Are you considering listing your home for sale? There are many decisions to make before your home hits the market and potential buyers start walking through your front door. One very important process you should not overlook is staging your home. If you want to sell your home quickly and for the best possible price, staging your home is one of the easiest ways to do that, especially in an industry where first impressions can make all the difference.
According to the National Association of Realtors, 85% of staged homes sold for 5 to 23% over their listing price, and a staged home spends 73% less time on the market than a non-staged home. Staging your home can be a simple process, and not something you should have to spend too much money on. Here are a few reasons why you should stage your home before listing.
Make a Great First Impression
In the real estate industry, it’s important to make a great first impression. The process of searching for a new home almost always starts online, so photos of your home with beautifully staged rooms can greatly increase the chance a buyer will choose to see your home over another. Once a buyer decides to walk through your home for the first time, a nicely staged home will allow them to feel comfortable and focus on the home itself from a structural standpoint and see the true condition of the home instead of distractions from clutter and personal belongings. Great first impressions will increase the likelihood of your home to sell quickly, and for a great price.
Can Maximize or Minimize Space
Properly staging a home has a lot to do with space. In a smaller home, when you remove clutter and arrange the furniture in a way that maximizes usable space, it can give the impression that the home is larger than it actually is. Or in a larger home, leaving rooms vacant can cause a buyer to feel the home is too large. By simply adding in furniture, you immediately fill up the room and give it a purpose. You should also pay attention to the flow of a room, making sure buyers won’t bump into a dresser when walking into a bedroom or hit other furniture when opening up a door. You never want buyers to feel like the home is too cramped, or too large.
Helps Buyers See Themselves in the Home
As the seller of your home, your purpose is to help people see themselves living in your home. You can achieve this by removing all personal items and decorating in a neutral way that appeals to everyone. You want to make sure buyers can visualize your home as a good fit for their family, rather than seeing your family living in it. Setting up furniture in rooms that make sense can allow a buyer to see the purpose of that room instead of guessing. When a buyer can easily insert themselves into your home, it increases the likelihood of a quick sale.
Can Help Justify the Asking Price
Most buyers have an idea of what they are looking for and what they want to spend before even stepping foot in a home. If you stage your home before you try to sell it, you can have an easier time justifying the asking price. While most real estate agents will use recent sales data from the area to determine fair market value for your home, a lot of buyers will be influenced by their emotions as well when they walk through the house. If your home appears more move-in ready, buyers will be more likely to accept the price you have set. According to the National Association of Realtors, 50% of real estate agents say staging a home increases the sales price of the home from 1-10%.
Staging your home does not have to be complicated! All of our agents at Marsh Landing Realty are experienced in the importance of home staging and can assist you in the process or recommend a home staging expert to get your home in the best possible position before it even hits the market. Contact us today to get started!
