Chances are that if you’re in the market to sell your home, you’re also navigating the ins and outs of buying a home. You’re experiencing both sides of the coin. So when you are deeply entrenched in all of the logistics of selling your home, take a moment to flip it all and step into the buyers shoes. One of the best ways that you can sell your house is to walk through your own home with the buyers lens on. See the space for what it is without your own memories and personal belongings. Take a moment to look at the life someone else might desire to live in your old home.
Is staging your home worth it?
When you think like a buyer, it’s easy to see why staging a home might be a good use of your time and money. It would make the space feel fresh, desirable, and full of possibility instead of a hollow house with bare bones walls and floors. But it is not just a last minute touch, or an extra bonus. It might be the key factor in selling your house quickly, for the price you want. According to Stagedhomes.com, staged homes average 6 days for selling time on the market versus 48 days nationally. Not only that, but they’ve found that in a decreasing housing market, staged homes still sell for more money. In an increasing housing market, staged homes will sell for even more money. It sounds like a win-win situation, but it’s helpful to remember this is still an investment that you pay for up front with either hiring a company to stage your home, or spending the time and money to do it yourself. Yet, like a good investment, hopefully the return makes it worth it. The National Association of Realtors states that for every $100 you invest in staging your home, your potential return is $400.
How do you stage a home?
There’s more that goes into staging your home than a new coat of paint and setting out fresh flowers. Although, painting is definitely a key component and a step in the right direction, so here is our guide to choosing the right paint colors. Here are a few more pointers for how to stage your home so that you’re all set up for showings and listings.
Deep clean: Like regular house cleaning, but you do it all at once and dig deeper into the details. We’re talking about scrubbing floorboards, dusting light fixtures, and polishing wood.
Paint: Use neutral light colors to brighten the room and give a crisp clean feeling.
Furnish sparsely: You’ll either have to leave piece of furniture behind, or source a few affordable display pieces. Be selective and don’t keep the rooms as full as they would usually be to live in.
Space everything out: Space the furniture and decor out so that small deliberate pieces and colors can fill the room without cluttering the space.
Do include: Art, paintings, lights, plants, and rugs – these are key staples aside from the furniture. Make sure you check off each of these items, even if you don’t have all of them in every room.
Don’t leave behind: Too much furniture, clutter, or too many personal belongings.
Taking yourself and your own personality out of the house allows the prospective buyer to more easily imagine themselves living there.
Paint a picture: Match the home’s style and price range. This is a key factor in knowing your buyer and working to connect what your home has to offer with what they are looking for.
Navigate your transition: If you are in between your old house and your new house, you might need a temporary storage unit to clear out your home, stage it, and prepare it for showings.
Put it all on display: Good photos of your home are the first step to even getting potential buyers through the door. Take wide horizontal photos with good lighting. Edit them but brighten them up, adjusting the contrast, and making sure they are aligned, straight, and centered.
Find out what costs you might expect in staging your home, and weigh the differences of hiring someone to do it for you versus tackling it yourself.