1001431319Home Staging Hooks Potential Buyers Without Compromising the List Price.
By Heidi Wagg
Staging a property for sale is much like getting it ready for prom: you prep it, primp it and make it dazzling!
More precisely, home staging (also called home fluffing or real estate styling) is the process of getting a property ready for the market—so it shows well and stands out from the rest. Depending on the home’s condition, ‘fluffing’ it may involve deep cleaning, de-cluttering, reorganizing, painting, making repairs, decorating, as well as, renting furniture and artwork,
By improving the look of your home, it appeals to more potential buyers and increases the likelihood of a quicker sale. According to the Real Estate Staging Association (RESA), staged homes spend 78% less time on the market compared to non-staged homes!
Better yet, staged properties sell for more money by avoiding price reductions typical of non-staged ones.
“When a house presents like a show home, buyers tend to pay the listing price. Also, people don’t want to renovate; they want a move-in ready look,” says Lisa Sawchuk, Owner and Operator of Alta Moda Staging in Calgary.
Effective home staging takes time to plan and execute. It also requires a certain knack, which is why so many sellers turn to an expert like Lisa.
“One client’s house sat on the market for six months with no offers. It was empty. Just three days following some visual improvements, with furniture and accessories, the house was sold,” recalls Sawchuk.
Professional stagers can help by giving advice in the home and implementing the various strategies. Costs are typically less than the first price reduction that many non-staged homes encounter, making it a worthwhile investment.
Sawchuk offers these proven home-staging tricks:
Emphasize Space
Remove at least thirty percent of belongings and let space pop out.
De-clutter cupboards and closets and limit furniture. As a rule of thumb, the living room should seat five people.
Depersonalize
Buyers want to envision themselves—not you—in the home.
Pack away items that flaunt your personality, identity or culture. This includes collections, model airplanes, framed certificates, medals and military paraphernalia.
Arrange Stylishly
When exhibiting objects, group them in threes and choose different sizes: large, medium, small. A triangle creates a ‘wave’ pattern that is pleasing to the eye.
An artwork’s centre should be at sixty-four inches (the average woman’s eyelevel). Align either all the tops or bottoms of all frames around the room.
Modernize and Accessorize
The average homebuyer is aged thirty-two. Start with a coat of neutral colour paint to update décor.
Create a modern feel to a room with accessories of colourless glass, wood, silver and white. Add a pop of one colour to your palette as an accent.
Lay pillows. Turn any cot into a show-home bed by placing six pillows (three sets of two), plus one accent pillow.
Garnish With Greenery
Fresh flowers say welcome. Select white ones with modern greenery for a clean, non-distracting look. Place them in a contemporary glass vase for display in the kitchen/living room.
Incorporate green plants into your décor. The scale of plants should be large and no more than two per room. Use big, simple pots. Fill a room’s corner with a tree or ceiling-high plant.
Always make your home sparkle. “Buyers know within three to six minutes whether they want to buy the home. That first impression really needs to count!” warns Sawchuk.
