Staging your home for sale makes a difference. When you try to sell your home and it’s not staged properly, it can be a big turn-off for potential buyers. However, a well-staged home can become rather attractive, from the listing pictures to the actual showing.
The National Association of Realtors’ 2017 Staging Stats report showed that 49% of buyer’s agents believe that home staging has an effect on how a buyer views the home. In addition, 77% stated that staging makes it easier for buyers to visualize the property as their own. Sellers’ agents chimed in and 21% stated that home staging helps increase the value of the home, while 39% said staging greatly decreased the time the home was on the market.
Based on this report and the trend of buyers finding homes online first, staging has become far more important. If you plan to sell your home soon, it’s time to figure out how you will stage your home. Here are 11 tips to help with staging your home for sale.
1. De-personalize the Space
One of the keys to selling a home is to make sure potential buyers can visualize themselves in the home. This means you need to de-personalize your home as a part of the home staging process.
Make sure to remove any family pictures, along with knick-knacks, and other personal belongings. All those beautiful things you put up on your fridge need to go, as well. It’s also a good idea to remove anything religious, as you never know who may be interested in buying your home.
2. De-Clutter
Of course, getting rid of clutter is smart, but it has to go beyond the magazines on the end table. In fact, that end table may need to go, if it’s not absolutely necessary.
A good real estate agent can walk through your home with you and tell you which furniture should stay and which pieces should go. Consider renting a storage space while selling your home and keep everything you absolutely don’t need in the storage space.
You want to leave only a few items in the closets, as they should be neat, clean, and de-cluttered of out-of-season clothing, along with anything else. Consider yourself a minimalist for the time you are selling your home and de-clutter like you’re trying to live on just the basics.
3. Make Small Repairs
It may not seem like part of the staging process, but it really is a part of it. If there are small repairs needing to be done, you should take care of them. This includes any nicks, holes, or scratches in the walls, along with any marks you can remove with a foam eraser pad.
You may also want to repaint certain rooms or at least touch up the paint if there are chips. Often, repainting is necessary when staging a home for sale, as you want to make sure you choose very neutral colors.
4. Deep Clean to Remove Dirt and Odor
A deep clean is vital when staging as potential buyers will notice dust, odors, and dirt. It may be best to hire a professional cleaning crew when it’s time to stage your home for sale. However, if you take this task on yourself, just make sure you clean every single area of the home like you’ve never cleaned it before!
5. Don’t Forget About the Men
One of the things you want to take into consideration when staging your home for sale is to appeal to both sexes. Both men and women need to be sold on your home and choosing to stage the master bedroom to appeal to both will go a long way.
Of course, other rooms should also appeal to both sexes, but the master bedroom is most important. Don’t make it appeal too much to the woman or you’ll struggle to make men feel comfortable in the room.
6. Fresh Goes a Long Way
Fresh flowers, fresh smells, and fresh everything goes a very long way. Adding fresh flowers where they make sense will help to make any room feel fresh and look fresh. You can even add in specific house plants to help make the area smell and feel fresh.
7. Spruce up the Front Entrance
Curb appeal is worth so much when trying to sell your home. A big part of staging is the front entrance as you need to make a great first impression. Make sure you consider the front door, along with the walkway and every other part of the front entrance.
You want the front entrance to look like a picture out of a magazine. Add in the right colored plants and even consider a fresh coat of paint on the front door.
8. Arrange the Furniture to Show Off the Room
Every room will need the right furniture to show it off properly. If it’s a bedroom, you want to show how the room can be used with the right bed and other pieces. Don’t clutter the rooms with too much furniture, however. You want to show off how roomy each area of your home is when staging your home for sale.
Get rid of oversized pieces and anything damaged. You want the furniture to match the room and you want to arrange it to make the room look as spacious as possible.
9. Let in Natural Light
Darker rooms show off a sad home and make buyers not so excited. Make sure to let in as much natural light as possible. You should also use lamps and other types of lighting to ensure every dark area is no longer dark.
10. Theme Each Room
Every room in your house serves a purpose and should have a theme. The theme is usually pretty simple to figure out as a bedroom will have a bedroom theme, while a living room will have a living room theme.
However, bonus rooms or spaces may be staged as a home office or a playroom for the children. This will depend on the audience you are trying to attract and your real estate agent can provide some guidance.
When it comes to staging your home for sale, you want to make sure you get it right. If you don’t stage well, you could end up turning buyers off instead of attracting them to your home.