Home staging utilizes furniture and decor in a particular way, intending to get a house ready for sale. Home stagers create a visual representation of each room while working to de-clutter and depersonalize your space. Home staging in Calgary motivates a buyer to make a swift offer, leading to a faster sale at a higher price. The National Association of REALTORS® completed a survey in 2021, which found that homeowners could see a 5-15% return on investment when their home was staged before it was listed. Realty Unleashed stages our client’s homes for free because we know how valuable Calgary home staging is. We’re letting you in on 5 of our tips on how to stage your home for sale!
Intend to draw positive emotions from buyers.
When a buyer begins their home search, they usually have a list of things that they want to find in their future home. Once they have this checklist in mind, it guides how they view homes. When showing clients homes, we’ve witnessed that these “lists” appear less essential when they are viewing a staged house. It becomes easier to overlook things when a home looks move-in-ready and clean. For example, a buyer wants a fully-fenced backyard, but a primary bedroom with an ensuite is just as important. When they enter the staged primary bedroom, with furniture and decor intentionally and tastefully placed, they notice a beautiful ensuite bathroom. The staged primary bedroom with an ensuite has activated their positive emotions, so much so that this same house with a backyard that isn’t fenced is no longer a deal-breaker. Buyers have a better chance of emotionally connecting with a home when it is staged, cleaned, and decorated with purpose.
Allow buyers to envision living in your home.
Depersonalizing your home is one of the key ways you can help buyers visualize their family living there. It’s challenging for somebody to imagine living in your home if they only see photos of your family, your decor, and your items; subconsciously, they will have a tough time connecting with your home. One of the ways you can combat this is by depersonalizing your home, meaning taking down family photos and replacing them with a neutral painting, for example. Decorating your home as impartially as possible will help buyers place themselves there; removing yourself allows them to imagine their life in your home.
Prioritize your curb appeal.
When buyers step into a home, they generally know if they like it within the first 5 minutes. The exterior condition is a good indicator of the interior, meaning curb appeal matters. Buyers will sometimes drive by a property before they book an in-person viewing. The fact is that most of us don’t keep up with our curb appeal maintenance 24/7, but while your home is listed, prioritize it. Make that initial walk-up and walk-in moment one they won’t forget.
Here are a few questions to ask yourself when considering curb appeal:
- How does my roof look? Are the shingles intact?
- Does my lawn need to be mowed?
- Do my walks need to be shovelled?
- Are my light fixtures outdated?
- Should I re-paint my front door?
Stage your home thoughtfully.
The idea that an empty room will look bigger than it would with furniture is simply not true. With that said, an excess of furniture and clutter can make a room look smaller, so staging thoughtfully is critical! For example, if you are preparing to stage a living room, your basics are a couch, coffee table, and a lamp; these are the necessities of a room with the purpose of visiting with loved ones and relaxing. Tasteful additions to a living room would be a rug for texture, a lamp for extra lighting, a plant for colour, and a photo on the wall to fill space. Buyers need to see the essentials of a room and the space to add more, should they wish. Less is more is the way to go; you don’t need to clear out a room, but you also don’t need to fill it. There is a sweet spot with just the necessities and refined details. Every house has clutter; it’s just a part of living in a home. But part of the staging process will mean removing any mess so that your home puts its best foot forward.
What we mean by refined, thoughtful details:
- 2-3 books on a coffee table
- Placing a few throw pillows on the couch
- Hanging a simple portrait behind the dining room table
- Putting a plant in an empty space
Remember that home staging is a marketing strategy, not an interior design strategy.
Home staging is both a selling strategy and a marketing method. Sure, some interior design companies will make your home look exquisite with top-tier staging furniture, but that isn’t what will sell your home. You always want to stage your home with your target buyer in mind (i.e. larger families, new parents, empty-nesters, retired folks, a student, etc.). Once you have an idea who will most likely be interested in buying your house, stage it to suit how they would most likely live in the house. Rest assured that home staging in Calgary comes down to marketing, not how expensive the couch is in your living room.
Realty Unleashed stages for free.
Realty Unleashed is an independent real estate brokerage serving clients in Edmonton and Calgary. We offer free home staging in Calgary, free listing cleaning, free yard maintenance, free eco-station and donation centre runs, and more because we value acts of service. When you list your house with Realty Unleashed, we look at the community you’re in, what schools are nearby, what the list price of your house will be, comparables in the neighbourhood, etc. We have effectively staged homes on all ends of the pricing spectrum; it’s our job to determine who the most likely buyer would be of your home and to stage it that way. We have repeatedly seen the confirmation that staging your home before you list it is the key to selling fast and for more money. If you are considering listing your house in Calgary and are in the market for a REALTOR®, please reach out to us; our team would love to help you sell your home.
