Time for an Open House: How to Stage Your Home for a Lucrative Sale

By Realty Times Published Jun 13, 2023 06:51 am

Selling your home used to be as simple as vacuuming the carpet and allowing people inside on open-house day. Buyers want more out of their purchases today, however. They have a lot of choices in the marketplace. There’s no reason why they should settle. If you’re planning an open house, be sure to stage your home. Follow these guidelines for the best results.

Declutter Now

Potential buyers don’t want to walk into a tiny house. This scenario is an immediate turnoff. Make the home look like it’s double the size by removing clutter. Take out small appliances, stacked magazines and other items. Aside from a centerpiece, there should only be decorative items on a table or counter.

Removing these items tells the buyers that you care about the home. This fact translates to rapid bids by multiple buyers. Leaving the clutter out can force the visitors to seek other properties as alternatives.

Rent Furniture

When it comes to staging, it’s a good idea to go all out with rental furniture. Your couch and chairs may be in the space right now, but they aren’t new or overly attractive. Give the home a new look with renta furniture.

Turn the bedrooms into huge spaces by comparing a twin vs full mattress. Pull the full bed from the room and let the twin do the visual talking. Your open-house visitors will be thrilled to see these large spaces although it’s more of a visual trick at the time.

Remove Personal Items

Your visitors don’t want to see family photos of the current residents. It takes away from the visual fantasy that you want to convey. Remove personal items before the open house. Replace them with artwork or other focal points. The fantasy of living in the home must work for every person in the space. For this reason, it’s always a good idea to let the real-estate agent do the presentation instead of the homeowners.

Explain a Room With Staging

Your home may have a strange corner or room that’s not obvious with its purpose. Staging is a perfect time to explain that room by decorating it, reports U.S. News & World Report.

If the room works well as a breakfast nook, add a small table with matching chairs. You might add in details like coffee mugs in the middle of the table too. Allow the visitors to picture themselves in this space. It can be a selling point instead of a source of confusion.

Simplify the Decor

Remember that you’re trying to create a fantasy during the open house. You want people to see themselves living in and enjoying the property for years to come. Keep the decor simple, suggests Realtor. Putting too much pizzazz or design into a home can turn off some buyers.

They can’t see themselves living in a home with artwork or paint jobs that are too unusual. Stick to neutral colors and basic designs. Leave your artistic talents to the next house you purchase.

Try the Mirror Trick

No property is ever perfect. Someone will always find something negative to say about it. If you’re concerned with the light in a room or its size, add mirrors to the walls, reports Forbes Magazine. The mirrors create a reflective environment so that the light bounces off all four walls.

The mirrors also give the appearance of a larger room. It’s strictly a visual trick, but it does a lot for visitors moving through an open house. Try this suggestion in one room, however. Adding too many mirrors to the property can make it unsightly.

Don’t forget that proper pricing of your property goes along with staging. Price yourself out of the neighborhood, and no one will want to see your staging in the first place. Compare pricing with other properties in the area. Be fair with the amount so that your open house is busy and productive.