Stage Your Home to Sell
Photography Courtesy of Simply Put Interiors, Inc.
January 19, 2008
By Tyisha Manigo
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A first impression makes a lasting impression. It’s as true in real estate as it is in dating. The maxim is especially relevant in today’s buyers’ market. If you want to sell your home for top dollar, it must look its absolute best. That can mean pruning your possessions, painting the deck or even hiring a specialist to “stage” your house.
Sellers are increasingly turning to home-staging professionals for help as the real estate market heads south.
“Staging is more important now than ever,” says RE/MAX 100 Realtor Amy Sadacca, who became an Accredited Staging® Professional™ two years ago. “A home for sale is like a stage where every room is a set. In order for sellers to compete with the many other homes on the market, their home must be priced right and look better than the other homes.”
Sadacca emphasizes the power of first impressions: “Buyers only know what they see, not the way it is going to be.” Meaning: Don’t expect a prospective buyer to look past clutter or mess to see your home’s potential.
Home staging is not new, but the popularity of television home-design shows and the glut of houses on the market have helped staging gain momentum in recent years, says Joe Vickers of Century 21, who serves Baltimore, Carroll and Harford counties.
“We used to say real estate was all about location, location, location,” Vickers says. “Today it is location, price, condition.”
He continued: “Buyers will simply pass a home that needs painting and carpeting. Clutter makes a home look smaller, and personal items, knickknacks and collectibles that are displayed simply take the buyer’s attention away from the home and prevent them from picturing themselves living there.”
Vickers recalled meeting with a couple trying to sell their three-bedroom, two-bath Cape Cod-style home in Finksburg, in Carroll County. The home had been sitting on the market for more than 300 days.
He suggested the couple hire professional stager Paula Henry, owner of Simply Put Interiors. Henry developed a plan that included painting, rearranging furniture and making various other adjustments to upgrade the house. The home, which was also repriced, was under contract 29 days later.
“Paula’s work most definitely made a difference,” says Vickers, who was able to showcase the home’s improvements in his marketing materials.
Studies suggest that staged homes generally sell much more quickly than homes that are not staged.
A survey by StagedHomes.com of 300 houses between 2004 and 2006 found that staged homes spent an average of 8.9 days on the market — compared to 163.7 days for unstaged houses. Experts also say staging can boost sale prices between 2 percent and 10 percent in a modest real estate market.
Henry says sellers should consider staging before they put up a sign. Today, she says, buyers want something that is market-ready.
“When you walk into a house, it’s not only what you see but what you feel, what you smell and what you sense,” she says. “You want that sense of, ‘This could be my house.’”
While some staging jobs involve major renovations, including new countertops and kitchen appliances, the Finksburg couple simply bought paint at The Home Depot, brought in a few pieces of furniture and hung new pictures.
“It’s the smallest little detail that can make the difference,” Henry continues. “You want to grab your buyer at ‘Hello.’”
Judie Jaquis had never heard of staging before she hired Amy Sadacca last year to sell her five-bedroom Columbia home. She was simply looking to sell her house quickly.
Sadacca’s team assessed the home and came up with a list of recommendations — from changing light fixtures and painting the front door to planting trees and setting out potted plants.
The changes were made while Jaquis was away on vacation, and the house sold three weeks later. Jaquis says she would recommend staging to anyone.
“I came home and I was blown away by what the house looked like,” she says.
Debbie Zoet is convinced that staging helped get her mother-in-law’s Baltimore home off the market, where it had languished for months. Zoet finally signed on with Elsa Correa-DeLeonardo, a professional stager and a Long & Foster agent.
Correa-DeLeonardo had the entire house cleaned and painted. Stained wall-to-wall carpeting was removed, the hardwood floors were polished and repairs were made.
“My mother-in-law saw it and said, ‘I wouldn’t mind moving back in,’” Zoet says.
Correa-DeLeonardo says homeowners should focus on “neutralizing” a home’s decor, highlighting top features and minimizing unappealing aspects.
“The home needs to be transformed into a marketable item that appeals to a broad range of buyers,” she says. “When a house is packaged correctly, buyers can fall in love with it.”
Do-It-Yourself Tips
- Consolidate and eliminate clutter.You want buyers to focus on your rooms, not your belongings.
- Get rid of personal items, especially those with a religious or political theme. If someone doesn’t share your beliefs, such items can be a major turnoff.
- Remove or rearrange furniture so that rooms appear larger.
- Clean carpets, drapes and windows.
- Paint the interior and exterior of the home where needed, including shutters and the front door.
- Keep the home bright by opening all curtains, raising blinds and turning on lights.
- Eliminate all evidence of pets (and pet odor). Prospective buyers may be allergic or simply not like animals.
Sources: Amy Sadacca, Paula Henry and StagedHomes.com.
