Saturday, June 3, 2023 / by Lead Revenue Revenue
Why You Should Stage Your Home: A Seller’s Guide
If you want to sell your home fast and for the best price, staging is one of the most effective ways to make it happen. Staging ensures that homebuyers see the house in its very best light and can help demonstrate what a home can offer without requiring a complete makeover. And in an industry where making an excellent first impression makes all the difference, it’s easy to see how home staging is such an integral part of the selling process. Still in doubt? Our real estate experts have created this comprehensive guide to help you learn why you should stage your home.
Key Takeaways:
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Home staging entails prepping your house so it appeals to the most qualified homebuyers who’ll pay the highest possible price.
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Relative to the amount of money and time required, staging your home is one of the most lucrative projects you’ll ever undertake.
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Staging your home can help you sell your home fast and for the best price possible.
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Home staging allows potential homebuyers to envision living in your home.
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A few recommended home staging tips include depersonalization, decluttering, cleaning, and sprucing your curb appeal.
What Is Home Staging?
Home staging is a marketing strategy that entails curated furnishing and preparing a home for sale. It refits your house with art, furniture, and decor to make the visual space more appealing to potential buyers. The goal of staging your home is to create a clean, attractive, and livable space that potential homebuyers can envision living in. Moreover, staging flatters your home and accentuates its strengths while downplaying its weaknesses.
Key Statistics about Staging Your Home:
A study has shown that staging your home has various benefits, and key statistics include:
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Real estate agents agree that staging your home increases its dollar value by 1%-10%.
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Over 47% of buyers’ real estate agents cite that staging has an effect on many homebuyers’ view of the house
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82% of buyers’ real estate agents say that staging will help buyers imagine the house as their future home.
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31% of agents agree that home staging will significantly increase the speed of the sale.
Why You Should Stage Your Home
Here are the key benefits of staging your home:
Allow Homebuyers to Connect with Your Home Emotionally
Prospective homebuyers aren’t simply looking for a structure to inhabit. They’re looking for a home that’ll fulfill their dreams and enhance their lifestyles. Staging your home can create a more emotional purchase for the buyer, ultimately generating more money for you. Keep in mind that buying a home is an emotional endeavor, and the more your home connects with the buyer, the more likely they’ll pay a higher price.
A Move-In Ready Home
Potential homebuyers don’t want to see work that requires to be done after moving into the house. In fact, over 80% of homebuyers prefer move-in ready homes to those requiring updates. Keep in mind that for each problem the buyer sees, they’ll likely deduct its cost from their offer price. And if they see too many issues, they might pass on buying the house. The good news is the home staging ensures your house is move-in ready when buyers attend the showings.
Help Your Online Listing
Did you know that over 93% of homebuyers use the Internet during their home search? As such, your home needs to make an excellent impression with your online listing and presence. That means your home should appear impeccable online. Home staging and professionally-taken photographs can help create a beautiful digital marketing portfolio that entices homebuyers even before they come in to view the physical space.
Increased Perceived Value
With home staging, you downplay the negatives and accentuate the positives of your home to make the best impression. For instance, when you depersonalize and declutter, you remove potential distractions, and when you add a coat of neutral color, you brighten up the space. These simple updates will help you highlight your home’s unique features and increase its perceived value. In fact, a study has shown that home staging can help you sell for 1%-10% more than un-staged homes.
Help Buyers Better “Visualize” a Vacant Home
There’s no question that an empty home won’t get the same attention as one filled with engaging, on-trend accessories and furnishings. As such, staging instantly helps buyers visualize their furniture in the room and how it’ll match their lifestyle. It also creates a more spacious and inviting home.
Avoid Stale Listing
No seller wants to find themselves with a stale listing. That's because the longer your home stays on the market, the more challenging it can be to sell. The good news is that home staging can lower the number of days your home sits on the market- over 53% of real estate agents agree!
Tips for Staging Your Home
Here’s how to get the most out of your home staging process:
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Define Rooms
When staging your house, ensure every room has a defined purpose. That’ll help potential buyers see how to maximize your home’s square footage. For instance, turn a finished attic into an office and a finished basement into an entertainment room. And even if the buyer won’t use the room for the same purpose, they need to see that every inch of your home is usable space.
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Upgrade Your Curb Appeal
Your home exterior will be the first thing buyers will see, so it should make a great impression. However, if it’s neglected, buyers may not want to see inside the house. That means washing windows, replacing old or broken hardware, pressure-washing the exterior, sidewalk and driveway, mowing the lawn, and cleaning and decluttering areas like the patio or deck.