Home staging is more important than ever before when preparing your home to sell. Beyond simply rearranging furniture, home staging works to highlight the home’s strengths and increase its overall appeal. Given that we are currently in a “buyer’s market”, staging is a cost-effective way to make your home stand out among the fierce competition. In fact, according to Barb Schwarz, The Creator of Home Staging®, even in today's housing market, 95 percent of staged homes sell within 35 days or less, on average — while homes that are not staged take closer to 172 days or more to sell.
“Because you’re often competing with similar homes for potential buyers, you have to deliver the perfect presentation the moment the buyer steps out of the car,” said Kathy Kalnes, regional vice president of Coldwell Banker Residential Brokerage. “Making a conscious effort to stage the home for buyers enhances the desirability factor.”
When it comes to staging your home, be prepared to:
De-personalize. Remove personal photos, children’s toys, and political or religious items that not all homebuyers can identify with. Buying a home is a very emotional decision. The idea is to excite the buyer and compel them to imagine living in your home.
Be Detail Oriented. Buyers will inspect every detail of your home, so eliminating clutter, fixing what is broken, and cleaning everything from top to bottom is essential. Try to look at each room with a critical eye and determine which items are essential, as well as which items the buyer would want to see (and items they would prefer not to see).
Appeal to the Masses. Not everybody loves a bright red accent wall in his or her living room. Try not to turn potential buyers off by using offbeat colors or styles. Neutral colors and décor convey a cleaner image and enable the buyer to imagine implementing their own style into your home.
Coldwell Banker Residential Brokerage, a leading residential real estate brokerage company serving Chicagoland, Northwest Indiana, Southeast Wisconsin and Southwest Michigan, operates 54 offices with more than 3,400 sales associates. Coldwell Banker Residential Brokerage is part of NRT LLC, the nation’s largest residential real estate brokerage company. NRT, a subsidiary of Realogy Corporation, operates Realogy’s company-owned real estate brokerage offices. For more information, please visit www.coldwellbankeronline.com.
