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When selling your property, one of the strategies for increasing its appeal to potential buyers is home staging. 

While this can translate to hiring a professional or implementing some DIY design techniques, home staging is a useful tool in preparing your home for the market. This strategy will not only encourage a positive first impression made on those who come to see the property once it’s listed, but it has the potential to significantly improve the quality and overall aesthetic of the professional photos you will have done for the listing, both online and in any printed material. 

To that end, there is also the option of virtual staging to consider. This is a popular option for many sellers, including those who want to present their property as a blank canvas or do not have the budget for staging, but want to enhance the visuals via photography and video to spark some inspiration as to what can be done with the space. 

For those who feel physical staging of their property is a fit, there are some general do’s and don'ts to the process that can get you started on the right path towards a successful staging experience, but also the intended return on your investment.

Royal LePage Connect Realty  Presents 5 home staging mistakes to avoid!

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1. Avoid rushing the process: do it once, do it right

It can be tempting to dive into the home staging process with hopes of a quick start and a quick finish, but this is the wrong way to go!

Home staging is, at any degree of investment, another element of cost and energy on the part of sellers, and should be treated with careful consideration and planning. 

Consider the following before making any purchases or committing to any aspects of the home staging process:

• What is your overall goal in staging the property? For example, are you looking to improve the overall feel of the space (make it feel brighter, more neutral, warmer, etc?)

• Are you looking to fully furnish the space, or just some key rooms, like entryway, kitchen, living room and a bedroom? 

• If furnishing the whole space, does it make sense for you to rent the furniture, or would you consider purchasing the items and allowing for interested buyers to make an offer for it at the time of purchase? There are many ways to approach this, so be sure to consult with your realtor when weighing the options of selling a home with furniture as an option.

• What is your budget? 

• Are you considering hiring a professional stager/company? Again, this is an area where many realtors will have resources and contacts to relay to clients to help facilitate finding the right fit and potentially getting them discounts on services. 

2. Avoid jumping to major renovations

Home staging does not need to translate to a complete overhaul of your property. In fact, more often than not, some strategic furniture choices and the odd cosmetic touch-up is enough to achieve the intended goals.

3. Avoid over personalizing your space 

Personal touches are what make a home feel - well, like home! But when it comes to preparing your property for sale, de-personalizing the space is an integral part of “setting the stage”. While your personal items and photographs are sacred to you and your family, they can often be distracting to potential home buyers, making it more difficult to envision the property as their own. 

Remember: while the memories and details in this space are sentimental to you, a blank canvas is more appealing to potential purchasers, who will want to be able to see the potential of the property for their own future use and to their own taste. The goal is not to leave your space feeling empty or devoid of warmth, but to create clean lines, an open environment and spotlight the home’s potential for its next owner. 

4. Avoid discounting the benefits of using a professional

Using a professional home stager is always a great idea if you’re looking to expedite the process of preparing your home for the market. While there is a cost to this, professional staging will often end up saving you time and resources you might otherwise struggle with if you were to do this on your own. Not to mention, the value-added to your property when professional home staging is done right. 

As with anything else, the use of a professional will allow you the peace of mind in knowing that your property is in good hands, and save you from making any (potentially costly) DIY design mistakes or unnecessary choices along the way. 

An experienced realtor can assist you in exploring this option via their own network. 

Image Credit: Pexels 

5. Avoid mistaking a “clean” home for a “staged” one

There is clean, and then there is staged - and the two are not one-in-the-same. Your property should undergo a deep (ideally, professional) cleaning prior to any visits from potential buyers, but the staging aspect of things is an entirely different consideration. 

If your property is a new-build, then you may elect to initially list it as-is, featuring all the clean lines and new “bones” of the space. However, even under these circumstances, it’s often proven beneficial to entertain some paint options and “lightly” stage a select assortment of rooms in the house, just to allow for some idea of space and design possibilities. 

Staging is the “extra-something” that has become fairly standard practice in real estate. And while it’s still certainly possible to sell your home without enlisting professional stagers, or diving into it yourself, there is no question that effective staging will often help your property to sell quicker and for more. 

Royal LePage Connect Realty is an independently-owned Royal LePage franchise, with multiple locations across the GTA. 

Contact us today to connect with a member of our team, who can provide you with everything you need to know about becoming part of Connect Realty!

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