If you’re trying to sell a house, you may have heard about staging real estate. Real estate staging involves marketing a property solely from the buyer’s point of view. In most cases, staged properties sell faster and command a higher selling price than their nonstaged counterparts.
Clutter, for example, is a number-one offender. It’s difficult to imagine the possibilities of a new house when clutter is hiding the home’s best features. What about dust and dirt? While no one expects a property to be perfect, a thorough cleaning can do wonders. Has the yard been maintained, or does it need sprucing up? These are a few things that home stagers consider when evaluating the appeal of a property.
Obvious problems should be corrected before a house goes to market. Chipped plaster, stained or cracked walls and ceilings, leaky plumbing and broken windows should fixed before putting a house up for sale. A home that doesn’t require a lot of work to make it livable is more likely to sell itself.
After the basics have been taken care of, it’s all about creating illusions. Staging real estate involves using the art of interior decoration to bring out the best in a home. Calling attention to the most attractive features of a property by showing them off ensures that potential buyers won’t miss any of the key selling points.
A home staging professional can make a property seem bigger, brighter, newer and more inviting. Strategic furniture arrangements like highlighting a stone fireplace with a seating area, accenting hardwood floors with colorful area rugs and using mirrors to create the illusion of more space are just a few tricks of the trade. If a room looks empty or plain, a home stager can add pizzazz with accessories like plants, accent pillows, small love seats and afghans.
Neutralizing the color scheme and minimizing personal touches are another part of what home stagers do. While you may love your decor, a potential buyer might not share your vision. The objective is to show off the possibilities. A buyer wants to be able to imagine what can be instead of focusing on what’s already there.
Is staging real estate worth the price? Staged homes typically sell for 1% more than non-staged homes. If a seller spends $1,500 staging a $900,000 house, the net average return would be $7,700. Considering that staged homes sell faster, staging can be an investment worth making.
