Staging a Home to Sell, Creating That Wow Factor!

by Admin Jun 15, 2022

If you are about to start the process of selling your home, you will want to make sure that it sells reasonably quickly and that it fetches the best price. In order to achieve both of those goals, you need to make your home as attractive to buyers as possible. Here at Wright Realty, we believe that a big part of offering quality real estate services in East Tennessee is helping you to prepare your home to put it on the market. Most people understand the importance of having the property clean and tidy, but one thing people often struggle to understand is how to stage a home for sale properly. It may be difficult to hear, but as much as you love the notches on the door that mark your kids' growth spurt, or the trinkets from family vacations that litter your shelves, buyers don't want to see them! They want to look at your home and imagine it as their home. Home staging can really help to achieve this if you know how to create that wow factor buyers want to see.

Staging a Home to Sell, Creating That Wow Factor!

What is Home Staging?

Staging a home is the process of preparing a home to be sold by temporarily furnishing and decorating the rooms to make them look more attractive to buyers.

Occasionally, it may even include doing some renovation work. The idea is to make your home more appealing to potential buyers by showing off its potential. For example, in areas popular with families, it may be beneficial to stage the room you use as an office as an additional bedroom if this is more likely to attract buyers. In short, staging your home is a marketing strategy designed to sell your home. It's all about psychology and creating a dream home that someone will be desperate to buy! Home staging elements can be done by yourself with very little financial outlay, while others may take a little investment. It may seem counterproductive to invest money in a home that you are preparing to sell, but looking at the bigger picture, staged homes can fetch a higher price, so you will see a return on the investment. As part of our range of quality real estate services in East Tennessee, Wright Realty can help you to find the right home staging professionals to work with.

But, Does It Really Work?

Still not convinced about the benefits of staging your home? Take a look at some eye-opening facts and figures gathered by the National Association of Realtors.

  • 96% of realtors believe that home staging has a positive influence on buyers
  • 86% of potential buyers find visualizing themselves living in a property when it has been staged
  • 31% of buyers say that home staging influenced them to increase the offer they made on the home
  • 47% of buyer's agents say home staging has a positive impact on the home buying process
  • Homes that have been staged for sale typically sell 6-10% faster than those that haven't
  • Only 4% of buyers say that home staging did not affect their decision making
  • 50% of real estate agents say home staging increases the sale price of a home by up to 10%
  • 85% of staged homes sold for more than their list price

Home Staging Ideas to Create WOW Factor

You can do so many different things to stage your home before it goes on the market, from boosting the curb appeal to giving the interior a fresh coat of paint and everything in between. Here are just a few of the ideas you might want to use to inject a little WOW factor into your home.

  1. Clean Like You Have Never Cleaned Before! - The first tip we have to share is the most obvious: clean your property from top to bottom! However, we are not just talking about your daily cleaning routine. You will want to do a deep clean until every surface is sparkling. Don't be fooled - if you leave dust anywhere, potential buyers will find it during a viewing!
  2. Spruce Up Tired Furniture With New Slip Covers - If your furniture is looking a little bit past its best, you might want to take steps to freshen it up. Although renting furniture exclusively for staging your home is possible, you can also give it a makeover yourself by purchasing some new slipcovers and cushions for a more up-to-date look. While you are picking out textiles, why not invest in new sheets and covers for the bedrooms too.
  3. Don't Disregard Great Lighting - Never underestimate the difference great lighting can make. Now is the perfect time to invest in some new LED bulbs for your lamps and light fixtures, especially if you are still using older-style incandescent lighting. It is also worth experimenting with different light tones to best suit each room. Some areas will do better with warmer tones, while others can handle brighter lighting.
  4. Declutter & Depersonalize Your Space - As touched on above, potential buyers don't want to see your clutter. Not only can it look untidy, but it also makes rooms feel more cramped. Go room by room and declutter everywhere. You don't have to get rid of your treasured items; just pack them away until you move into your new home. Packing them now means less to do when your moving date rolls around, so it is a win-win situation!
  5. Move Your Furniture - The layout of your home may work for you, but that doesn't mean it will work for everybody. Try rearranging your furniture or even putting some pieces into storage to create a more spacious feel that buyers will love.
  6. Choose a Neutral Pallete - You might love the bold print of your bedroom wallpaper, but potential buyers may not feel the same way. If you want to sell your home, it could be worth stripping off the wallpaper and painting your rooms a neutral color giving buyers a blank canvas.
  7. Smell Matters Too - If you have pets or are a smoker, there is a good chance of lingering odors in your home. You may not smell them as you are used to your home and have gotten a little nose blind. The deep cleaning recommended above will help, but you may also want to invest in carpet cleaning, dry cleaning your drapes, and perhaps using some essential oils to make the home smell pleasant. Of course, there is also the age-old realtor trick of baking cookies or fresh bread to create a welcoming smell in the kitchen!

These are just a few of the tips you could try to make your home more attractive to potential buyers. Professional home stagers can offer many other options and possibly even provide you with props and decor items to dress the property. Don't forget, Wright Realty is a wholistic real estate service. As part of our dedication to providing quality real estate services in East Tennessee, we will help you to find the right industry professionals to sell your home the 'Wright' way!

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Wright Realty is a full-service real estate concierge with a wholistic approach to buying and selling property in East Tennessee. We are your trusted advisor and keep open communication throughout your entire buying/selling process. Real Estate done "Wright" means more than just a 'transaction'.

Finding Your Property the "Wright" Way!

Visit www.realtydonewright.com or call 865-556-8599