When it comes to selling houses the saying “you never get a second chance to make a first impression” rings true. Put simply home staging is the act of setting up and styling a home with furniture and homeware to showcase it in a way that maximises the sense of space, amenity and flow.
Let’s explore why home staging is a versatile marketing solution for almost every home owner.
Benefits Of Home Staging
There are many benefits to staging a home but first and foremost it provides a clean, move-in ready palette that better allows prospective buyers to envision themselves in a space. A professional stylist will amplify your home’s floor plan and main features by highlighting the important parts of the home and creating a cohesive flow that gives buyers a better idea of how a home could look when they move in. Professional stylists are experienced in taking the guesswork out of the equation. Creating space in smaller rooms, making large spaces feel warm and inviting, and giving every room a clear purpose reduces buyer hesitancy and increases chances for a buyer to make an offer.
Home staging evokes stronger emotional responses from buyers
As the saying goes, home is where the heart is. So when it comes to maximising a home’s selling result, the outcome is often intrinsically linked to how strong an emotional connection a potential buyer has to a property. The bigger the purchase, the more we let our emotions guide us. Therefore in every transaction there are three prices:
✓ the logical price
✓ the bargain price
✓ the emotional price
Home staging is a proven strategy that can strengthen the emotional connection a buyer will make to your house. The stronger the emotional connection, the “I must buy this house” factor, the more likely a buyer or buyers will be willing to stretch to the top of their budget to attain a property. Meeting or exceeding your expectations on price.
Home staging gets more eyes on your listing
Staged homes tend to look better and be more eye catching in marketing material. Whether a real estate listing, social media post, or printed sign and flyer, staged homes will stop the scroll and capture the attention of, and appeal to a larger pool of likely buyers = more buyers to your home open, creating a greater sense of urgency, demand, and competition from emotionally invested buyers. The result, more offers, a quicker sale and values climbing up in a hot market OR retaining as much of the original price as possible in a slumping market.
Staging Options, Process & Cost
Lived in homes: Re‐styling existing furniture and décor can be a fantastic option to maximise your home’s presentation and potential. Where required, additional furniture and décor hire items such as artwork, lamps, or soft furnishings can be hired to give a property that special finishing touch.
Check out my listing of 33 Douglas Avenue, South Perth below, which is an example of a lived in home that was partially staged using the home owner’s existing furniture. Restyling of existing furniture in a lived home, with a few hired pieces, might cost about $1,500 – $2,500.
Vacant properties: Full or partial staging of hero rooms is recommended. If you cannot afford to have every room in a house staged, just focus on key spaces. Family rooms, master bedrooms, and outdoor gathering spaces are typically the main selling points. A vacant home typically costs $4,500 – $5,500 to fully stage.
Fees: Naturally staging fees will vary from one professional to another, but the cost will also depend on a variety of factors including property size, quality of stager’s inventory, furniture and styling requirements and the property campaign / hire period.
Process: The home staging process I implement with my clients typically starts with a pre-sale consultation with the home owner and stylist to develop the staging / styling design. This consultation also includes recommendations for repairs, maintenance, and decluttering before staging a home.
- Pre-sale consultation
- Design and mood boards
- Maintenance, repairs and/or renovations
- Clean and declutter personal items
- Stage the property
…But Is Home Staging Really Worth It?
The short answer is, yes. Absolutely.
According to Hipages.com.au “For every dollar you spend on property styling, you make $3 in return when you sell.” “On average, a styled home sells within 33 days of being put on the market. In contrast, it takes around 90 days to sell an unstyled property. In Australia, styled homes sell for three to six percent more than un-styled homes.”
The Rume Gould Difference: Why Work With Me?
I’m passionate about helping home owners achieve the best selling result so they can live in the home that suits them at this stage of their life; and because I truly believe that the investment in professional styling is a step towards achieving the best selling terms and price, I would be delighted to offer you complimentary partial home staging when you book an appraisal and mention you’ve read this blog post to me.
The home staging guarantee is my commitment to ensuring you achieve the very best outcome.
When we work together, my team will style and stage your home using your existing furniture, for the entirety of your sales campaign (valued at $2,500).
Ready To Make Your Move?
Let’s make it together! When you are ready I would love to hear from you about your goals. To offer you a quality selling experience that ensures you are supported with the right tools and expertise every step of the way. If you’re not quite ready to sell but want to start preparing your home, for a limited time you can request a free, no obligation pre-sale consultation. You can learn more about this limited time offer here or get in touch with me on 0479 143 324 or contact me here.
