Statistics don’t lie.  Staged homes sell faster and for more money.  Before and after photos are powerful in revealing the impact staging can make in a home.

How to Sell Your Home FAST

In the digital world we live in, many buyers never leave their house when they start their home searches!  Online search tools and databases put house hunting in the palm of a buyer’s hands! Home sellers have to make their first impressions on the small screens of smart phones!  The best way to stand out in a sea of photos is through home staging.

According to the National Association of Realtors®, 49-percent of buyers’ agents feel home staging affects their buyer’s view of the home. Both the International Association of Home Staging Professionals and StagedHomes.com say on average, staged homes sell in 11 days or less and for 17-percent more money.

Staging depersonalizes a home. It also features the home’s assets and selling points while minimizing any potential negatives. For example, a professional home stager’s strategies make small rooms look larger and give even the most awkward of spaces purpose, making it easier for buyers to picture themselves living there.

Which rooms should I stage?

The living room, kitchen, master bedroom, dining room, and bathroom are the top areas to stage. These are the rooms in your home that you want to shine.

If you can’t stage every room, start with the living room and master bedroom. Those places are most important in a buyer’s eyes.

Ready for some home staging tricks with real before and after photos?

Staging a well-lived-in home

The problem for many sellers is that they lived in a house for years, maybe even decades.  It’s tough for them to envision switching up the furniture arrangement or swapping out items in favor of  different decor.  But even those sometimes subtle changes can have a huge impact on showings.

Here’s great example.  Take a look at this picture of a home we staged in Blue Springs.  Here’s the BEFORE photo:

In this living room, the furniture was great– but needed some “refreshing”.  The space was heavy on decor– and the large rug weighed down the vibe of the space and seemed to suck the light out of the room.

Now,  take a look at the AFTER photo.

We removed the rug to open up and brighten up the room.  We added lighter pillows to contrast the dark sofa and reflect more light.  We deleted some of the decor to declutter the area.

The result?  A lighter, brighter, clean & open space that suddenly appears larger, too!

How to stage a small space

Speaking of size — some homes simply have small living spaces. While we can’t change the physical dimensions of the room, we can make rooms FEEL larger than they are.

Check out this BEFORE photo of a home we recently staged:

This room has too much furniture and clutter for its size.   Plus, the curtains seem to shorten what should be a fabulous feature: the oversized windows widows flanking the fireplace.

Now– take a look at AFTER picture!

 

Can you believe this is the same home?  We used our staging inventory to bring in lighter and brighter furniture and arranged it to open up and create a more welcoming space.  We added long sheer curtains to accentuate the oversized windows and let in maximum light.  We added a light rug to make the flooring and fireplace “pop”.

These changes allowed buyers to focus on all the fabulous features of this home!

Staging Grandma’s house

We all love our Grandparents, but do we love their decorating styles?  If the vibe of a home is stuck in the 70’s & 80’s or 90’s, buyers get easily overwhelmed. They automatically start calculating how much it will cost to renovate the property to something that fits their style.

Adding insult to injury, many families are left with the task of selling these outdated homes when a loved one passes away.  It’s often an emotionally painful process, but a home staging professional can lighten that load by providing while brightening the space. They’re unbiased and can objectively decide how to freshen up the look.

The truth is, many dated homes can be instantly updated by utilizing some simple staging strategies.

Here’s another BEFORE photo to prove that point:

 

Now– Here’s the AFTER:

Simply switching out the furniture with more modern decor on a smaller scale suddenly makes this room feel brighter and more youthful.  No walls needed to be painted, no floors needed to be replaced.  Even if sheet vinyl and oak trim aren’t among today’s buyers first choices, the space is super clean and inviting and 100% move in ready!  That’s what buyers really need to see– so they can envision themselves moving in without a pile of projects awaiting them.

How to stage a vacant home

Home staging WORKS WONDERS in selling vacant homes.  Studies show less than 10% of buyers can envision the true size of an empty room.

Here’s a great example. This open concept floorplan is notoriously challenging for buyers to figure out furniture placement.

The BEFORE photo:

And here’s the AFTER:

 

New home construction

Staging works magic in new homes, too.  Even though everything is BRAND NEW, buyers still struggle to get a feel for true room sizes, and with today’s open concept floor plans, they really struggle with trying to imagine where they will put all their furniture.

Here’s the BEFORE picture below.  How would YOU would arrange YOUR furniture in this family room?

Now– take a look at the AFTER photo:

Are you SOLD?  We are!  We feel so strongly about the power of home staging, we are happy to share our top 10 home staging secrets!

These powerful examples illustrate why we are so passionate about providing professional home staging to our seller clients, at no extra cost! With the Sally Moore Real Estate Team, it’s always “On the House”!

FREE Kansas City area home staging

Accredited Staging Professionals, like Sally Moore, have the experience and extensive training to stage homes and sell them faster and for top dollar. Ready for her to work some home staging magic on your home?

Contact us today!