5 Top Staging Tips To Attract Buyers to Your Home

So you’ve made the decision to sell your home, you’ve completed some repairs, and now your ready to put it on the market. But before you do that, lets talk about staging your home to sell and why it’s so important to attract buyers.

What is Home Staging and Why Do I Need To Do It?

First impressions are really important when it comes to selling your home. How well it shows in pictures will have a big role in driving traffic to your home. This is where home staging comes in. Staging is the process of getting your home to look it’s best and making it the most marketable as possible. This can include hiring a company to furnish your home- which is a great option if you will be moving out before selling. But in this article I am going to talk about how you can stage it while you’re still living in it. You don’t need to spend thousands- there a few easy and cheap (or free) fixes you can do that will make your home shine.

You may think that staging isn’t critical and your house is already beautiful, but according to a 2021 NAR Staging Report 82% percent of buyers’ agents said staging a home made it easier for a buyer to visualize the property as a future home. In the same report 41% of buyers were more willing to walk through a home they saw online if it was staged. So with a little bit of extra work upfront you can make a big impact on how attractive your home is to buyers.

Let’s Get into the Tips!

1. Depersonalize- this may seem obvious but is really is true that buyers cannot see themselves living in a property when it’s covered with personal items. Remove any of your son’s artwork on the fridge, take down family portraits (some pictures are okay- think of removing pictures that make a room feel small), and clear off any seasonal decor. You wan’t to strike the balance of inviting and cozy but not overwhelming.
2. Declutter- Similar to my first tip, buyers need help visualizing themselves and their furniture in your space. This means they need clutter free spaces. That old pile of magazines you have stashed in the corner, or clothes you swore you were going to go through- now is the time to get rid of it. Not only does junk make a space feel smaller, but buyers also find it off-putting when they walk into a messy space. This includes cleaning out cabinets and closets- buyers are going to open those!
3. Clean- Once you’ve completed tips one and two it’s time to deep clean your home. You may want to hire a company to do this for you. Another option is dedicating a weekend to getting those baseboards, cabinets, and appliances shinny and bright. After it’s deep cleaned do you best to keep it as clean as possible until it’s sold. You don’t want to decline showings because you need a day to re-clean your house.
5. Freshen Up Your Living Room- In the same NAR report, 46% of buyers found a staged living room to be very important to them. After you’ve decluttered evaluate your furniture. Buyers like airy rooms, remove any bulky furniture that makes the room hard to navigate. If you have a small room add some mirrors and make sure any larger furniture isn’t blocking the entryway if you can help it. Bring the outside in with some houseplants and pick a focal point for the seating to arranged around. You want buyers to envision themselves in a functional yet beautiful space.
6. Update The Lighting- Here spending a bit of money will really improve the overall look and feel of the home. If you have the old builder grade ceiling light in your entry way, considering adding an updated pendant or chandelier. Make sure rooms have multiple lighting points, that might be an overhead light and a table lamp. This will really brighten up the space.

And there you have it, my top tips to staging your home before selling.