What is home staging?

Home staging is preparing a house to be more appealing to a wide range of potential buyers.  It makes your house look better than it already does. 

Staging is key to having the edge over the competition because it can help your house sell quicker and for more money than comparable houses...it's the icing on the cake.  By not preparing your house, you are making the competition look better. 

The minute your "home" hits the real estate market, it becomes just a "house"--a commodity that someone is looking to purchase.  Investments (your house) need to look good to the investor/buyer.   Buyers will pay a premium for a "move-in ready" house and will want to act immediately to be sure someone else doesn't get it first.  If the perception is "there's work to be done here", you may receive fewer and lower offers. 

Because buyers must be able to imagine themselves in the home before they will consider purchasing, we first need to look at the home through “buyers’ eyes”.  Sometimes as homeowners, we overlook certain aspects of the house, but they will stand out to a potential buyer.  First impressions are extremely important, especially curb appeal/entryway.  The most important rooms are the kitchen and bathroom(s).  Adding other positive impressions will remain with potential buyers long after they've left your house.   

*getting rid of clutter

*cleaning, repairing, and updating

*neutralizing and designing the flow of each space

*adding the "WOW! factor" -- accessorizing to make your house unforgetable

Optimally, staging works best if it’s done prior to listing the house on the real estate market, since most new listings get the most traffic during the first two weeks. This is when you really want to draw the potential buyers and get several competitive offers and a quick sale. There are times, however, that a home has been on the market for a while and just isn’t selling. If you plan to do an open house, home staging would be a definite advantage for you.

Kelly Weaver                 (717) 371-2422            kelly@organize-organize.com