Despite the slight increase in property prices over the last few months it is still a buyer’s market out there. Many homeowners are struggling to sell or being forced to knock thousands off their original asking price. Since the recession started in the late 2000s, home staging has been a valuable tool in the seller’s arsenal. Making a minimal investment in creating the right ambience could be all it takes to make your property stand out from the rest.
Home staging is not interior design. The whole idea is to make your property appealing to as many people as possible. It is about creating a vision of an aspirational lifestyle that viewers will want to buy in to. There is a little more to it than simply cleaning and tidying up, although of course that is essential too. However, the thing that really appeals to buyers is to create a space that they can envisage themselves living in, without making it looked as though someone else is already living there.
Where to start
When staging a home it is essential to remove anything that makes your home remotely personal to you. Family photographs need to go, as do any personal knickknacks and treasures. Walls should be as painted in as neutral a colour as possible and appliances should be replaced with something new.
De-cluttering is the key to successfully staging your home for a quick sale. This could mean that you end up putting a significant amount of your furniture into storage. Remember that you are presenting your home as a product to be purchased. This means that you have to make it appeal to as many different types of people as possible.
Neutral but not bland
While it is important to make your home neutral one of the biggest mistakes people make when staging their home is that they create a space that is far too bland. Although you want to depersonalise your space you still need to make it feel like a home that people want to live in themselves.
This means that there should be some tasteful touches around your home. For example, pieces of antique furniture, if strategically placed, can help to add character and interest to your living space. Add interesting ornaments to draw attention to the features of the room that you want your buyers to notice. Bring in plants to show them how much natural light enters the room.
Most importantly make sure that everything is spotlessly clean. This includes all the places you would normally forget about such as under the kitchen counter or the backs of your cupboards. You want to be able to show your prospective buyer every last inch of your home to illustrate just how much they will benefit from buying your property.
Creating the right ambience to appeal to as many people as possible is the key to selling your home quickly and achieving its maximum value.
