House Staging for Sale Success from a Realtors Perspective

Published by julia | Filed under Buyer / Seller Tips, Feng Shui Real Estate, Market Trends, Miscellaneous, Real Estate

It is difficult to believe that there was a time not long ago when all you had to do to sell your home was put a sign in the yard and have your agent put you in the multiple listing system. Not so today.  With all the competition in the housing market, when showing your home, yo need to convince the buyer that your home is the most comfortable, livable and the best home on the block!

Make sure the temperature is comfortable.  I have seen buyers walk in and straight out of fantastic homes because the air conditioning wasn’t running on a sticky, hot 90 degree day.

People love music.  It puts them into a relaxed and comforted place when they hear music upon entering the house.  A crowd favorite is Kenny G at Christmas time.  Water fountains create a nice atmosphere, too.  The added bonus is these pleasant sounds show that the house can be peaceful and drown out any potentially negative features such as road noise and neighborhood animals.

If you want to create a smell, bake cookies and leave them out for the potential buyers.  It puts them into a warm frame of mind toward the house and the house smells good without running the risk of offending someone’s allergies with scented candles or sprays.

Open up the shades that let in sunshine.  Partially close the shades whose views are maybe not so desirable.  Turn on all the lights to provide a bright view.

Make notes about points of interest.  People like it when they are “in the know”.  Leave a note on the table that explains anything out of the ordinary so potential buyers don’t concoct some scenario of their own that might kill the sale.  For instance, when we had our house for sale I was on crutches from a bad ankle break.  Before the crutches I had a wheel chair and I was a bad patient who never rested.  I wheeled around the tiny house with laundry baskets on my lap and pushing the vacuum sweeper.  I wasn’t a good driver, though, and I left black marks all around the walls about a foot off the ground from where my wheels scraped the walls.  Agents told me that the buyers appreciated knowing it was a special circumstance and not a sign of carelessness and neglect of the house.

Anything you can do to make your house seem more pleasant, comfortable, and functional will significantly increase your odds of snagging a buyer.  Many times home purchases are made based less on logic and more on emotion so make it your goal to accentuate your home’s positive features and engage the buyer emotionally in the house.