When you’re looking to sell your home, you want to do everything you can to ensure it’ll sell quickly, and for the highest possible price.
There are lots of things you can do to help make this happen, but if you really want to sell your home faster and get more money for it, home staging is one of the best investments you can make.
You might be thinking that this is just a matter of opinion, but the data doesn’t lie.
For example, a Real Estate Staging Association survey of 4,600 staged properties found that 73 per cent sold over list price, with staged homes fetching an average of $40,000 more.
The survey also found that staged homes sold approximately nine days faster, based on the average days on the market.
What’s more, according to an article from the Home Staging Institute, a survey of 900 realtors found that 65 per cent of them believe home staging “helps sell a house for more money” and the majority of them believe home staging can increase a property’s selling price by up to 10 per cent.
The article also points out that the return on investment for home staging can add up to more than 550 per cent, 90 per cent of realtors said the benefits of home staging can “help to sell a property” and nearly 85 per cent agreed that “a staged home will sell faster than an unstaged home.”
Truth be told, this represents just a tiny sampling of the data that’s out there to back up the benefits of home staging, so I could keep going ad nauseam, but I won’t bore you with any more statistics.
That being said, if you want to know how to get more money for your house, sell your home faster, or just want to learn more about the benefits of home staging, then you should definitely keep reading.
Because in this article, I’m going to explain what home staging is, for those of you who aren’t quite sure, and explore how it can help you to sell your home faster and at a higher price.
What Is Home Staging?
Simply put, home staging is a real estate marketing technique that involves preparing a residential property to be put up for sale on the real estate market.
The goal is to make a home appealing to the highest number of potential buyers, which can help to sell the property more quickly, and for a higher price. Here’s what home staging entails:
Improving Aesthetics: This is done by decorating and arranging furniture and décor to showcase the home’s best features. It often involves decluttering, rearranging furniture, adding more attractive furnishings, artwork, and accessories, and using colour and lighting effectively.
Neutralizing the Space: Stagers often aim to create a neutral and inviting atmosphere so potential buyers can easily envision themselves living in the space. This might mean painting walls in neutral colours and removing personal items like family photos.
Highlighting Features: Good staging highlights the property’s strengths and downplays its weaknesses. For example, a stager might rearrange furniture to showcase a beautiful fireplace or a stunning view.
Creating a Sense of Space: Techniques like decluttering and strategic furniture placement can make rooms appear larger and more open.
Enhancing Online Presentation: Since most home buyers start their search online, staging is key, as it can make a home look much more appealing in photos and virtual tours.
Emotional Connection: Effective staging can also help to create a more inviting atmosphere that helps buyers emotionally connect with your home because it helps make it easier for them to envision themselves living in it.
How Can Home Staging Help to Sell Your Home Faster?
Without a doubt, home staging can help you sell your home much more quickly, and there are several reasons for this. Here’s how staging your home can help you sell your home faster:
First Impressions Matter: Staging creates a strong first impression for potential buyers. A well-staged home looks appealing in photographs and in person, which can help make your home more attractive to buyers from the outset.
Highlights Your Home’s Strengths: Staging emphasizes the best features of your home while minimizing any flaws. This helps to ensure that buyers will focus more on the positive aspects, such as spacious rooms, beautiful views, or unique architectural details.
Helps Buyers Visualize Themselves in Your Home: A staged home helps buyers imagine themselves living in your home. By depersonalizing your space (removing personal items like family photos) and presenting a clean, attractive setting, staging makes it easier for buyers to envision their own lives and belongings in it.
Creates an Emotional Connection: Staged homes are typically set up to feel warm and welcoming, which can create strong emotional appeal for potential buyers, and when buyers feel an emotional connection to your home, they’re going to be more likely to make an offer.
Improves Online Presentation: Many buyers start their home search online. That being said, well-staged homes photograph better and tend to stand out in the listings, which can end up leading to more interest and more showings.
Shows Your Home’s Potential: Staging can demonstrate how to use awkward spaces or how to layout furniture in an open-concept area, helping buyers understand the full potential of your home.
Reduces Perceived Negatives: A well-staged home can distract from any of your home’s less desirable aspects, such as smaller rooms or a lack of certain features.
Creates a Move-In Ready Feel: Staging can give the impression that your home is well-maintained and ready for immediate occupancy, which is appealing to many buyers who prefer that the home they’re about to buy won’t require a lot of work before they can move in.
Gives You a Competitive Edge: In a crowded market, a staged home can stand out from other listings, drawing more interest and bringing in offers more quickly.
Supports the Asking Price: Buyers may be more inclined to meet your asking price if they perceive your home as more valuable. With that in mind, staging can support your home’s listed price, as it presents your home in its absolute best light.
How Can Home Staging Help to Sell Your Home at a Higher Price?
Home staging is one of the best ways to ensure your home sells for the highest possible price, and there’s good reason for that. Here’s how staging your home can help you sell it for a higher price:
Enhances Visual Appeal: Staging accentuates your home’s best features and aesthetic potential, and a visually appealing home often commands a higher price because it creates a strong, positive impression on potential buyers.
Broadens Market Appeal: By neutralizing and depersonalizing your space, staging makes your home more appealing to a wider range of buyers, and when more people are interested, it can lead to more competitive offers.
Highlights Functionality and Space: Staging can demonstrate the practical use of space, making the rooms in your home appear larger and more functional. This perceived increase in space and utility can translate to a higher perceived value.
Creates an Emotional Connection: A well-staged home can evoke an emotional response, encouraging buyers to form a personal attachment. And buyers who are emotionally invested in a property are often willing to pay more.
Demonstrates Care and Maintenance: A staged home typically looks well-cared-for, which can reassure buyers that your property is in good condition. This perceived care can help to reduce buyers’ concerns about the potential for hidden costs, justifying a higher asking price.
Improves Online Presentation: In today’s world, the first showing usually happens online. That being said, staged homes photograph better and are more likely to stand out in online listings, attracting more interest, which can lead to higher offers.
Reduces Negotiation Leverage for Buyers: If your home is staged and presents well, buyers will have fewer visible reasons to negotiate down the price and less leverage with which to do so.
Speeds Up the Sale Process: A faster sale, which is often the result of effective staging, can prevent the need for price reductions, which typically occur when a property has been on the market for a while.
Sets the Property Apart from Competing Listings: In a competitive market, a well-staged home can stand out among other listings, making it more desirable and possibly driving up the price due to competition between buyers.
Can Create a Bidding War: Especially in hot markets, like what we’ve been seeing across much of Canada over the last several years, a staged home that attracts multiple interested buyers can result in bidding wars, which naturally drives up the price.
Want to have your home staged before you sell it? Contact us today or go to our Home Staging page for more information.