31 May 2019
Real Estate Setting the Stage – Six effective home staging tips you can do yourself
When it comes to selling a home, first impressions count, so make yours a good one! The real estate market is highly competitive, and if you want to sell quickly, and at a desired price, you need to ensure your home stands out. Enter, home staging.
To help you set the scene for prospective buyers, we’ve constructed six simple-yet-effective-steps to help you stage your own home for a successful sale.
What is home staging?
Home staging goes way beyond hiding clutter and cleaning. It’s when a seller prepares the contents of a home’s interior and exterior to appeal to its target market, ie. adding furniture and accessories to a vacant home, or reassessing existing furniture and accessories if the home is occupied. At the end of the day, the goal of staging is the same: to get the best price for your property.
Step One: Know your buyer
Is this a first home in a suburban area, perfect for small family, or an expansive country residence? These two potential buyers have extremely different needs.
For a first home buyer with a small family, the goal would be to highlight space, comfort and storage – as well as how inviting the home can be made with inexpensive accessories. The expansive country home, however, would focus on luxurious furnishings, artwork and entertainment areas for an established family or couple.
Step Two: Create Street Appeal
Potential buyers will judge a house on how it looks from the street. Create a sense of arrival with a mowed lawn, freshly-trimmed walkway, clean tiles, and a fresh coat of paint on the exterior. Add a handsome pot or an architecturally shaped plant to the front porch. There are many simple and inexpensive steps you can take to get them through the front door.
Step Three: Repair and Rejuvenate
Why is it important to repair and rejuvenate? It all comes back to that great first impression. Buyers will identify any issues and areas of disrepair, first upon visiting the home themselves, and then by their nominated builder further into the process . Money spent on improvements now will cost you far less than if your house lingers on the market.
Most of the common repairs can be completed – by you – across a weekend. Ceiling stains, cracked plaster, ageing floorboards or peeling paint – all are minor cosmetic issues (hopefully), but when cased together will jeopardise your home’s first impression and could impact your selling price.
Step Four: Depersonalise the Space
Depersonalisation of your home is one of the most important steps in home staging. Depersonalising is all about neutralising the space, removing your personal tastes, photos, certificates and awards from the décor. You want potential buyers to visualise themselves living there, and the easiest way to do that is to make the home theirs from the start. In this stage, it’s important to remember you’re selling your home, not your stuff.
Step Five: Declutter and Clean
Empty rooms don’t sell houses, in the same way that cluttered houses don’t sell houses. A good rule of thumb when home staging is to remove all your furniture, and then place only half of it back. You only need enough furniture to showcase the functionality or purpose of the environment – be it a beautifully-accessorised bed with a bedside table and lamp, or a clean desk (cleared of paper and stationary) with a rotating chair.
Step Six: Use Neutral Colours
Most home buyers will judge a home by the atmosphere its contents creates. Like decluttering, focusing on a neutral palette throughout your home creates flexibility for potential buyers. If, for example, your walls are painted a bright pink, then the colour takes centre stage and the buyer adds up the time and expense to themselves to paint over it. Neutrality works for any style, whether you are modern, traditional, eclectic, or love rustic country charm.
Stage your home!
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.
Got a question, or want to know how to get the most out of your investment? Call the Lugtons team today.
