How Home Staging Gives You an Advantage Over the Competition
Here are some of the competitive advantages of home staging that create results such as faster sales and higher offers by making yours more appealing to the consumer.
The Competitive Advantages of Home Staging
The MLS photos make a powerful first impression
Nowadays, most buyers look at homes online first before going to see them in person. If the photos on the MLS listing don’t immediately impress them, they won’t even bother taking the time to do a showing. When a house has been staged, it looks more appealing both in person and in photographs.
Buyers are literally scrolling through hundreds of photos when going through the MLS. If your home doesn’t catch their eye right away or look as good as the others in the system, it’s easy for them to click to the next one. They need to be able to get a positive feel for the home through these one-dimensional images to entice them to see it in person, so the photos need to show the home in its best possible light. When your home has beautiful MLS photos, it immediately catches their eye and stands out from the rest.
A “move-in ready” house is more appealing
While some buyers like to buy “fixer-uppers,” the majority of buyers would prefer to buy a home that is turn-key. That means they can move right in without having to make any repairs or major cosmetic changes. Even if the home requires them to remove wallpaper or paint over a bold wall color, that can be more than a lot of buyers care to do.
With home staging, some of the key steps are making necessary repairs and neutralizing the home’s decor. With a fresh, neutral palette and no major repairs needed, buyers can walk into the home and instantly imagine their lives there. They don’t have to calculate the costs of painting the walls or changing out the floors unless they decide down the road that they would like something different. It gives them time to decide while being able to move in right away and start enjoying the lifestyle the home offers.
A lot of homes on the market aren’t move-in ready, so by making sure yours is, your listing immediately stands out from the competition.
Staging evokes an immediate emotional reaction
Being clutter-free, neutral, and updated, a staged home offers a beautiful presentation that speaks to buyers and makes them feel welcome. Those elements alone create a strong first impression. We also like to take it a step further and add extra details that further spark a buyer’s imagination and evoke an emotional response to the home.
Elements like a white robe hanging in the master bathroom, a couple of coffee mugs in a tray in the kitchen, and a beautifully set dining room table get them thinking about the kind of lifestyle they could live in the home. Most homes don’t go this extra mile, so by staging yours, your buyers will literally feel the difference.
A staged home has a higher perceived value
Homes that are staged well show the home in its best possible light. This raises the perceived value of the home. When buyers see a home that is clutter-free, well-maintained, and beautifully styled, it translates to a higher value. This is why most staged home sell for the asking price or higher and spend less time on the market than non-staged homes. It will also make your home appear to be a better value than the others in its price bracket that aren’t staged.