What Is Staging And Why Bother?

By dava • April 15th, 2010

What Is Staging and Why Bother?


In real estate, Strategic Marketing is the integration of pricing and staging principles. It involves several aspects of preparing one’s home to appeal to the psychological needs of buyers. Staging is one aspect of Strategic Marketing. It is completely different from decorating. Decorating is the personalization of one’s home to suit individual tastes. Staging, whether the home is vacant or occupied, is the depersonalization and neutralization of one’s home to appeal to buyers.

Why bother? According to a recent study conducted by Proctor and Gamble, 78% of buyer’s needs and criteria are met before they visit your home (Number of bedrooms, bathrooms, square footage, acreage, location, etc.). This means that you control how those last 22% of needs and criteria are met. It is extremely important that you do everything possible to get your home ready to make the best impression on buyers. Staging is about creating a series of impressions that helps buyers create an emotional connection to the home, so they can imagine the home as their own.

So what can you do to give buyers the best impression of your home?

De-clutter

  • Remove family pictures, reduce the amount of items that are on surfaces such as bookcases, kitchen and bathroom counters, dining table, and any catch-all space, and pare down clothes and linen closets. Think of it this way: You’re planning to move anyway, so why not get a head start in your packing?
  • De-cluttering shows buyers that there is room for their belongings, allows buyer’s eyes to focus on your home’s features instead of your things, makes your home feel larger, and brings a sense of calm to buyers.


Clean

  • Remove scuffs from floors and walls, stains from carpets, freshen up bed linens and curtains, dust blinds and all surfaces, wash windows, and wipe down kitchen and bathroom counters.
  • Cleaning shows buyers that your home has been well cared for and eliminates daily odors such as pet and cooking smells.


Repair

  • This includes cracked windows, kitchen drawers, ripped or damaged flooring, caulking in your bathrooms, and anything that has been on your to-do list. You know it needs to be fixed, chances are buyers will notice too.
  • Repairing items around your home shows buyers that there is no extra work to be done. Uncompleted work translates to buyers as additional expense, time and effort that will need to go into your home after purchase and cause buyers to question if there are any hidden problems.


Neutralize

  • Choose warm and neutral colors for walls, flooring, and even bed linens.
  • Neutralizing your color pallet throughout your home allows buyers to imagine their furnishings in your home.


For those on a limited budget, the four least expensive things that will have the biggest impact are: de-cluttering, cleaning, painting, and enhancing your home’s curb appeal. Spruce up your curb appeal by doing any of these quick and easy things: mow your lawn, bring in fresh bark mulch, clean up dead leaves and plants, replace that shabby mailbox, plant some inexpensive annuals for color, and sweep off front stoop, walk, and driveway.

Staging is all about preparing your home to appeal to buyers. All of these items are basic steps that you, as a homeowner, can take to begin that preparation. As a Certified Home Marketing Specialist, I provide an in-depth customized consultation about Strategic Marketing and specifically home staging to all my clients.

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