Home staging a popular way to sell property

Home staging is not a new trend, but it is growing in popularity and according to Adrian Goslett, chief executive of Re/Max of Southern Africa, it can have an enormously positive impact on the sale of any home.

"Home staging is a great marketing tool for estate agents. Essentially, it is the act of preparing a private home for sale. Its goal is to make a home more appealing to the highest number of potential buyers, to sell it more quickly and for a higher price. Staging techniques focus on improving a property's appeal by transforming it into a welcoming and attractive space that people can see themselves living in.

"For example, how many times have you stopped to admire a particular display in a shop window? In essence, that is staging at its finest - the neatly and well put together mannequins used for clothing store displays, for example, are designed to provide you with visual reassurance that the selected items of clothing worn by them would look good on you too. Home staging shows off a home's best features and creates aspirations in potential buyers," says Goslett.

Staging is a specialised skill - the cost of which would include the staging consultant's fee, paint, wallpaper, the rental of "props" such as furniture or artwork, as well as all the miscellaneous products required to fix any obvious issues with the home in question, such as filling cracks, sanding down floors, rubble removal and so on.

However, Goslett says, even if you can't afford the skills of a professional stager, a few of the simplest things can make a really big difference to the outcome of a sale. In fact, home staging has become so popular and successful that many television series have been produced to assist homeowners and sellers to tackle the task of making the most of their homes, specifically for show days.

"Sellers need to go the extra mile to make their house as appealing as possible, especially if the market is slow. It needs to be clean, inviting and exciting for potential buyers to view."

The first step, says Goslett, is to give your house and garden a good clean: "Removing any clutter is a really good place to start - you want potential buyers to focus on your home, not your stuff. Remember, your home will need to be about half as full as it was before you started, so be ruthless in your selection. If there are pieces that you don't want to get rid of, but are not suitable for the show day, then hire a storage facility and store your extra items there while your home is on the market."

Once all the clutter has been removed you can start cleaning. Says Goslett: "If your home has old carpets, getting them professionally cleaned can make all the difference. Thoroughly dust, polish and clean your home from the windows to the floors, walls and even ceilings. Remember to take down any curtains and give them a good wash. If they are old and damaged, then think of investing in some new ones. Also, consider how each room smells - light candles or place air fresheners in rooms or hallways to make your home more inviting, as aroma is a very important consideration. For example, there is nothing better than the smell of freshly brewed coffee or freshly baked bread on a show day," he says.

Once your house has been de-cluttered, cleaned and it smells good, you can look at possibly painting the walls and rearranging the furniture. Goslett says that for best results, each room should be made to look as open and bright as possible.

"Small, cluttered and dark spaces are not attractive to anybody. In an open and airy room however, potential buyers can imagine what their furniture would look like in that space.

"Last, it is the small things that make all the difference - mow the lawn, plant some seedlings, make sure the pool is blue and that the patio is neat, clean and organised. Replace any damaged door handles or knobs, buy some fresh flowers to display on the show day, place fresh fruit in a bowl in the kitchen, add a new welcome mat by the front door, make sure the bathrooms are well stocked with hand soap and toilet paper - all these little things combined will impress buyers," says Goslett.

Weekend Property supplement (Saturday Argus)

Posted at 09:05AM May 31, 2010 by Editor in Residential  |