Home staging has become a popular way to increase a home’s selling price while decreasing the home’s time on the market. In today’s fiercely competitive market, a professionally staged house that shows off its best assets can often sell within few days and over asking.
A 2021 survey of 4,600 properties by the Real Estate Staging Association revealed that houses that were staged sold approximately 9 days faster than the average DOM (Days on the Market), while 73% of these properties sold over list price.
But what are the tricks home stagers draw on to make a home shine? It’s all about optical illusion and other visual tricks. Here are a few!
Furniture placement is key: Make sure to choose a focal point around which you can arrange your furniture. While the measurements of the room will dictate how far you can pull your furniture away from the walls, remember to always give pieces some breathing room of at least a few inches from the walls. Placing the tallest piece of furniture in the far-left corner of a room will typically make it appear larger.
Never leave an empty room: While you may find yourself tempted to vacate as much space as possible to maximize your home’s square footage, it is never a good idea to leave a room empty. In fact, it has the opposite effect on buyers. By adding the right quantity of furnishings, you are giving homebuyers a frame of reference so they can more easily identify the home’s traffic flow and visualize how they want to arrange their own furniture.
Follow the ‘rule of three’: Interior designers swear by the “rule of three”. The idea is that odd numbers of items look more natural and less forced than an even-numbered grouping. That could be a large sofa and two club chairs or three different styles of lighting, for example. The rule of three (or five or seven or nine) applies to most everything.
Let the light in: Make sure your windows are sparkling clean so the sun can shine through and add natural lighting to your home. This creates the illusion of more space. If a room has heavy drapes, swap them out for light and flowy sheers!
Hide the TV: Television sets occupy valuable wall space and make rooms appear smaller. Most stagers will choose to do away with them while the house is on the market.
Whether you are looking to purchase a new home or refinance, I’d love to speak with you about your financing options. Give me a call today to set up an appointment.
