The Value of Staging a Home to Sell

Springtime is one of the most popular times to sell and buy homes. The trees and flowers are blooming, the weather is finally turning warm, and homebuyers are in the mood to get out and look at houses on the weekend. Home sellers, however, are not always as prepared as they should be. A large number of homeowners do not stage their homes before putting them on the market. We know it can be daunting, so we worked with some of our favorite local decorators to compile a list of reasons to stage your home and tips on how you can do it simply and affordably.   Why Stage?

1. Significant impact on your length of time to sell and the price you’re offered. You want the highest offer in the shortest amount of time, don't you?
2. Return on Investment. According to the National Association of Realtors the average cost to stage a home is $675, but the average price increase on home offers was 1-5%. We think that’s a pretty smart investment.
3. Help buyers view your house as a potential home. You’ve probably heard all the old home selling standbys: deep clean the house, ditch the clutter, hide the litter box and pet bowls, go ahead and pack the family photos. They’re long-standing selling tips for a reason- buyers don’t want to think of a home as YOURS, they want to imagine themselves in it, making their own memories. On the flip side, it’s more difficult for a buyer to imagine what to do with an empty space.

TIP: Rather than a toothbrush holder on the sink, try a small vase of flowers or decorative candles.

1. Pre-packing. You’re going to be packing up all of your belongings anyway to move, right? So tackling the clutter room-by-room, until each room is down to the bare bones of furniture and décor, not only gets you in shape to move when the offers come flying in, it allows you to stage the home.
2. First Impressions. Once your home is on the market, buyers will constantly be coming by to look at your home (hopefully). After-the-fact, you will have even less time to stage your home. And there’s a slim chance that buyers will come back to your home after they’ve crossed it off their list. Unless, of course, you’re on an episode of “Love It or List It”.

  How to Stage Affordably Whether you’re DIY staging your home, or you’re hiring a professional to do it for you, you don’t have to break the bank on new furniture and framed art that you’ll just donate once you sell the house.

1. Use what you already own. This is harder if you don’t have an eye for design. But you can go through your home and collect all of your baskets, jars, vases, trays, mirrors, figurines, lamps and old books, sit them in the middle of the room after you’ve de-cluttered, and just play around with it. Fill up shelves, arrange centerpieces on tables, stack baskets on top of cabinets etc. And when in doubt, do a Google Images search for “repurpose my {object I’m holding in my hand}”. Photos examples are bound to come up of decorative uses for that item.
2. Free flowers. Don’t spend a ton of money on fresh flowers if they’re already growing in your yard. Even twigs and branches can be arranged in a vase to bring some of the outside in.
3. Rearrange and give each room a purpose. You want buyers to understand “this is the living room” when they walk through the door. You also want to make a clear walkway from room to room so they’re not having to step around furniture.
4. Let the light in. Make your home look as bright as possible with natural sunlight. Open the blinds and pull back the curtains! Sunlight has been scientifically proven to improve your mood and energy level, and you certainly want buyers to be in a good mood when looking at your home! (And if it’s a rainy day, try turning on floor lights and table lamps to creative a nice ambience for the buyer, instead of walking into a dark house).
5. Clean out the closets. Buyers are nosey and will look in every nook and cranny that they can. If you have your closets crammed full of clothes, purses and shoes it will make the space look smaller. Take out all of the clothes except the ones you wear most frequently and be sure that each garment is spaced apart.
6. Don’t neglect the outdoor space. First impressions matter. If your house looks like a scene from a scary movie, you’ve already tainted a buyer’s impression of what the inside of the house will look like. Focus on curb appeal:
   • Don’t leave anything on the porches or in the yard
   • Pick up toys, put away bicycles, roll up hoses
   • Constant lawn care while your home is on the market is imperative. Don’t let the grass get too high!
   • If it’s Fall, be sure the leaves haven’t piled up on your porch and walkways

And if you’re not living in the house while it’s on the market, don’t forget to go back once a week or once every two weeks to maintain that stunning curb appeal you've created.

And as we said above, if you’re not feeling up to the task yourself, you can hire a professional decorator and/or home stager to come to your house and do it for you. If you find a trusted local decorator (word of mouth is always a great way to find one), they can come out and conduct a 1 - 2 hour consultation, after which they give you a list of things that can be done to stage each room of your house. That can cost between $150 - $400 depending on the area and most will charge an hourly rate if you want them to come back and do all of the staging for you.   Happy Staging!  

First Choice Home Builders is a local homebuilder in the Columbia County and Greater Augusta, GA area specializing in custom, semi-custom, and build-on-your-lot homes. Currently the company is building homes in the Riverwood Plantation, Whispering Pines, and Rhodes Farm Master Planned Communities. Like us on Facebook or follow us on Houzz to see current projects.