Home Staging Could Be The Difference Between Sold or Still On The Market
February 16, 2008
What is Staging?
- Home staging is anything that helps a home seller make a home more attractive and appealing to potential buyers.
- Typically, a home stager brings in furniture, artwork, plants, rugs and accessories to make a house look its best while on the market.
- Some stagers also offer contractor-consulting services, which may include choosing paints, tiles, carpets and working with contractors to get the house ready.
- When sellers want to use their own furnishings, the stager can consult with them on how to reduce clutter and to open up rooms.
- Professional stagers typically start off with an in-home consultation. The price depends on the condition and size of the home.
- Do-it-yourself stagers on a budget also can use a professional stager to get a list of items to help make their home more appealing.
- Stagers tend to work with sellers for several hours to several days at a time.
Home Staging Tips
Studies have shown that most buyers make a decision about a house within 15 seconds of walking in the door. Many other buyers make a decision without ever getting out of their car. The message here is that first impressions are very, very important when selling a home.
Home Staging Tips for the Outside of Your Home
The feeling that people get about the house from the street is called “curb appeal” and there are many home staging tips to improve it.
1) Eliminate any and all clutter. Trim back overgrown bushes, and generally do a thorough clean-up.
2) A fresh coat of paint goes a long, long way to making a house look good. Be careful not to pick too strong of a color. The idea is to appeal to the greatest number of buyers as possible.
3) Fresh sod or landscaping can make a major difference.
4) Eliminate any other negatives like oil stains on the driveway, an old T.V. antennae on the roof, etc.
5) Putting out some some simple flowers in a pot on the front porch, and a new doormat can create an inviting feeling to buyers.
Home staging tips to improve the inside of the home also:
1) Eliminate all clutter. Homes look bigger and more stylish without any clutter. Many stagers have the clients move out entirely, and the stagers bring in their own items. Take all of the pictures off of the refrigerator, remove any stacks of paper on your desk, etc. Also, having a professional house cleaning service come in and do a thorough once-over is almost always well worth the cost.
2) Fresh paint can make a real difference. It is the frosting on the cake. Use colors that will appeal to the greatest number of people. You may prefer something bolder or outrageous for yourself, but when selling a house, neutral-colored interior paints work best. Also, replace any worn carpets or other flooring. If you have hardwood floors that are in rough shape, having them refinished can often return many times the cost of the refinishing, and sell the home much faster.
3) In many parts of the country homes are shown with no window coverings at all. This creates an open and airy feeling.
4) Make sure there are no unpleasant pet or cooking odors. Some sellers now bake cookies for the open house, creating a warm feeling in they buyer’s mind.
5) Use size-appropriate furniture. If you have a small bedroom, don’t put a king-sized bed in there. Conversely, if you have a huge master suite, putting a single bed in there would look unbalanced.
6) Leave the lights on even during the day to make the home as bright as possible.
All of these home staging tips are really geared towards making the whole package seem as pleasant and comfortable as possible. One would think that buyers buy with their heads, but it’s often their hearts that make the decision!
Source: www.HomeStaging.com
Technorati Tags: Staging, Home Staging, Home Staging Tips, Curb Appeal, San Antonio Real Estate
Comments
3 Responses to “Home Staging Could Be The Difference Between Sold or Still On The Market”
Hello
I love this post that you wrote. Would you mind submitting this to the Blog Carnival of Real Estate Home Staging? It’s http://blogcarnival.com/bc/submit_2606.html
Cheers,
Cindy
Organizer, Blog Carnival of Real Estate Home Staging
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You have done a great job defining home staging and breaking it down. The tips are sure to work. Home staging is a wise investment in selling a home. Using a professional stager is always a good idea beacuse they have great resources at the lowest cost. Can we say RETURN ON INVESTMENT? haha