How Home Staging Can Help You Achieve Top Dollar

Are you selling your home? Has your real estate agent recommended staging your house? Are you wondering what they meant? You would not be the only seller who hasn’t heard of home staging, but this clever concept, born in the United States, has been taking the Australian property market by storm.

BEFORE

AFTER – Photos: Crib Creative

It’s a no-brainer, that to gain an edge in the current market, you must be priced right and look better than the competition. Now, being priced right is a conversation between you and your agent, but looking better is where Home Staging can help. Home staging works by emphasising your home’s positive features and benefits, and letting potential buyers see themselves living in your home. It creates move-in ready spaces that reflect a lifestyle that people want to have and sets your home apart from the rest.

So how does Home Staging appeal to today’s sophisticated home buyer? It’s simple. Home Staging makes your house look bigger, brighter, cleaner, warmer and more loving. It’s all about dressing the house for sale and adding the small details: the lipstick, mascara and, for simplicity, a stunning, single strand of Tahitian pearls.

BEFORE

AFTER – Photos: Crib Creative

Despite what some agents might say, it’s no longer enough to turn the lights on and burn candles. You need to create a sense of possibility and potential, create an inviting space to inspire buyers and generate a mood befitting the property. Home Staging creates these positive impressions using properly placed furniture, colour-coordinated accessories and beautiful linen. It takes your property to the next level by moving or removing furniture to create focal points in main living areas.

The premise behind home staging is as follows;

First impressions are the most important – a potential buyer has made up their mind 9 seconds after they step in the front door
People don’t buy houses, they buy homes
It is hard to know how large a room is when there’s nothing in it as a reference point
People can’t visualise how furniture will fit in an empty space
When a room is empty, prospective buyers focus on negative details instead of falling in love with the overall space
When a house or even a few rooms are empty, prospective buyers can get distracted from looking at the house. Instead of focusing on whether this is the home for them, they may be busy wondering “is this a divorce?”, or “maybe I can put in a low ball offer since the seller might be desperate.”

Aside from presenting the perfect home, it has been shown that Home Staging can get you more offers and increase the price of the home. On that note, I’ll leave you with one of my favourite home staging quotes;