5 Reasons Why Home Sellers Will Want to Stage their Properties
You’ve made the decision to sell your house. Now what? Decisions, decisions, decisions! Do we list it with a real estate company and have an agent do all the work of advertising, finding a buyer and doing the paperwork? Do we sell it on our own through a homes-for-sale-by-owner type of company? Regardless of what you decide, there are a number of things a home seller can do to help sell faster and with the greatest amount of money in your pocket after the ink dries on the paperwork.
Here are five reasons why staging your home is a good idea:
1. Staging helps savvy investors (that’s you, right?) get the most equity they can from the sale of a property.
When you list your property for sale you will want lots of people interested in seeing it and of course buying it. You’ll want to make sure that the property appeals to a broad range of potential buyers.
Savvy home sellers know that a staged property stands out from other properties on the market. They also know that in a competitive real estate market staged properties sell in less time and for more money.
2. Staged homes look better in the pictures used to market them.
Potential buyers have access to the ‘world’ through the internet so can easily check out hundreds of properties with a few keystrokes on a computer.
Did you know that 77% of home buyers view properties first through the internet. Buyers can easily see other homes in your geographic area,your price range, with your style, etc.—without their eyes leaving their computer screen. So why would they choose your property over the others?
Wouldn’t you rather view a property after you decided it was worth a closer look from what you saw in the pictures or from the curb? Over 74% of buyers will drive by a listing before contacting an agent for an appointment—did you know that? Who has the time or the interest to waste valuable time checking out a property that doesn’t even look nice in the pictures? Would you waste your time if you could already see from the curb that the house appeared to be cluttered, lacked appeal, needed repairs and has no space?
3. Staging is a wise use of time and energy.
I know, I know. You say you don’t have time to stage your home. Would you prefer to spend a little time now to prepare your home for sale and ensure that it is being seen at its best? Would you rather spend a lot of time later wondering why your home isn’t selling… wondering what’s wrong with your home… wondering what you could have done differently if only you ‘had known’ what you know now?
4. You have greater potential to save more money later if you invest a little money now.
Sometimes people are hesitant to invest a little money now because they can’t see that it could save them a lot of money later. It is important to prepare your home for sale so that it can be shown in the best possible light. Potential home buyers want the house to be move-in ready. If they see repairs not done and painting to do, and worse yet can’t see anything at all because of all your stuff, they will chip away at your asking price.
If you are reluctant to invest in the sale of your property why should a potential home buyer invest in the purchase of it? How much money are you willing to spend on extra mortgage payments, property taxes, and other living expenses because your property didn’t sell as fast as you thought it would?
How much money are you willing to lose if you have to reduce the asking price? According to the National Association of Realtors the longer a house sits unsold, the lower its sale price goes—ouch… that must hurt!.
5. You only have one chance to make a first impression.
You know the importance of making a good first impression… don’t you?
Did you know… over 74% of buyers will drive by a listing before contacting an agent for an appointment… within the first few seconds of entering a property most people decide whether or not they are comfortable there… 72% of a buyer’s first impression is formed as soon as they step inside your house?
Staged homes make it easier for potential buyers to imagine themselves living there. They want to be able to picture themselves living in the homes they view. They want to imagine putting their personal belongings in its rooms. When you stage your property and showcase it in the best possible condition, it will be easier for potential buyers to imagine themselves living there. And if they can do that they will be more receptive to making an offer to buy.
After all, isn’t that what you want—someone to BUY your house? Staging makes it easier for them to do that.
