When it comes time to put up your property for sale, a thousand and one questions come to your mind. There are so many things to consider! But one of the questions that is often asked is this: must we necessarily do home staging to better sell our property?

The answer is very simple: yes! Home staging is crucial and almost inevitable these days to successfully sell your property. Still there are different degrees of home staging.

Let us see what might serve you best.

The development of the property

First, when we talk about home staging, we talk about property development. When you meet with your real estate professional, your broker, ask him or her frankly whether he or she recommends that you do so at home or not. Normally, the broker should be able to tell you what should be done to maximize the beauty of your home.

But home staging is expensive !

People often fear when one talks about home staging, because they believe that it costs a fortune. Not all the time, and quite honestly, not so often.

In the majority of cases, minor changes can have a big impact on the buyer’s perception of the value of your property.

Often, just simplify the decoration (even just removing items!) To improve the look of the unit.

Examples of simple enhancements include:

• Organizing and simplifying storage in wardrobes;
• Have garment hangers that are all the same;
• Put fresh flowers in the center of the dining room table;
• Remove fake plants;
• While leaving a warm family ambiance, remove the personal photos of the walls;
• Lighten the library, and add beautiful trendy accessories ;
• Remove the many appliances from the kitchen counter top;
• Put away the shoes and coats in the entrance.

And what about an empty property?

Well, an empty property does not stimulate the sale. The spaces always seem smaller when empty. This is true! One might think the opposite, but no. Unless you visit a designer or someone who really has the eye, empty spaces … Whereas, when there is furniture, people may like it or not, but they have landmarks: are their furniture larger or smaller than yours? They are therefore able to assess whether space is suitable for them or not. They have the reflex to “move” the furniture and reconfigure the space.

If you have already moved, it would be better to leave in the property a minimum of furniture to create an atmosphere, or at least, to give life and shape to the space.

In a similar case, renting furniture can be expensive, indeed. But maybe there are furniture and accessories at your friends or parents house that could be used?

And if we invest a little more …

To push for a bigger deal, and stage a little more, what can you do?

Examples of development that require more work and budget include:

• Repaint 1, 2, 3 or more rooms in the house ;
• Changing the kitchen countertops and the bathroom;
• Renting of furniture;
• Changing the ceramic in the kitchen and in the bathroom;
• Redo the old-fashioned bathroom;
• Remove the carpets.

In these higher staging cases, a balance must be maintained. The idea is to highlight and improve, but without exceeding the true value of the property.

But one thing is certain: it is really worth to maximize the property with an enhancement. Unless you do it very badly, you always add perceived value, so you should get a better selling price. It’s almost guaranteed.

Whether your property needs minor care or significant work for sale, staging is inevitable. The asking price, and consequently the selling price, will be positively affected. Think about it, and yes, stage!

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