accentuating a home’s positive aspects and minimising its negative ones. But it goes beyond hiding clutter and cleaning.
As a seller, you can prepare the contents of your home’s interior and exterior to appeal to your target market, like adding furniture and accessories to a vacant home, or reassessing existing furniture and accessories if the home is occupied.
Staging can remove the personal feel of your home and present it in such a way that buyers will be more easily able to imagine their lives in it.
In theory, this helps create a good first impression with buyers and improves your home’s appeal, which should mean more interested buyers and a higher selling price.
At the end of the day, the goal of staging is always the same: to get the best price for your property.
Is it worth it?
Some real estate agents say home staging is a must-do if you want your house to sell for top dollar.
And while there is little to no scientific research that proves fitting out your home with designer furniture will put tens of thousands of dollars above RV into your pocket, the anecdotal evidence is plentiful and persuasive.
In today’s world most people initially see a house online, and photos of empty or poorly furnished rooms don’t generate the same emotional excitement as a photo of a beautifully furnished room. Not all prospective buyers can look at an empty space and envisage their life there. They may be able to see where a dining table or couch might go, but not how their dinner parties or evenings may look. That excitement is what gets people to your home to view it in person.
For those who question the value of staging, Bindi Norwell, chief executive of the Real Estate Institute of New Zealand recently provided an example of where home staging was proven to be very worthwhile.
“Two identical Auckland properties – both of which were four bedrooms, two bathrooms, two lounges, 208 square metres of house, 200 square metres of property both had the same CVs, but the one that was staged sold for just over $100,000 more just a few days apart from each other,“ she says.
Can I self-stage my home?
There is no one-size-fits-all home stager, and you could end up paying the same amount of money for an amateur as you would for a qualified interior designer, so it's a case of shopping around.
And while a professional may do a better job, if money is tight you can definitely stage your home yourself.
When self-staging, you may want to hire furniture to add to the look and feel of your home. Selling the dream can cost in the region of $1500 to $5000 in rented furniture and finishings.
To help you on your self-staging journey, we recently shared six effective home staging tips you can do yourself which could add value to your home and help it to sell quicker:
- Step One: Know your buyer
- Step Two: Create Street Appeal
- Step Three: Repair and Rejuvenate
- Step Four: Depersonalise the Space
- Step Five: Declutter and Clean
- Step Six: Use Neutral Colours
Home staging is a simple and cost-effective way of attracting the right buyers and creating a better return on investment, as well as ensuring that your property appeals to the masses.
Get the best advice you can
If you’ve been thinking about placing your house on the market, make sure you consider home staging. Simple and cost-effective, home staging helps potential buyers see themselves in your home by creating a space that’s inviting and neutral, allowing them to visualise it as their own. It takes into consideration the buyers who will be looking at your house, and what they are looking for in their new home.
Don’t know where to start? Contact the team at Lugtons today, who’ll be happy to advise you on how to set the scene in your home.
