Property owners usually know the biggest selling points of their homes and they assume that others should know them too.
Most homeowners don’t understand that other people cannot see the best things about their property. This is especially true for people who are trying to sell their homes. They expect that would-be buyers should be able to spot the potential of the property.
But before buyers view your property, they have probably seen a dozen others. Most of these homes won’t live up to expectations. And buyers soon learn to expect disappointment with every property they view.
This means that they will not arrive at your doors ready to be blown away by your property. They are more likely to show up with eyes that are glazed over with boredom.
It is the responsibility of the seller, explains Superior West Property Management, to present the home in such a way that it evokes a strong positive response from a buyer.
How do you do this?
For most owners, readying a home for sale simply means de-cluttering and cleaning it. Since they assume this, many homeowners do not see their need for a professional home stager. But staging a house is not about cleaning it. It is less about a home’s appearance than it is about how buyers respond to it.
What do professional home stagers really do?
Professional home stagers overhaul a space to make the best impression on the greatest number of potential buyers. The specific things they do with a home are:
- Refurbish it
- Augment its architecture
- Employ color coordination to create focal points within the home
- Place furniture properly and use props to highlight aspects of it
- Create an overall appearance that makes the home inviting
- Design an experience for potential buyers
Home stagers are not interior decorators; they are marketing experts. They use interior design as a tool to enhance their marketing efforts.
Why you should use a professional home stager
1. You have competition
There are other homes out there with similar features to the one you are selling. How is yours going to stand out? Maybe, if buyers just visited your property, they would not need convincing. But how will you get them to do a physical walk-through of the property? Most buyers begin their search online and if your home does not look good in pictures, it is dead on arrival.
2. Your home will appeal to more people
We all have preferences for the kinds of things, people, and places we like. And when you prep your home for sale, you will do it in a way that appeals to others who are like you. This limits the range of would-be buyers the property can speak to.
A professional stager, on the other hand, knows how to design spaces to cut across the likes and desires of the greatest number of people.
3. Professional home stagers maximize space
How spacious a room appears is more a matter of perception than its actual dimensions. A tiny living room can look bigger with the right colors and furniture placement. But a large room may feel cluttered and restricted if it is not properly designed. How large a home is matters to buyers. Professional home stagers can use colors and furniture to create a sense of space.
4. They showcase the good and disguise the flaws
No home is perfect, but if a home is properly staged, its strengths will overshadow its flaws. When a buyer walks up to a house, it should make a good first impression. And that impression should be strong enough that even when the buyer detects flaws in the house, they are willing to overlook them. Home stagers can overhaul a property in such a way that its strengths shine and its flaws become inconsequential.
5. The home sells faster
A well-staged home will be viewed by more people. It looks nicer in listings and will be shared by more people. The more people see and share the pictures, the more likely that it will eventually catch the attention of a serious buyer. Professionally staging your home can make the difference between a property that stays on the shelf for months and one that sells in weeks.
6. You make more money
Homes that were professionally staged sold for a higher price than homes that were not. Buyers were willing to pay more for the property because their desire was ignited and they did not want to lose it to a rival buyer. Staging a home gives the owner a slight advantage during negotiations. This can result in the home selling for as much as 17% higher than a home that is not staged.
Employing a professional home stager to prepare your house for sale is an investment, not an expense. That investment will be recouped in the form of a shorter sales period and a higher selling price. Owners who staged their homes often made 90% more money than they paid to the home stager.
