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One of the most common questions our home sellers ask us is “Should I stage my home?” The quick answer is yes!
As local, experienced REALTORS® through countless homes throughout our careers, and we have seen it all! Really!!
We can confidently tell you that a well-staged home can be the big difference between a home selling or not... and price. Watch as Karen Mustard, Kelowna REALTOR® shares insight on the importance of home staging.
Home staging is the process of preparing your home for sale. This often involves de-cluttering, de-personalizing and sometimes re-decorating. The goal of home staging is for your home to appeal, on an emotional level, to future buyers. You want them to feel like they could imagine living there. You want them to feel like they have arrived home.
We'll let you know if your home could benefit from the services of a professional home staging company. There are many things we might suggest that you can do to your home to ensure it shows its best, inside and out. And, depending on your time, budget and target buying group you may be able to DIY, or it may be best to hire a professional to help.
We have preferred home staging partners that we can recommend should you opt to go this route.
1.Staging Your Home Pays! Literally.
Staged homes often sell faster and at a higher price than non-staged homes. A staged home will often have the appearance of being well kept and cared for, which gives the buyer the impression that the home is "worth the money". By creating a blank canvas that allows the buyer to envision themselves living there, they begin to create an emotional attachment to the home, which can help move them to a quicker decision.
When you make the effort to stage a home, or have a professional come in to do it for you, it makes your home look worth buying and differentiates your home from others on the market.
2. First Impressions Are Remembered.
First impressions are everything. When viewing a home, people are looking at more than just room dimensions and floorplans. They're imagining their lives in the space. And, they make a first impression the minute the pull up to the curb or walk through the door. In fact, most first impressions actually happen when viewing the home online. A staged home photographs well and shows well, which can leave behind a great first impressions.
The goal? To make every room in your house a space to remember.
3. Buyers Feel Welcomed Home
When buyers walk into your home they want to see themselves living there. A well-staged home helps them do this. You want to make a space that doesn't have a direct and personal connection to you. Remove family photos, awards, heirlooms - anything that links the space to you and your family. Remove any interior design choices that are specific to your style. The goal is to make the space neutral and clean. Buyers walk into a staged home and can automatically begin to think of all the ways they can begin to personalize the home for themselves.
Every room in your home has a purpose and a function. If you use your dining room as an office, don't assume your future buyer will. Together, we can help you determine the function of each space and provide tips to stage those rooms. Professional home stagers will also do this.
It's also important to look at the flow and space of each room in your home. You want to make every room feel as spacious and functional as possible. Imagine you are walking through your home for the first time, with new eyes. You wan to make sure that every piece of furniture or knick-knack serves a purpose or adds functionality to the space. It's important to look at the style, colours and interior design concepts of each room, de-clutter and depersonalize so there's less of you in the home, allowing the buyer to imagine their own life fitting in the space.
Consider moving furniture to different rooms, painting the walls a neutral shade or beginning your packing process early by storing away items that no longer serve a purpose.
Staging a home doesn't have to be hard, as your experienced REALTORS® we are here to help you through the process!
Every day, we get asked questions from interested buyers, sellers, homeowners and industry professionals. We love to share our knowledge. Do you have a question you'd like the team to answer? Email contact@kelownarealestatepros.com with your question and we'll get it answered!
