Why and how do you stage your property?

Let’s draw a parallel between diamonds and houses. The natural quality of a rough diamond (carat, colour, and clarity) determines the value of a cut and polished diamond. However, the way that a diamond is cut will impact its value. For example, owing to the elongated shape in which an oval cut diamond is cut and polished, diamonds in this shape often appear to be larger than they are and subsequently seem better value for money. Similarly with property, aspects such as, location, size and local price will determine a common value but the way in which it is presented to market can drastically alter its perceived value, justify the asking price, and increase its desirability.

A property industry trade body claims 85% of estate agents believes a staged property sells three times faster than a non-staged home. The HSA says research shows that staging costs of £500 to £5,000 will produce higher sale prices (Estate Agent Today).

There are many facets, styles, and levels of home-staging, but all should focus on accentuating the properties attributes to accelerate its sale and to sell it at the best price.

Convinced? Then, let’s do this!

1. Make a list of the things that you have loved, or love, about your home. These are the things that you emphasise.

2. Photograph/video every area of your house and then carefully analyse. A second pair of unbiased eyes can help at this point! Assess room usage, how successfully space is utilised, furniture layout, clutter, décor, and styling.

3. Make a list of things that annoy you about your home, issues that your photographs have flagged up or that need fixing. These are the things that you need to rectify or detract attention from.

Knowing which issues to resolve and which can be masked, often depends on available time and money but also on the staging techniques/services you use. As discussed in our previous post, decluttering is highly cost effective and when coupled with deep cleaning (and bed making!), easily reassures prospective buyers that you are selling something that you value and love. Professional advice from an experienced home stager can be indispensable for those who have limited time or who feel unsure of how to make the best of their property and the best news is, it doesn’t have to cost the earth!
Do the Maths!

How much you spend on staging will obviously depend on your property and factors such as whether you need to buy or rent furnishings, or how involved in the process you can be. What is clear is that to secure a sale, a spend on staging is unequivocally more cost effective than reducing the price.

For Example: A £500,000 property might require a reduction of 5% (£25,000) to secure a sale. Alternatively, with a spend of £500 - £5000 on staging, it is likely to sell quickly and achieve its asking price or possibly more.

Notably studies by Rightmove, assessing 300,000 newly listed homes across a 4 month period, show that when a property needs to be reduced in price it will take twice as long to sell, on average, than one that doesn’t.