How To Homeown

Staging your home to sell has so many benefits and if you ask us, the answer is TO STAGE! (In most situations.)

The way you live in your home and the way you sell a home are two completely different things. Making sure that your home appeals to the most amount of people when listing on the market is the best way to get the highest price! In general, we as people have a hard time envisioning the possibilities in a space. Staging is so effective because it helps us by showing us the possibilities a space can have! Your goal of appealing to the most amount of people means that your space should be trendy, inviting, well thought out, functional and emotional. It is easier for people to start imagining their lives in a listing when the guess work is taken out and they can simply focus on the big picture factors like location and if this particular house is a good fit for them!

Let’s go back in time for a little staging history lesson! As builders started mass producing homes in developments in the late 20th century, there were a few model homes that everyone went through to get a feel for the neighborhood and floorpans available. These homes were made up beautifully, with staged furniture to give the allusion of what life would be like living in them. In order to keep up and make sure potential buyers were equally attracted to their listings, sellers of “resale” homes were tasked to compete with the style and luxury of model homes and thus, staging became the expectation from buyers across all types of homes for sale. 

These days, buyers are so used to seeing homes in the ultimate light! They are influenced by social media, HGTV and other DIY platforms and expect to be more visually informed when making purchasing decisions as a result. In today’s world, whether its a sellers market or not, staging has become more and more important! 

Whether it’s a full stage, partial stage, rearrangement of the sellers’ belongings, or something in between, the way you preset your home to the market has a very traceable effect on final price vs. list price, days on market, and number of offers received. Staged homes typically sell 30 times faster and for 20% higher than non-staged homes. 

Staging could mean a complete move out of your personal belongings to storage and renting furniture/artwork for every room in your house.  Staging could mean removing or rearranging some of your personal belongings to optimize your space and help to bridge the gap between how you live in your home and how potential buyers could see themselves living in it.  Staging could mean adding in a few accessory items here and there to create better functionality and a more standout experience for viewers.  In some cases, it is better to list a home completely empty.

In any case, budget or timeline, it is best to consult with your Realtor to create a staging plan and really understand the cost-benefit analysis of your specific listing! It is important to remember to have fun with staging on not take the recommendations of the stager personally! Staging is merely a tool in the successful sale of your home 🙂

Happy Staging!