Staging is more popular than ever when it comes to selling a home. But, you might wonder if it’s really worth the inconvenience and upfront costs for you, especially in a seller’s market.

Even with a well-maintained (and well-decorated!) home, staging can increase the price you end up getting for your home and decrease the time it stays on the market. 

When it comes to stage, we have two options. We can either hire a professional stager who can use their own furniture and décor for your home. This will enable us to stage it in a way that works for your potential buyer. Or, I can give you suggestions on how best to present your home with what you have already. I can even bring in some of my own items to supplement what you have.  

Here’s a rundown of why staging is worth it:

Staging a home is not like “cleaning your home for guests” but rather it entails coming up with a marketing strategy that will showcase your home in a way that will appeal to the most buyers.

It’s still critical to make your home sparkle and shine by cleaning but it’s this next step that makes selling your home more of a “business” goal that has a clear-cut purpose. How you live is NOT how you sell! For example, that third bedroom which is part office, part storage closet? That needs to be turned into a bedroom. Really easy to do with an inexpensive bedframe and some stylish bedding from a discount store. Or, make it an appealing office space only if you think your potential buyers are searching for that right now.

Staging creates a positive emotional response for buyers when they walk through your door.

First impressions are so crucial that they last long after buyers leave your home. We want them dreaming of their idyllic life in your home. Therefore, sometimes we need to do some decluttering, cleaning, reorganizing, and adding extra storage space to get buyers to think with their emotions. It can be easy and cost little or nothing. I can walk each room with you to tell you exactly what to put where. 

Sometimes all it takes is a fresh eye.

Your large leather couch or collection of pottery may be gorgeous and look great for your day-to day-life, but to buyers it could mean your home feels tight and cluttered. Remember, don’t take it personally! When you are selling your home, it’s a product for sale, not the home you’ll be living in any more!  

When in doubt, go neutral.

You may love that turquoise wall, but most buyers will be distracted and only see the wall. They will also miss the spacious room and everything else your home has to offer. Try to neutralize your home. Right now, the hottest colors are the whitest white for doors, trim and ceilings, and a light grey for the walls. You want to present your home as a modern, soothing, and clean space for new buyers to imagine themselves living there.  

Staging can give a room a purpose — create an office, a guest room, a reading nook that usually isn’t there.

You don’t want buyers to wonder what they can use this room or space for while living there. Instead, you want to show them what life could be like there, even if it’s not currently the way you are using the space. Think about who the ultimate buyer of your home will be and cater to how THEY would live in the rooms in your home and stage accordingly. 

Take what you have and work with it by decluttering, rearranging or relocating furniture and artwork, and also reconsider paint colors.

You can prioritize a list of things and then decide what you’ll do and what you won’t do based on your budget. Remember, you can take it or leave it since it’s your home for sale.

A staged home looks more desirable in online photos.

Your online presence can either encourage buyers to check out your home or could drive them away. Therefore, each room needs to appear like it has a purpose and is ready to move into. This will get you more people coming to look at your home, and the more people who come and see it means more offers and a higher contract price.  

When it comes to staging and making your home look gorgeous, you shouldn’t feel like you have to figure it all out on your own! Positioning your home for the market to get you the most money possible is my job and I’ll help you through this phase too.