Why Is Home Staging Important?
Staging a home for potential buyers is one of the most important steps in the selling process because it allows you to show off the home as a real estate agent. It’s actionable, real-life marketing. And staging a home can make or break your sale. When you stage the home correctly, you can sell the home faster, potentially at a higher price, and you give your buyers a better idea of what living in this property is like (and why this is a purchase they need to make). In this guide, we’ll explain how to stage a home and the areas upon which you and your home seller should focus to secure the best deal.
1. Home Staging Starts With Curb Appeal
First impressions are crucial in real estate, and that’s especially true when it comes to staging a home. Great curb appeal is inviting to the people who are looking to purchase the home. It gives the impression that the people who live there care about the property.
Let's start with the front door. Since it’s one of the first things prospective buyers will see, should you apply a fresh coat to make it pop? If you’re new to staging or otherwise feel unsure about the process, a professional stager could help make these kinds of decisions and tell you which paint colors to use. What about the lawn? If the lawn is dried up or filled with weeds, that needs to be addressed. A healthy lawn will go a long way, especially for people with kids. Tour the exterior of the property and take notes on what may need to be addressed, from the patio furniture to the cleanliness of the windows, then make a plan to get it done. Consider how you can make this property’s exterior look its best, then go the extra mile to nail down that curb appeal.
2. Remove Personal Photos and Decor
When people visit an open house, they need to envision what it’s like to live at the property. They need to picture themselves in this home, so the focus should not be centered on the personal style of the current homeowner. Having too many tchotchkes around can be a turn off. To give prospective buyers a clean slate, depersonalize the home and tuck away any personal items. Ask your client to remove any family photos and religious decor. Decluttering and removing these knick-knacks will help the potential new homeowners imagine their lives in this home, which can speed up the sale.
3. Tailor the Decorations to the Target Buyer
Since you know the local real estate market, you’ll know who your target audience is and what you have to do to tailor the home to them. If the listing is in a family neighborhood near a school, you may want to stage a child’s bedroom. If first-time homebuyers are more common, you may want to keep the staging simple so the potential buyers can mentally adapt the space to their style and imagine what their new home could look like. If it’s a luxury listing, the staging should match the prestige of the home.
Staging aims to ease any barriers to the homebuyer seeing a prospective property as their own, so match your efforts to your target audience to find the most success. A home stager can help you pick the perfect pieces and rooms if you need professional assistance at this stage.
4. Focus on the Rooms That Matter
When it comes to staging a home, upon which rooms should you focus? Which rooms do buyers care about? Staging the whole home isn’t realistic, especially for larger homes. Now, don’t take this to mean you should leave any areas messy or unkempt, (the dining room, the bathroom counters, and the entryway should all be tidy, for example!), but you and your client should focus on the following three rooms in particular.
According to this piece from NAR, staging efforts should center on:
- The living room
- The master bedroom
- The kitchen
When you think about the places most people spend the majority of their time in the house, this list makes complete sense — so go all-out in these three rooms. Make these living spaces as inviting as possible by decluttering and dusting the coffee table and countertops. Fluff the throw pillows, rearrange the furniture as needed, and focus on making each room look its best. Convince potential buyers that they don’t just want this house — they need this house.
Pro Tip:
Whether you’re new to the real estate business or an industry vet, you can always hire professional help to stage a home if it’s within your budget. Professional staging can be especially helpful for large luxury listings.
5. Deep Clean the Listing
Make sure the home has had a deep cleaning before taking any listing photos. The home should be spotless, which will not only look great but can also help eliminate any lingering odors. Clean all the flooring, walls, light fixtures, bathrooms, bedrooms, sinks, toilets, bathtubs, showers, and grout. Heck, even clean the microwave and oven. When it comes to deep cleaning a home for staging, don’t leave any stone unturned. As for the home’s exterior, power wash the driveway and any decks or patios. Again, if the budget allows for it, you can always hire a cleaning crew to do the work for you. But clean the house before you stage it for purchase.
6. Declutter
When it comes to staging a home, you want to maximize the available space. In most cases, you won’t be able to renovate the home and physically make the rooms bigger. You have to work with what you have, and that means decluttering.
What bulky pieces of furniture or unnecessary additions can you remove to open up the space? For example, removing a full sofa from the living room and adding a few small chairs instead might make the room feel larger. For the master bedroom, remove ancillary furniture like dressers. Not only will the room seem bigger, but having less furniture also helps the buyer get an idea of what they would do in the space. Using a storage space can allow you and your client to move these furniture pieces out of the home without giving them up completely.
7. Utilize Mirrors
Speaking of making rooms appear larger than they actually are, mirrors are a great staging tool. Not only can you use them to change the perception of a space, but they can also add tons of natural light to a room. So, when staging a home, spruce it up with some mirrors. As an added bonus, mirrors make for lovely wall decorations, so hang them up and reflect on how good the space looks.
8. Hang Wall Art
Speaking of wall decorations, don’t have bare walls in your staging — and don’t allow any wall art that is offensive or controversial. Now if the home seller’s art is inoffensive and looks good on the walls, keep it up. But think neutral, from neutral colors to neutral messaging. You want art that is noticeable but not memorable. In terms of home staging, its only purpose is to make the home inviting.
9. Include Live House Plants
You don’t need to create a greenhouse through your staging, but consider adding some greenery here and there. House plants are an important element that makes a property feel like a home; plants make living spaces feel warm and alluring. Think of it this way: When a home doesn’t have house plants, you notice that missing interior design element. Live house plants can also absorb and eliminate possible odors that your deep cleaning may have missed. And when you see them, you feel good. What better emotion is there to invoke when trying to sell a home?
10. Add Luxury Touches To the Bathrooms
The little touches you put into a staging can go a long way. Take the bathroom, for example. Aside from the fact that prospective buyers may actually use it while they’re looking at the property, bathrooms are easily made to feel more luxurious by paying attention to the little things. Leave out nice towels, body spray, and soap. Consider lighting a candle to promote a peaceful ambiance. When you’re thoughtful about the little details, it can pay big dividends.
Home staging is a critical component in selling a home. Whether you and your client DIY your home staging or invite a professional home stager into the mix, keeping these tips in mind can help you wrap up the sale more quickly and with a higher commission check.
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