Reasons you should stage your home to sell

Why should you stage your home?

Real estate is a very visual market. Only 10% of buyers can envision their furnishings in a home. The rest (90%) have a very difficult time deciding the furniture layout in each room. If you stage your home to sell, you can visually help the buyer. That is why I always recommend putting furniture in each room. Not only do you show the buyer what kind of room it is, you show them how they can arrange the furniture too. Empty rooms don’t inspire buyers to sit and relax and staging an empty house can be expensive.

In the infographic below, one of the main reasons you need to stage your home is because it will stand out among the competition. Almost 90% of buyers look at pictures online first, especially if they are coming in from another city or state. Once they see the pictures, they will ask their agents to see the home in person. But you ask, how do I get the buyer to come over? What are they looking for?

infographic with reasons why staging helps sell your home

Stage your home to sell with buyer’s expectations in mind

In Moore County, North Carolina, the population has been growing and changing in the past few years. The median age in 2013 was 67 and now it is 46. Younger families are moving into what was known as a retirement community. The number one reason you should stage your home to sell is because they are looking for homes that don’t require work and are move-in ready. Home staging is a process that will make it look move-in ready. As a homeowner, you have to put some work into your home if you want it sold quickly.

When you stage your home to sell, your house will sell faster because of those photos. Buyers will immediately flock to the house that looks good, where the rooms aren’t cluttered, the wall paint is neutral and the house looks well maintained. When you have more buyers or showings, there is the more likely chance that it will sell faster. Photos are the key to get buyers to visit your house in person. Without those photos, they have nothing to entice them to see more.

Freshen up the home

Sometimes, all it takes is a new coat of paint, removing wallpaper and rearranging the furniture. By investing some money to stage your home to sell, you can get a higher return on investment as well. Perception is everything when it comes to real estate. If the property looks good, then the perceived value of it increases. A home that is not staged will get a lower offer than a house that is staged and ready to move in.

Stage your home to sell to make the best first impression

First impressions are everything when it comes to selling your home. If you stage your home to sell, you will make a great first impression because you did the work to make it look ready for buyers.

I do have to warn you, once the home staging process is complete, your home will no longer feel like your home. It may feel strange. It may not be the colors you love. It may even be an INCONVENIENCE. But know that it will only be temporary. Once you decide to sell your home, it is no longer your home and won’t feel like it.

Buyers come into a home that they would love to live in. They want to see it organized and clutter free even though the house may NEVER look like it after they move in. It’s like a Hollywood set. Show them how they could live in it and that is home staging. When you show them something they love, they will have a hard time walking away.

For the home staging skeptics, I will always get the “Why should I spend money on a house that I am leaving?” and I will respond with “How long do you want to wait for your house to be sold?” If you don’t do any work to get your home sold, it will sit longer on the market. I will cover the question of when you should stage your house in another article.

As always, if you need more staging advice, please contact Blue Diamond Staging & Design for a consultation.