Sell It Faster: How to Stage a Home

Is staging a home worth it?

Isn’t it easier to sell an empty home?

Think again.

In a large study done in 2018, 85% of the homes that were staged sold up to 25% higher than unstaged homes. If you are selling your house for $200,000, that means an increase of up to $50,000!

However, staging a home doesn’t just mean leaving all of your stuff in there as is.

There’s a science to staging a home correctly, and if done right, could mean more money in your pocket, and sooner!

Check out these tips on how to stage a home for the best results!

Why Stage a Home?

Along with knowing how to stage a home, it’s important to understand why you should stage a home.

The answer lies in peoples’ desire to belong.

Staged homes feel warmer and happier. There’s no worse feeling while house shopping than walking into a cold, echoey room that feels more like a mausoleum than a living room.

Staging a room will reduce echoing effects as well as make it feel like home to potential buyers.

People want to walk into a house and imagine themselves and their families living there. A dining room table set for dinner and a living room full of furniture that invites long conversations with friends and family can make anyone feel like they belong.

One of the most common pieces of advice you get while buying a house is not to get emotionally invested.

But let’s be honest, we all do it anyway! We can’t help it, our homes are one of the most important aspects of our lives!

While selling a house, you need to use the buyer’s emotions to your advantage. Make it easy for them to picture themselves living in your home. Give them a reason to get emotionally invested.

Brightness

Now that we know why let’s talk about how!

Being in a dark home for too long can really get you down.

In fact, seasonal affective disorder, or SAD, is a very serious depression-related disease that affects people primarily because of the lack of light during the winter.

Learning how to stage your home correctly means making rooms as bright as possible!

People love bright rooms with big windows and, by nature, enjoy natural sunlight as opposed to man-made light.

Bright rooms feel happier, and people like being happy.

Neutral Colors

Have you ever been exploring a home for sale and walked into a bright, lime green room? The first thing you think is “what the heck were they thinking?”

Regardless of why the room is that color, it is a turn-off to the buyer and almost every potential buyer says the same thing, “well, we’re going to have to repaint this room.”

Keep your wall colors sophisticated and neutral. This will apply a broader stroke to buyers your home will appeal to.

Neutral colors, while sometimes boring, will not make it difficult for buyers to imagine themselves living in your home. However, vibrant and unique colors can not only have the opposite effect but can also make a space feel crowded and smaller.

Cleanliness

This should go without saying, but you would be surprised by the state of some homes on the market.

Dirty homes are one of the biggest reasons buyers will walk away from a home, regardless of location and cost. Buyers expect to walk into a nice, clean house.

Cleaning up the gunk and dirt is obvious, but what about all the other stuff buyers notice?

Buyers are incredibly ambivalent about buying homes that had pets in them, even if they plan to have pets as well. Realtors will tell you how often buyers love a house, but the second they see a litter box, suddenly, all they can smell is cat litter.

Pet hair is also a big turn-off. If you had pets on your carpet, it’s probable that you’ll need a professional cleaning service or new carpet.

Damp stains and water damage are also big no-nos. Those speak to the buyer that things are in a state of disrepair and they will view your home as a project, rather than a haven.

Finally, people, in general, are very sensitive to smells. If you have a weird funk in your house, figure out where it’s coming from and eliminate it.

Minimalistic

Learning how to stage your home means finding the fine line between too much and too little.

You don’t want so little furniture and decorations that people find it empty, but you also don’t want too much.

Having an excess of furniture, decorations, and knick-knacks will make a space feel cluttered and quite a bit smaller.

You don’t want people to feel like a space is hard to move around in. Home buyers don’t like feeling closed-in, they want openness.

Furniture

When speaking about furniture, it’s important to note how it should be arranged.

As mentioned above, the living room furniture should suggest a room where long conversations with family and friends take place. People are very social creatures and love to share their homes with others.

It’s vital that your home presents a social atmosphere.

By the way, if your furniture has seen better days, it might be a good idea to rent furniture for your home staging. Old, dilapidated furniture will not appeal to buyers.

Plants

One of the cheapest tips on how to stage your home is to buy simple house plants or update your garden. People love being in spaces with plants.

There’s a good reason for it, too. Studies have actually shown that plants make us feel better, along with several other benefits too!

Just make sure you don’t go overboard and create a jungle!

What if You Know How to Stage Your Home, but Can’t?

Even if you know how to stage your home, it doesn’t mean that it’s something you can make happen. Staging and home repairs can be expensive. There are some cases where you may have to sell your home as is, and that’s okay.

You won’t get as much money, but maybe you just need to get out of that space.

Regardless, if you need help selling your home, we’ve got you!

Additionally, for more tips and advice on buying and selling homes, check out our blog!