Home Staging Is a Trend That Is Becoming A Standard In Real Estate.
First impressions make a significant impact on a buyer's decision-making process! Each and every home presents a staging opportunity. Curb appeal is generally only the initial view, but there is so much more needed to create the “wow” factor. In the future, every real estate professional will need to know about staging as it becomes the industry standard homeowners expect from the agent they choose to hire.
Every real estate agent should be equipped with all the necessary skills and tools to educate the seller on how to present their home for a fast sale. Very few buyers will make an offer on a house that doesn’t get them excited.
Staging is the crucial step needed to help a buyer connect with a listing and visualize themselves living in the home. Staging showcases the house in the best possible light. After all, we never get a second chance to create a great first impression so it is imperative that the house is “dressed to impress.”   
An Accredited Home-Staging Specialist can handle the challenge of turning your home into a “model home” – staging it effectively to sell at top dollar and in record time. Once your home goes on the market, it becomes a product. Home Styling or Staging simply allows you to highlight the best of your home and de-emphasize its flaws. It's not about decorating, but actually turning your home into a model, to appeal to the broadest range of prospective buyers. The goal is to make people feel like they could live there, and the best way to do this is to "neutralize" the surroundings. The art of Staging is a process. It’s about presenting your home in the most optimum light and in the most appealing state to the biggest majority of homebuyers. Staging isn’t terribly difficult or costly, but it takes a trained professional to help a seller view their home objectively, zeroing in on the areas that will excite a potential buyer. To see an example of an effective staged home, take a minute and go visit a model home in a new community or housing development. You will see that decorating a model home is expensive, but every homebuilder is willing to stage their model homes properly because a staged home sells faster. So why not copy what the homebuilders do and profit from the knowledge and services of an AHS accredited agent to get your own home staged? First Things First: What needs to be done? Clean - Your home must shine! Do it yourself or hire a cleaning crew. While your house is for sale it’s probably a pretty good investment to have a cleaner come in every week. Most cleaners do not do windows, so have them professionally cleaned inside and out and be prepared to redo the windows after major storms. Repair or Replace - Staging is not to hide defects or items in need of repair. Everything must be inspection condition. If the buyer does not initially see the problem, a trained and thorough inspector will. De-Clutter - This can be the biggest challenge for a homeowner, but as an AHS Designee it’s something I can help you with the most. Potential buyers must be able to see your home and be able to imagine themselves living in your home. De-Cluttering helps accomplish this. De-Personalize - Remove objects that your potential buyers won’t be able to identify with and styles that are not neutral. For example, political and religious items may turn off whole groups of buyers. Special colors and themes need to be removed as well. Buying a home is an emotional decision, and you want potential buyers to make an emotional connection with your home by being able to “see” themselves in it. Download the full report below which includes checklists to keep you on track to get your home in tip-top shape to sell. |