Home staging is not about decorating and making your home look stylish, it is about making your home a neutral space—creating a space where potential buyers can imagine themselves in the home without the distractions of someone else’s belongings.
The home should speak to buyers and oftentimes, sellers may feel like staging their home takes away their connection with the home, along with the memories and emotions attached to it, but that is precisely the point. Your home is not sold by the way that you lived and spent time in it, it is sold by making the home speak to everyone in a compelling way that shows a bright future. According to the National Association of Realtors, for every $100 invested in the staging of a home, the potential return is $400, so it is safe to say that staging your home is well worth your time.
Advantages of Staging your Home
Home Staging Reduces Time on the Market
- Because staging the home essentially means to tailor the appearance of your home to appeal to all buyers, the time your home is on the market is drastically reduced. According to the Real Estate Staging Association (RESA), the average time a home is on the market is 184 days, whereas homes that are staged before being listed are usually on the market for 23 days
An Increase in Perceived Value
- A survey conducted by the National Association of Realtors revealed that home staging increased offers by up to 5%. Another survey done by Coldwell Banker Real Estate Corp. suggested that staged homes were able to sell 6% above the asking price. Overall, staging your home can result in a very big return and more activity on your listing.
The Importance of Functionality
- When you stage your home, every room has a purpose. I’m sure we all have rooms in our homes that have multiple purposes, but when you stage your home, buyers do not have to guess the purpose of the room. If it is not staged properly, buyers will be confused as to what the room is for. Staging your home provides opportunities to buyers that they might not be aware of.
Reducing Out-of-Pocket Costs
- Not only does staging your home increases its appearance to buyers, but it also reduces out-of-pocket costs for buyers. Buyers already know about the multitude of costs that they will have to pay at the time of closing, and when they are touring homes, they are on the lookout for anything that may need to be repaired or replaced and adding it to their mental calculator. Staging a home is about creating an ideal situation for buyers—making the home appear move-in ready.
Tips on Staging your Home
- One of the most important aspects of staging your home is managing your clutter. Removing clutter will greatly improve the appearance of your home.
- Limit furniture
- Clear out stacks of magazines
- Hang attention-grabbing artwork
- Clear windows of dust and debris
- Lighting can make or break a buyer’s decision to put an offer on your home.
- Install lamps
- Open up the blinds to let in natural sunlight
- Hang a chandelier in spacious rooms with little to no sunlight.
- Broaden your audience of buyers by keeping the spaces in your home neutral.
- Keep bedrooms gender-neutral
- Keep furniture and other furnishings tasteful in appearance
- Paint your walls neutral colors (gray, beige, ivory, taupe, etc)