It may sound like an utterly fake thing to do, but house staging is crucial if sellers are serious about seeing their property hit the market, and leave it, in record speed.
This is something that may have once been left to show homes; the homes that are used by large housing developers to showcase their work. However, over time it has crept into the domestic house sales market, and it can make all the difference.
If we turn back the clock, there was once a time where buyers were stepping foot in a property that was completely personalized. It had the occupier’s photos, their clutter and everything else that consumed their life. Simply put, it was extremely difficult for anyone else to imagine living there. Unfortunately, we don’t have any historic housing sales data at hand so we can’t know if houses are in fact selling faster We do know, however, that some homes take much longer to sell than others (1), so we can speculate why that happens.
In terms of the hard and fast staging methods that you can use to sell your home at least there are many to help you along.
We’ve spoken about clutter, but like it or not, this is something that most “normal” houses have. Unfortunately clutter is part our day-to-day lives but it will put off potential buyers every time. Our suggestion is to eliminate clutter with whatever means necessary. Throw it away, use a storage service – just get it out of sight. Sure, your house might look a little “too clean”, but that’s better than the alternative.
Then, there are the little extras. Again, your home may have never seen flowers before, but like it or not, potential buyers love to see them (2). Or, it might be fresh bowl of fruit on the counter. All of these small changes add to that “clean feel” we have already spoken about and can be the tipping point for some buyers who might be on the edge.
Next, let’s discuss curb appeal. A bit of a caveat needs to be mentioned; some people spend thousands on curb appeal. For our purposes today we certainly don’t expect you to do the same.
Instead, it’s all about the little extras that can build up your curb appeal. It might be cleaning your windows (3), mowing your lawn (4) or even putting a welcome mat outside. All of these inexpensive suggestions can help make agood impression to prospectivebuyers as they stroll up to your front door.
Of course, staging can become as extravagant as you desire. Some of you will want to spend as little as possible on the practice, and we hope that today’s article has given you some useful suggestions. For those of you who want to go all out, there are lots of other things you can do, but that’s for another day.
Sources
The following sources helped us write today’s article:
1: This is Money. This page takes a look at the UK market and shows the incredibly different times it takes to sell homes around the countries. Presumably, the same data is applicable worldwide.
2: Avas Flowers. We first found out about Avas Flowers a year ago or so, and have since seen a flurry of positive Avas Flowers reviews around the internet. They are a really good shout for anyone looking to stage their home with eye-catching flowers.
3: Real Homes. This link is a basic walkthrough on the various ways you can clean your windows. It sounds like a simple practice, but trust us, if you get this wrong you can be left with streaks all down your glazing and that will completely defeat the purpose of staging your home.
4: RHS. Similarly to above, if you get your lawn wrong you can be left in all sorts of problems. This guide takes a look at the right way to cut your lawn, whether it’s the time of year or the type of mower you are using. The last thing you want is to be left with an uneven lawnwhen buyers show up.
