Putting Your Home on Stage to Sell

Staging your home with the advice and assistance of a professional allows your listing to stand out among the crowd. The staging process highlights the best features of your real estate property to capture a buyer’s attention. A staged home not only photographs better, but allows you to captivate the online buyer’s attention at a distance. Since the first days of a new real estate listing are key in predicting the swiftness and strength of a home sale, it is essential to have your home “resale-ready” when your listing hits the MLS.       

 

 

It's not all about decorating, but actually about giving your home the look and feel of a “model home” to appeal to the broadest range of prospective buyers. The goal is to make anyone feel like they could live there, and the best way to do this is to "neutralize" the surroundings.  Sometimes neutralizing includes updating paint colors, eliminating outdated flooring or fixtures, or neutralizing household odors. In many homes, it is just about de-cluttering and de-personalizing the space, or a matter of improving “curb appeal” or removing window coverings and letting in the light! A staged home shows as spacious and bright, and those are characteristics which most homebuyers are seeking! 

It is common for sellers in a soft market to be reluctant to improve homes they are leaving, thinking “Why should I change my home for the next owner, when I never made these improvements for myself?”. Today’s buyers are savvy, and looking to move into properties which will not require updating, reconstruction or a host of home improvements upon purchase. As such, an investment in staging is often less than 10% of the average asking price reduction. The simplest of staging techniques often cost nothing, and some can actually earn a seller some extra money. Why not pare down furnishings and possessions and have less to pack and move? Consider having a yard sale, donate some items to a local charity which can be tax-deductible, or bring your gently used furnishings and home décor items to a home consignment outlet?

A great example is: Staging a home is not unlike the measures one takes when selling a car. One of the first things most people do when selling a car is to have it washed and waxed, inside and out. An interior and exterior detailing often costs upwards of $200 versus the asking price of an automobile. Staging a home for resale can cost as little as $200 with potential returns being oh, SO much greater!!! Let your gleaming countertops, fireplace, great bank of windows or beautiful view stand out with staging and validate your asking price! 

 

Staging your home with a professional allows you to work side-by-side with a stager, or to sit back and watch your home’s potential unfold! Stagers can offer consultations for do-it-yourselfers, or can provide busy homeowners with turn-key solutions, handling the staging process from start to finish. If you wish to explore the staging process, consider listing with Joy Tarbell Realty, and put the experience of one of the North Conway's most experienced sales teams to work for you.  We can assist you in setting up the staging process with  Lisa Sordi, Certified Interior Redesigner, owner of Spruce it Up Home Staging & Redesign in Center Conway.