Have you heard of “home staging”? Staging can make a big difference in how quickly your home sells and for how much. According to some studies, homes that are well staged have sold for up to 17% more than similar properties. You don’t necessarily have to do a whole lot of work to take advantage of proven staging techniques.
1. Flowers
Add fresh flowers to your coffee table, or somewhere in the dining area. This is a great subliminal way to help kick start the buyers imagination. It also may help the buyer feel like the space is cared for and loved.
2. Redecorate with whatever you have
Sometimes just moving a room around for flow is enough to bring new energy into the space. Stand in each room and ask yourself, “How can I make this room look more spacious and appealing?” Oftentimes moving a few items into storage can make a dramatic difference.
3. Maintenance:
Small maintenance issues can often be taken care of easily, i.e. clogged shower drains scratches or cracks around the home but if you can’t get it all done by listing day, you can inform buyers that the repairs are scheduled.
4. Tidy Up:
Tidy: Staging experts unanimously agree that making each room look neat and tidy is essential. Even something as seemingly minor as dust accumulation on blinds can impact buyers.
5. Focus on the three most influential rooms – Living Room, Kitchen and Master Bedroom:
If you’re pressed for time, focus on the important areas, kids bedrooms and dens aren’t nearly as important as the Kitchen – Dining areas, Living room and Master Bedroom. Chances are, the person buying the home is going to be using the master bedroom themselves, so really think about catering to them when you’re staging your space.
6. Keep the decor generic:
With the buyer in mind it’s important to depersonalize the space at bit. You want the buyer to see the space as something they can live in, rather than a space that belongs to someone else. This might be challenging to do, but together we can look items that can be stored away quickly to help make this change.
7. Bright spaces are happy spaces:
Let there be light, in whatever areas you can. Pulling back curtains, moving furniture out of the way and dusting can make a huge difference.
8. Clean up the outdoor area:
A quick rake or pressure wash can make a big difference. Worn out door matts can be removed, and even just the use of a duster to get those sneaky spider webs is helpful.
9. Clear our pet odours:
We all love our pets, sometimes even more than the kids… (just kidding), but it’s better to assume that the person purchasing the home doesn’t want to smell fido, or the hamsters. Airing things out helps, vacuuming helps, and if necessary diffusers could do the trick too.
10. Wash the linens:
Nothing helps make a bedroom space more welcoming than clean crisp bed linen, fluffed pillows and a well made bed. Remember, the more the buyer feels like they could live there, the higher the chances are of us getting an offer.
As a Realtor® it’s my job to help you achieve the sale you want at the price you want, and the tips above will hopefully help us get what we are looking for.
Call me if I can help in any way – 2509511141