Home Staging 101

The real estate market never stops being competitive; it’s important to give your target buyers the experience they seek. When you go to a department or furniture store, displays and mannequins decorate the floor, showing you just “what could be” with the purchase of this or that product.

Selling a home can be done with the same concept, for the real estate world this called home staging. Setting up rooms in the house creates a scene or “stage” for your potential buyer of how it might look if this was already their home. So many people are visual-based, seeing and getting the feel of a home can increase the odds for a potential purchase.

If you have a large family home you might set the bedrooms up to show each phase of growing up: a nursery, adolescent, and teen themed rooms. Play up the house assets like a fireplace or balcony; you are helping someone visualize themselves there full-time.

Whether the idea of home staging excites you or you can’t wait to be done with it, cleaning the rooms first is a must. You want to make a great impression that leads to selling a home, starting with a clean setting will encourage potential buyers even more. Imagine the warm fuzzy feeling someone might have knowing they are buying a home from someone who took pride in cleanliness. An aired out clean smelling room puts interested parties in the right mood, leaving them free to see the house with hopeful eyes.

There are a few resources available to hone one’s home staging skills. Workshops, classes, DIY books, and tutorials online all offer more in-depth methods to home staging. On social media people proudly share and advertise their latest home stage masterpieces. If you flip houses or plan to, learning about a top notch home stage could be the essential ingredient to closing a sale. The good news is, someone starting out  or even an experienced person wanting to stay current does not have to go it alone.

Experts and enthusiasts agree that after a thorough cleaning, assessing unassuming decor and designating uses for each room would be the next step. Fixing any issues before anyone has a chance to raise an eyebrow about them will put concerns at ease. Home stagers will tell you that finishing touches like snacks, flowers, and ambient music are all worth the effort. Knowing the basics of home staging can lead you to a part of the real estate world you thrive in or be just the right thing to make a one time experience of selling a home go well.