One of the easiest and most effective ways to sell your home quickly is “staging.” It’s all about highlighting your home’s strengths and downplaying its weakness so it’s shown in the best light possible to potential buyers. Staging can be as simple arranging furniture, adding some subtle decor through art and design, and creating a focal point in the room.
Is staging the reason people buy?
Remember that staging isn't the only factor involved in the selling of a home. Market conditions, comparable properties, and many other factors influence a buyer's decision to purchase. If your home is being compared to another one with a similar value, size, and neighborhood, staging could be the deciding factor. All that being said, you can't count on staging to be the only selling factor. It’s one aspect in the overall comparison that potential buyers will use to help them find the ideal home.
Should you hire a staging company?
Statistics from the Real Estate Staging Association show that homes that have been professionally staged spend less time on the market, get higher prices, and leave potential buyers with a more favorable impression. While these services range in cost, spending the money on staging could be a worthwhile investment, especially if it helps you sell your home faster.
Choosing the right staging company.
If you choose to work with a staging company, be sure to look at the work they’ve done in the past. See how they’ve staged similar homes and ask them what kind of results they’ve provided their customers. It’s also worth looking at three or four different companies and comparing the price quotes for the services they will offer you.
Can you stage your home on your own?
Yes, here are some simple changes you can do. Remove clutter or extra furniture, re-position furniture to create conversation areas, add more lighting (a good rule of thumb is 100 watts for every 50 square feet), use a bright/bold accent wall color to highlight features, and clean out closets. Make small spaces look bigger by painting them the same color as an adjacent room. Paint your walls a warm, neutral hue (it doesn’t have to be white; try tans, honey, soft blues, and even light gray). Buy new, luxurious bed linens. Make your bathroom feel spa-like with rolled-up towels, candles, orchids, and woven baskets. Give your kitchen a face lift by replacing knobs, painting or replacing cabinet doors, and adding a new sink faucet.