5 Tips For Staging Your Home
Stage your home like a pro with our easy tips that won’t break the budget
When selling your house, you naturally want to present it in the best way possible so that it sells quickly and at the highest profit margin.
Research shows that a staged home sells three times faster than a non-staged home, with staged homes selling ten per cent higher. It makes sense to spend a bit of extra time staging your home. A well-staged home can mean several thousand dollars difference in the final sale price of your house.
What is home staging or styling?
It’s a form of marketing with a little bit of psychology mixed in. Its purpose is to bring out the best in your home and inspire would-be buyers to see themselves in it to entice them to buy it.
You want to highlight your home’s best features while minimising the less desirable ones. A well-staged home draws as many people as possible to see the house, attracts them at the open inspections and inspires them to put in generous offers.
Is staging a house for sale worth it?
It’s one of the easiest ways to add value to your home. It increases the marketability of your property.
There are three benefits to staging your home:
- It enables would-be buyers to imagine themselves living in your home
- It helps your house sell faster
- It increases the sale price of your home
How much does home staging cost?
The price will vary depending on where you are in Australia, but as a general guide, they cost between $2,000 to $6,000. The price depends on location, the size of the home and how long you want to stage it. In a big city like Sydney, staging a home is on the higher end of the price scale.
Our tips
A bit of psychology and art goes into staging a home. Ideally, you not only want to make your home look its best, but you also want would-be buyers to feel a connection to your home. People don’t just buy a home for its practicalities (e.g. the location); they also want to buy a home that tugs at their heartstrings and pulls them in. It’s a bit like a romance; people want to find “the one” when it comes to their home. Here are our tips.
1. Declutter your home
Before you do anything, ensure your home is as clean and tidy as possible. This seems like a no-brainer, but we tend not to notice the clutter in our homes because of familiarity. The best way to declutter is to pare your home to the bare minimum.
This is a great time to start boxing things up in your home anyway in preparation for your move, so you kill two birds with one stone.
In the garden, prune back any overgrown trees and shrubs, remove climbing vines and make sure your house can be seen from the street — no branches overhanging on the roof or pipes, bush blocking the windows or doors, grass overgrowing past the footpaths or driveway. A well-kept, well-pruned, simple garden is attractive, and the simpler it is, the better. Don’t spend hundreds on fancy landscaping as less is more, and most buyers are looking for a “blank slate” they can put their stamp on, so keep your garden simple and tidy to help would-be buyers to envision their life at your property.
2. Mend or fix anything broken
Anything that looks broken or needs repairs will put buyers off. Do a thorough sweep of your home and find anything that needs fixing. But leave the big jobs to the professionals. Ideally, you’re looking for holes in the walls that you can fill, dripping taps, cracks in the ceiling, and chipped paint. Anything that you can do yourself, you should do. Leave for the professionals the more significant fixes like plumbing and electrical work.
Investing in new tapware or replacing door handles and cupboard handles go a long way in refreshing the look of a room.
3. Pay attention to light and colour
Look around and see if there are any dark areas of the house. Would-be buyers are attracted to bright, airy spaces. If a room looks drab, consider putting in a new coat of paint or replacing tired, outdated light fixtures to add interest and update the look of a room.
When adding a new coat of paint, stick to white or neutral colours. Get rid of any dark colours as these tend to make a room appear smaller. Also, bright colours are not everyone’s cup of tea. Stick to neutral colours that appeal to a broad market as possible. Neutral colours are also soothing, so you want to create a relaxing, calm, bright and airy space in all rooms to entice and beckon buyers.
4. Window treatments
Windows are the essential features of a house, so make the most of yours. If you have small windows, take out the blinds and replace them with brand new, crisp curtains instead to make them appear larger and let in more light.
Replace outdated blinds with curtains and invest in good-quality rods and finials to update the look of your window. Painting your window frames is another great way to update their look.
5. Stick to simple accessories
Replace worn-out cushions, mats, and rugs with some new ones, as nothing will turn off a prospective buyer more than a raggedy, beaten-up home. If you have carpet with worn-out spots, consider covering it with a rug or placing furniture over it.
If you have old furniture, think about re-upholstering it to give it a new lease of life for a minimal investment. Changing up even a small thing in the room does wonders to lift the mood in the room and update the look and feel of the entire space.
Invest in a beautiful vase and have some fresh-cut flowers in it for inspection day to make the room warm and welcoming.
The most important thing when it comes to accessories is de-personalising your house. That means removing all family photos and personal décor (such as souvenirs you got from your last holiday). While these accessories may be beautiful, they will not help your would-be buyer to form an emotional connection to your house as these items are personal only to you.
The main takeaway
You don’t have to spend thousands on beautifying your home to attract more buyers and increase the sale price. Less is more when it comes to staging your home for sale, and simple fixes are available to achieve a lot with a minimal budget. Read more about useless renovations that won’t add value to your property here.
Want to know how much your home will sell for? Contact us on 0450 914 535 for a free, non-obligation appraisal of your property.
