You’re probably aware of the concept of home staging, even if you’ve not heard the term – there’s an entire genre of television programs dedicated to it! Essentially, home staging, also known as property styling or property presentation, is the act of preparing a home and unleashing its full potential to attract buyers and get you the best price.
According to UK property analysts mouseprice.com, staged homes sell for up to 10-15% more than the competition and 18% of viewers decide whether they will make an offer from the moment they walk in the front door. Not only that, data from the Home Staging Association UK & Ireland shows ‘staged homes receive an offer in an average of just 45 days, and in 33% of cases, sell over three times faster than a non-staged home.’ So, it’s definitely worth getting on board!
It may seem obvious that making your home look nice is going to help sell your home, but you’d be surprised of what little things you can do that’ll make a big difference. Here are some of our best tips on home staging and how to get the most out of your home.
Declutter
We all have those bits and bobs we live with that almost become part of the furniture, but with house viewings you almost want to make your home a complete blank canvas. The goal of a viewing is to allow potential buyers to picture themselves living there and what they’ll do with the space, so it’s a good idea to store away personal items, such as family photos, mementos, magazines, large kitchen appliances, trinkets, toys, blankets, personal throw cushions, and ornaments. Move excessive clutter or even larger furniture you don’t really need in the garage, attic, or a storage space to make your home seem larger and more inviting. You want your home to be warm, welcoming and feel like a home but also accessible to everyone.
Give your home mass appeal
You made your home your own and personal just to you, but now as you sell it, you want to make it as widely appealing as possible. Replace your trendy, bold wallpaper with subtle neutral tones, change your brightly patterned bed sheets to white linens, and take down those colourful paintings and replace them with calm, muted ones. You don’t want anything that will make people with differing tastes turn their nose up at you home, and it will also help make the property seem bigger and airier.
DIY time savers
Your potential buyers are looking out for anything that will reduce their costs and save them time on their move, so it’s best to fix all those little problems in your home so they’re not adding them up against reasons not to buy the property. Things like scuffed or damaged skirting boards, loose floorboards, dents or holes in the walls, faulty plugs, stiff windows, loose door handles, and mould damage. Make sure your home’s decoration is still up to standard, a fresh lick of paint can transform a room!
Deep clean
Don’t just spring clean — summer, autumn, and winter clean too! Dedicate an entire weekend to it and do all those jobs you usually think you can get away with, that means tops of cupboards and shelves, light shades and curtains, inside wardrobes, the skirting boards, high ceilings, behind the sofa, even the plant leaves! How the house smells is important too, so light a scented candle before each viewing to ensure the house smells as good as it looks!
Give a good welcome
Remember that statistic about house viewers deciding whether they’ll make an offer the moment they walk through the front door? Well, you want to ensure that first impression is a good one. Spruce up your foyer or entrance, neaten the coat rack by removing all non-essential outerwear (or if you can, keep it completely clear), put away muddy shoes, and ensure keys are where they should be. Add touches to make it look as attractive as the rest of the house, like a pot plant in the corner or a vase of flowers on the side table.
Show off a room’s potential
You want viewers to see the full potential of your property and the versatility of each room, that means returning rooms to their original purpose. Move all the exercise equipment out of the spare room and make it look like a bedroom again, add a desk and filing cabinets and turning it into an office, you can even add a table and chairs to the kitchen to show it can double as a dining room.
Don’t forget the exteriors
First impressions don’t only start inside the home, the first thing potential buyers will see is the front of the house and you want to ensure it’s looking its best. Trim the lawns in both front and back gardens, neaten up the hedges and shrubs, clear away any fallen leaves or debris, sweep the front drive, give the exterior a good power wash, add some flowers or potted plants to give the place a splash of colour, literally roll out the welcome mat by adding a new doormat, ensure your bins are tucked out of sight, even if its just for the visit, and if a car needs to be in the drive, make sure it’s clean and tidy too.
Update and upgrade
You may love the retro feel of your home, but an outdated look in a property can put off house viewers. Upgrade old furniture – you don’t have to buy a whole new suite, see if a friend or family member will lend you a few pieces for a while, even a few modern touches will make all the difference. Replace worn out rugs with fresh news ones or remove them completely to show off your wood floor. Take down fussy old curtains and put up something plain and understated.
Home staging doesn’t need to cost a bomb and don’t feel like you need to do everything on this list, even one or two will make a big different to prospective buyers and add a little wow factor to your property.
