Staging A Home Before Selling

For those of you that have been considering selling your home, you're going to want to consider staging the house before it hits the market. Home staging is somewhat of a hot trend right now among real estate agents and I am going to tell you why in this article.

First, please allow me to point out that there are numerous advantages to staging a house before sale. The absolute, hands down, best reason to stage a property, it will sell in a shorter amount of time! You read that last part right, recent research has shown that staged homes often sell around forty percent quicker than homes that have not been staged for sale. Now that is a big difference and great news for you home sellers out there.

Aside from a quicker sale, which by the way would allow for a better return, most homes that have been staged typically sell for higher prices! Its true. Did you know that the longer your property sits on the market, the higher your likelihood is of having to sell below, sometimes way below, your asking price? So if you can spend a little money to stage your home, you have the potential of not only selling it much quicker, but also making more money from the sale.

Staged homes practically sell themselves, they allow buyers to envision themselves living within that space, and once a buyer does that, they just have to have it. But there are more reasons why a staged home is better as you will find out below.

1. Not many people realize it, but some sellers are also staging the outside of a home in an effort to increase curb appeal and draw in potential buyers. We have found that homes in which have undergone exterior staging, draw in more people than other homes on the market. Why? Simple, because they look better, or even better yet, because they look like home.

2. One of the big real estate industry secrets is that you only have a small amount of time to convert a looker into a buyer. Often times, a person will have made a decision to buy or walk within seconds of entering a home, which means that your homes first impression has to be a lasting one. By staging the home, especially the entry areas, you have the ability to grab your buyers attention and draw it to what ever features you want, staging puts you in control of the sale.

3. Shiny new appliances in the kitchen can not only increase a homes sale price, but can also increase the chances of a quick sale. Kitchens have been known to make and break home sales, which is why staging the kitchen can be of the utmost importance. Even simple strategies such as adding fresh flowers will brighten up an otherwise drab area and become more inviting to the buyer.

4. Here is another staging angle you may not have considered. A real estate agent is more likely to be drawn to a staged home than one that has not been staged, which gives you the upper hand when selecting an agent to handle the sale. Aside from this, staged homes are considerably more likely to appear in advertisements and become featured listings because of their attractive appearance. Of course having increased exposure is just another way to make a quick sale and that's what we are after.

What else is there to conclude other than the fact that staged homes sell better than other homes. They give sellers a unique advantage to ride the top of the housing market, make a quicker sale and make more money even after the expenses involved in the staging process.

If you intend to sell your home, do yourself a favor and stage it before putting out the sign, that way you can control the sale and give those buyers something to fight over.