Are you looking to sell your home? If you want to attract the most interest and get the highest price tag for it, consider staging your home before listing. Staging a property before listing it for sale can make a big difference in how quickly and easily it sells.
The benefits of staging aren’t limited to just aesthetics – from giving buyers confidence in making offers to potentially increasing its value, enlisting the help of a professional stager is almost always a sure-fire investment when selling your home.
Read on to learn 7 key benefits of home staging!
What is home staging?
Put simply, home staging is the process of preparing to put a property for sale on the market. It involves making the house look its best by decluttering, rearranging (or changing) furniture, adding new décor or artwork, and other strategies to make the home as appealing as possible for potential buyers.
If you are confident in your DIY abilities, you can likely tackle some of the prep work yourself – including painting, minor repairs, and giving the home a deep cleaning before staging. From there, it’s best to bring in the experts. Real estate agents and professional stagers can make design recommendations to create a finished product ready for market.
The benefits of home staging
- Better first impression
When it comes to selling your property, first impressions are everything. And that’s where staging comes in. If the space is messy, cluttered, or just plain dirty – they’ll have a harder time picturing themselves living there. Remember, buyers are seeing dozens or possibly hundreds of properties on their real estate journey – your first impression is your last impression, so make sure it’s inviting!
- Rooms appear bigger
Home staging is all about making rooms look bigger, brighter, and more functional. Professional stagers use various techniques to create the illusion of more space, even in the smallest of rooms. These include adding lighting and mirrors, using vertical wall space, avoiding dark colors, and better furniture placement.
Fun fact: vacant homes actually feel smaller than fully furnished homes!
- Sells quicker and for more money
Home staging can be used to highlight a home’s features, while minimizing any disadvantages. This alone can make a big difference in how quickly your home sells and for how much. According to RESA, 75% of sellers with staged homes saw an ROI of 5-15% over the asking price. No matter the cost of staging, making sure your home looks its absolute best is a financial investment that will almost certainly pay off.
- Appeal to buyer emotions
Buying a home is like falling in love – an emotional connection must be made. The purpose of staging is to help buyers visualize the space as their future home from the moment they walk through the door. Therefore, a staged home should feel warm, welcoming, and free of any personal photos. Numbers and facts aside, real estate decisions are highly reliant on emotions. The more senses are engaged (sight, smell, touch), the more memorable the experience becomes for the buyer. In turn, the more likely they are to put an offer in!
- Hide any minor flaws
Staging can help to neutralize any negative aspects of a property to make the home feel as move-in-ready as possible. This can be helpful if you don’t have time to update every little imperfection. For example, if a wall needs patching, you can add a piece of artwork or a mirror. Buyers are more likely to overlook these details when a home is professionally staged. Besides, minor flaws aren’t likely to break a real estate deal anyway!
Of course, you should never hide any serious problems that need to be addressed – ethics are important! Major defects should always be disclosed to the buyer to avoid future headaches.
- Stand out from the competition
In a competitive market, staging can give you the edge you need to stand out from the competition. A well-staged property is more likely to be viewed as move-in ready, which can be a big selling point for buyers who are looking for a property that they can move into straight away. By showcasing your property in its best light, you can make buyers feel more confident and comfortable in making an offer.
- Easier to market
With so many properties on the market, it can be hard for buyers to differentiate one from another. But a professionally staged home is more likely to be featured in online listings and make a great impression on buyers when they come to see the property in person. Plus, the marketing collateral for a staged home looks more cohesive and professional.
All in all, staging is a great investment when it comes to selling your property. Not only will it make your home more attractive to potential buyers, but it can also help you sell your property faster and for more money. So, whether you’re a first-time home seller or a seasoned pro, don’t underestimate the power of staging.
For professional home staging services in Yaletown, Vancouver, check out our friends at Flow Smart Living + Interiors – they offer a variety of staging options to make sure your home is market ready!