How to Sell Your House for Top Dollar Fast!
In a slow housing market, a competitive edge can be the difference between a house that sells fast and a house that languishes on the market doomed to the fate of numerous failed price reductions is presentation. Home Staging might just be the edge you’re looking for.
According to the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, a staged house will sell for 17% more than a non-staged house. Not only will a staged house sell for more money, it sells faster saving the seller thousands of dollars of time and money!
A survey by the International Association of Home Staging Professionals found 94% of staged houses sold on average in 29 days. In the Raleigh Real Estate Market where the average days on the market has increased to 120 and in some price points as in $650 – $700 thousand it can be as high as 220 days on market that’s real measurable cost! Twitter @StagingByRicha.
“What is Home Staging?”
A question that I get frequently asked; “What exactly is home staging?” While you lived in your house, you probably decorated it and that’s fine. Home decoration consists of personalizing it to your preferences, including your preferred color, lighting, artwork, etc. Home staging is the opposite of home decorating. Whereas home decoration involves personalizing your home, home staging consists of DE-personalizing it.
What is Home Staging and why should I care?
Home decoration is for you and it is based on your tastes; on the other hand, home staging is for the potential buyer and should be based on their tastes. You don’t know what a particular buyer’s taste is, so your home is staged based on probabilities. You try to appeal to as many potential buyers as possible.
For example, you may prefer bright red color for your bedroom, an orange wall in your living room, and a green kitchen. However, once you decide you want to sell your house, you no longer should be thinking of what you like. Instead, your focus should be on what a potential buyer will prefer. In this case, you would want to change the color of your bedroom, living room, and kitchen to some neutral color such as off-white or cream.
The goal of home staging is to create a great first impression with the buyer. Thus, one of the home stager’s first tasks is to improve your house’s curb appeal. But it doesn’t stop with the first impression. You want to impress the buyers as they examine the rest of your house, starting with the entryway, through living room, kitchen, bedrooms, and all the way through to the backyard. The buyers need to be able to visualize themselves living in your house. And when you stage your house, that is exactly what they’ll be able to do. A house that is staged well will make the buyers want to move in right away. If your home has been listed for sale for 30 days and hasn’t received and offer your Realtor should have already recommended that you stage your home . So What are you waiting for, another mortgage payment?
Richa is a home stager and decorator.
You can contact her at [email protected].
Follow on Twitter @StagingByRicha for Free Staging Tips on Your Home.
Related articles
- Sell Your House for Top Dollar Through Home Staging (trianglehomestaging.wordpress.com)
As a Raleigh area Realtor who takes buyers around to a lot of homes, it is amazing to compare the expressions on their faces when we look at a vacant home and then one that is warm, inviting and staged. The staged home wins everytime!
Drew _ thanks for the awesome feedback! Homeowners need to hear this more if they are going to sell their homes in such a fiercely competitive market!