If you’re looking to sell quickly at the best possible price, then home staging is essential.
Not everyone stages their home before inviting potential buyers round, especially if the value is relatively low. But no matter how much your property is worth, it will be at a market advantage if you choose to spend a little time and effort on staging.
In fact, real estate agents report that staged properties spend 90% less time on the market and can generate an average value increase of 5%- 10%!
So, if you want to increase the value of your home and make a quick sale, then this article is for you.
Below, we’ll explain what staging is all about and give you five quick, affordable, and effective tips to do it well.
🔹Quick summary on how to stage my house for a quick sale
🔸Home staging is a practice of preparing a house to look as appealing as possible in an effort to achieve a faster sale at a higher price.
🔸Staging often involves deep cleaning, clearing out clutter, and incorporation of art, new furniture, optimized layout of accessories, lighting and more.
🔸Items used in staging do not have to be purchased. In many cases house sellers rent or borrow items to stage the home, returning those items once the house is sold.
🔸Relative to the time and effort involved, home staging is one of the most impactful activities in terms of achieving a quicker home sale, less time on the market, and a higher closing
🔹What is Staging?
Home staging is a real estate industry term for preparing a property for viewings.
The best staging allows buyers to imagine themselves living in your home. The best way to achieve this is to make each and every room as appealing as possible by drawing attention to its best features and minimizing any problem areas.
Some homeowners set aside a big budget for home staging, especially those with high-value properties. But staging doesn’t have to cost you a lot of money. There are plenty of ways to prepare your home for viewings without breaking the bank, and when you sell fast at a great price, you’ll be glad you did.
🔹 What Are the Benefits of Home Staging for a Quick Sale?
Home staging can bring in more interested buyers, offering more opportunities for a fast sale of your house. It can also provide you with additional offers to consider when deciding who to sell to. And, in many cases, staging can increase the perceived value of the property, potentially earning you a higher sales price at closing.
Even for houses that need TLC and/or repairs, simple upkeep and staging can provide cash buyers and real estate investors with a better idea of what the property is capable of transforming into, and can eliminate some of the costs involved with clearing out and cleaning up.
Relative to the investment in time and resources, home staging is almost always worth it.
UNLOAD MY HOME BUYS HOUSES ‘AS IS’ – NO STAGING, NO CLEANUP, NO REPAIRS REQUIRED.
🔹How to Stage My House for a Quick Sale
5 Tips For Staging a House for a Quick Sale
We often work with clients needing to sell their house fast, but don’t have professional experience doing so. One question we get a lot is “How Do You Stage a House to Sell?”
The following tips will help you to stage your home in the most effective way possible.
If you have a healthy budget and plenty of time, try to implement these techniques in every single room. But if you’re short on time and money, focus on key areas of your property, such as the living room, kitchen, and primary bedroom.
1. Clear Out and Clean
The first and most obvious step to staging a home is to declutter and clean. Buyers want to know that a property is well taken care of and a sparkling, mess-free home gives a great first impression.
Start by clearing out all the clutter that distracts from your home’s best features. By doing this, you’ll also create the illusion of bigger rooms and more space.
Next, give everywhere a thorough cleaning, paying particular attention to bathroom fixtures and kitchen appliances. The more sparkling they are, the newer and better maintained they appear, adding instant value to your home. Also, consider getting your carpets professionally cleaned.
2. Create a Blank Canvas
Remember how we said that the best staging is the kind that allows buyers to imagine themselves living in the home? Well, to do that, you’ll need to create a blank canvas and remove as many personal items from view as possible.
Take down the family photos and replace them with neutral artwork. Clear the refrigerator of your child’s drawings and alphabet magnets. And make sure any personal items like clothes, toys, and toiletries are stored out of sight.
Doing this helps potential buyers to imagine their own belongings inside the house without having to mentally clear yours away first.
3. Consider Re-decorating
If your walls are covered in decorative wallpaper or painted with bold colors, consider taking your décor back to a more neutral level.
The more ‘unique’ your taste in interior design, the less likely it is to appeal to a wider audience. So, even if you hate the thought of white or cream walls, consider giving your loud and proud home a mini makeunder to help it attract as many potential buyers as possible.
4. Give each room a purpose
Define each space in your home clearly. For example, if your guest bedroom has slowly transformed itself into a storage room, take it back to its original purpose and showcase its maximum potential.
If you have a finished basement, remove the clutter, and transform it into an additional bedroom or a dedicated playroom.
And if you have a weird little cubby hole or a small box room, consider turning it into an office or a small crafting studio.
You can even transform an unused window seat or alcove into a reading nook!
The idea is to showcase every inch of space and demonstrate your home’s maximum potential. Just be careful, as you might do such a good job that you decide not to move, after all!
5. Don’t forget the finishing touches
Often, it’s the little things that make the biggest difference when it comes to staging a home.
Once you have a clean, clutter-free, blank canvas which maximizes its spatial potential, it’s time to add a few small details to help your home look and feel as inviting as possible.
🔸Place a few well-cared-for houseplants around your home to create a fresh feel, and add some flowers to a vase on your living room table.
🔸Air your house out as much as possible to get rid of stale odors, and replace any bad smells with good ones. Use natural essential oils, scented candles, or air purifiers, and consider baking some bread or cookies in the oven just before a viewing; the warm, inviting scent will instantly make potential buyers feel at home.
🔸Dress bathrooms with new, plush towels, and make sure all bedspreads and pillowcases are clean, pressed, and match the curtains or other décor.
🔸Maximize natural light by opening all curtains and blinds, and turn on every lightswitch before each viewing to make your home feel as bright and inviting as possible
🔸If you live in a cold climate, make sure your home is toasty and warm before any viewing, and if you have a fireplace, make sure it’s in use. Likewise, if you live in a hot climate, or it’s the middle of summer, make sure the AC is set to a comfortable level.
🔹Staging Your House for a Fast Sale – closing thoughts
Staging a property doesn’t have to cost a lot of money or take up too much of your time. There are plenty of simple, cheap, and effective ways to stage your home to maximize its value and make a quick sale, and the tips above are a great place to start.