When it comes to selling your house, it can feel like there are a thousand things for you to remember. And just one of those things is staging. For many sellers, this seems like a frivolous chore that they could skip – but trust us, it’s not! The effort you put into staging your property can actually have a massive impact on not only how quickly you sell, but how much you sell it for as well. And if that wasn’t enough – buyers really like it when you stage your house! 81% of buyers say that home staging makes it easier to visualise the property as their future home and makes that commitment a little easier.
After all, your buyers aren’t house hunting – they’re home hunting, and if they fall in love with your house, they’re likely make a decision quicker, and push harder to secure it. So, making your house look like a cosy, comfy home is a really important step in the sales process. To help you out, we’re going to share our top 7 tips for staging your home to really make it stand out, working from room to room.
Tip 1 – Have a Welcoming Exterior
It’s a tired old saying, but first impressions really do matter, and that applies to your home as much as anything else. That first view prospective buyers get of the property has a real impact on how they feel about it, and can colour their whole experience when they’re walking around. You might not think there is much you can do to stage the outside of your house, but with a little elbow grease you can make a big difference. Little touches like installing attractive house numbers, buying a new doormat and giving your driveway a power wash really show your house at it’s best, and help buyers start off on the right foot.
Tip 2 – Make Living Areas Spacious
Even if they live in it at home, not many people like the idea of a cluttered and cramped space. So, take some time to look at your living room, remove the clutter and open up the space a bit. That might just mean moving some things around, but it might mean moving that odd armchair into storage just to create some more space during viewings. Remember – less is more! And if you’re in the mood for redecorating, light colours tend to create a feeling of openness and are more attractive to buyers, as they can plan their own colour scheme at the same time. If you can’t (or don’t want) to repaint, then decorating the space with light colours can have the same effect. And just before your prospective buyers arrive, make sure to turn on all the lights and open the curtains to show off your space.
Tip 3 – Keep Bedrooms Gender Neutral
Bedrooms for adults tend to be fairly gender neutral by nature, but if you have children (even older ones) in the house then their bedrooms might be heavily gendered. While this is great while they live there, it can make it difficult for buyers to imagine themselves living in that space. So where you can, try to keep the bedrooms as gender neutral as you can. This usually means just removing any overly gendered items, and possibly painting any feature walls (if you want to that is). It’s a small thing, but it gives buyers a blank canvas to imagine their own lives in the house.
Tip 4 – Be Thoughtful About Tech
We all love our tech, but it can look a bit cluttered and overwhelming. If you look around your living room and bedrooms right now, how much tech is lying around each room? A common staging technique is to remove a lot of the unnecessary items from rooms, even if it’s just for the showing. This usually means any extra TV’s in bedrooms etc, as well as video games systems that might be on display in the living areas. Again, it’s all about creating a blank canvas for the buyers, so they can put themselves into the home without distraction. Some estate agents will recommend having the living room TV on and showing an image slideshow during viewings, but this really is down to personal preference, and there’s no proof that it makes a difference either way.
Tip 5 – Revamp Spare Rooms
If you have a spare room (or two) in your home, the most common uses are guest room and storage. But the research shows that these aren’t the best ways to display how much space your home has, or how versatile the number of rooms can be. So if you can, consider turning your spare bedroom(s) into a slightly different kind of space for a while. A few options include a home office, a games room (a good place to put all of that tech you removed from the other rooms), a craft room or an exercise room. This shouldn’t be a massive project, as you likely won’t use these rooms for this purpose, but if you can do it, it makes a big difference. Again, this is all about showcasing the options available for a buyer, and helping them visualise what they could do with the space.
Tip 6 – Clean up & Clear out Your Kitchen
The kitchen is always a difficult one, because it’s the room that’s in almost constant use, so the most difficult to keep ‘show ready’. But the slightly lived-in look isn’t a bad thing here, if it’s done properly. Before you start showing your home, give your kitchen a really thorough deep clean to make sure there’s nothing to put off a keen-eyed viewer. Then, declutter a bit. This is something you’re likely to do anyway as you pack, so it’s a good way to save time later on. A clean, decluttered kitchen can work wonders for a viewing!
If you want to go next-level with this room, then you could also:
- Pack away all but one set of matching crockery
- Set your dinner table with the crockery already out, as if you were serving a dinner party
- Bake some bread or cookies just before the buyers arrive, to give that homely, delicious smell
Tip 7 – Seasonal Touches Tip
And finally, think of the time of year you’re selling your home, and if you could do anything to compliment it. It’s these little touches that can make buyers really fall in love. Think, scented cinnamon sticks at Christmas, autumnal leaves and pumpkins for autumn, or fresh flowers in spring.
If you’re looking to sell your hose and need some support, we would be happy to help. Just get in touch with the team at Northwood today to chat with one of our experts.
