Selling a home takes a lot more than just throwing up a sign on the lawn, listing it on the MLS and hosting an open house. Many homes need to be properly staged first so they can appeal to a wide range of buyers. Staging is the softer side of real estate. It’s an art form, really. A professional home stager has the design talent, knowledge of local trends, and resources to make sure all areas of your home are being presented in a way that showcases the greatest value and appeal.
In fact, the National Association of Realtors offers these statistics about staging:
- 83% of buyers’ agents reported that staging a home makes it easier for buyers to visualize that particular property as their future home.
- Staging the living room was the most important for buyers (47%), followed by staging the master bedroom (42%), and then the kitchen (35%).
- A quarter of buyer’s agents said that staging a home boosts the dollar value that has been offered between 5 and 5%, compared with other similar homes on the market that have not been staged.
The job of a stager is to show off your home in the best light, helping buyers visualize what the house would look like if they decided to buy it, from matching throw pillows to artwork on the walls to comfy couches.
Preparing your home for sale takes a bit of design expertise, patience and attention to detail. Here’s how to do it. And if you find yourself too overwhelmed with the task, your real estate agent can recommend a professional stager to do it for you.
Purge the Clutter
The first step is getting rid of the clutter that can confuse buyers and muddy the waters, so to speak. You want a clean, clear space that conveys the value you’re offering. Leaving junk lying around will work against you. One of the worst offenders when it comes to a cluttered look is having too much furniture crammed in one room. Don’t be surprised if the stager takes away half your furnishings! Don’t worry, you will get it all back later.
The goal is to make your home look bigger than it is while making room for accessories and staging furniture. Go room to room and determine what you can take away and what should stay.
Try Visually Interesting Furniture Groupings
You may have heard it’s wise to push all the furniture against the walls to make a smaller room look big, but that’s just not the case. It’s much better to furnish your living room, for instance, by floating furniture a bit away from walls. Reposition sofas and chairs into cozy conversational groups, staying conscious of where you put each piece to ensure traffic flow is natural and obvious. This will open up the room and make it more user-friendly.
Incorporate Lighting
The best way to make your home warm and inviting is making sure you have enough – and the right kind of — lighting. Increase the wattage in all fixtures and lamps, striving for a total of 100 watts for every 50 sf. You’ll probably need more than one or two light fixtures per room. In fact, each room should ideally have three kinds of lighting: ambient (overhead/general), task (under cabinet, reading, pendant) and accent (table and wall sconces).
Transform Rooms
There are probably many little areas of your home that can be repurposed into something functional, such as the corner under the stairs that can be transformed into a cozy reading nook with a few simple pieces (think comfy arm chair, tiny end table and lamp). Or, try draping fabric on the walls of the basement, put down some rubber padding and toss in a few cushy pillows to craft a yoga or meditation room.
Whatever you do to stage your home, view it through the eyes of your potential buyers.
Contact Berkshire Hathaway Premier Properties
If you require assistance staging your home, please contact Berkshire Hathaway Premier Properties today at 832-626-4889. We can make sure your home gets the pop of color and style it needs to sell quickly.