Is Staging Important Before You List Your Brooklyn Home?
If you want to list your Brooklyn home for sale, you have probably heard about home staging as part of the preparation process. What exactly is home staging?
Home staging is not to be confused with interior design or interior decorating. Home staging is a marketing tool used to help a home sell faster and for more money.
By preparing the home to appeal to most buyers, you will have more people looking at the house and possibly receive multiple offers.
According to statistics from the National Association of Realtors, 77% of buyers felt more able to see themselves moving into a staged home.
What is home staging?
The purpose of home staging goes beyond decluttering and depersonalizing your home. The objective is to make your Brooklyn home more appealing by making the house look bigger, brighter, and inviting.
Home staging will enhance the positive features of the home and downplay any negative characteristics.
It is setting the stage psychologically for the buyer to picture themselves living in the home. Home staging is essential to set the home apart from other homes on the market.
Here is how the majority of buyers think when viewing a home:
- They don’t want to do a lot of work in their new home. They want to move in with as little work as possible.
- If the seller can not make an effort to prepare their home for sale, they most likely neglected to do regular maintenance around the house as well. Staging your home for sale suggests that you take excellent care of your home.
- They are looking at how they can use the space in a home. Showing them the possibility is essential.
- Buyers feel a home that presents well is worth the asking price.
- Only 10% of buyers can visualize the potential of a home. The majority of buyers can not see beyond the clutter and un
- cleanliness.
How do you stage your home?
It is important to do all the home staging before you list your Brooklyn home. You want the photos of the house online to show the home in its best light.
Your real estate agent may be able to help you or recommend a home staging professional who can stage your home.
The amount of staging needed varies from home to home. If you live in the house, you should use your furnishings for the staging. If your home is vacant, the home stager may rent furniture and accessories for specific rooms.
Rearranging the furniture may be necessary to help with the traffic flow and make the room appear larger.
Cleaning will be necessary to make sure every inch of the home is sparkling.
Sometimes it will be necessary to paint and do some minor repair items. If you have used many bold colors personalized to your style, a fresh coat of paint will go a long way to appeal to a broader range of buyers. This article has some good information on suggested colors to use.
Removing personal items to ⅓ of what you had will help the buyer to visualize themselves and their belongings in the home.
Can You Stage Your Own Home?
The standard answer in real estate is always, “it depends.” If you can objectively look at your home without attachment, you may be able to do it yourself. You will need to commit to completing the work before you list your Brooklyn home. Having a 3rd party who is objective and not emotionally attached to the house may be advisable.
Where Do I Start?
To begin any staging project, you first need to clean and declutter your home. We are not talking about just a spring cleaning. We are talking about cleaning as you have never cleaned before. Ensure the grout is clean, the floors are sparkling, and the silverware drawer is free from those little crumbly things that always seem to end up there.
As you are cleaning cabinets, pantries, and closets, start to declutter. Organization in these areas will create the appearance of substantial space.
If your closets are packed with clothes, take out the seasonal items you are not using and pack them away. You need to show space between those hangars, so it feels like there is enough room for everything. The buyer will conclude that there isn’t enough space for their things either when they open a fully packed closet.
Should I Stage All Rooms?
You want to be sure that all rooms are cleaned and decluttered. The rooms to focus on are the Living Room, Kitchen, Master Bedroom, and Bathrooms.
Ideas for a Living Room:
- Make sure the natural light is coming through the windows. Be sure blinds are open and any heavy drapery removed. If the view isn’t so great, use a sheer window treatment to camouflage the view but let in light.
- Update any light fixtures and be sure they have bright enough bulbs to illuminate the room properly.
- Paint dated or bold walls with a neutral color that will appeal to a broad range of buyers. A warm neutral is usually a good choice.
- Arrange the furniture so as not to block the traffic flow. Maximize the space. If you have too many furniture pieces in the room, you may need to remove some pieces to present a more spacious feel.
Ideas for a Kitchen:
- Give the cabinets a facelift if they need it. Make sure drawers and doors and in good working order. Clean the faces of the cabinets. Replacing drawer pulls can give the kitchen a more modern feel.
- Clear counters and only keep out the minimum things you need. If you have all your small kitchen appliances displayed, the buyers will feel there is not enough storage space to get them off the counters. Again, we want to create the feeling of space and eliminate clutter.
- It is vital to keep odors out of the kitchen while showing your Brooklyn home. Be conscious of the smells left behind from something you cooked, and the trash is emptied.
Ideas for Bedrooms:
- Keep these spaces gender-neutral whenever possible.
- Make the room feel spacious by eliminating unnecessary furniture. Try keeping it to the bed, nightstands, and maybe a dresser for a good traffic flow. Keep the items on the surfaces to a minimum.
- A splash of color is fine with some accessories such as pillows or throws.
Ideas for Bathrooms:
- Be sure the sink, tub, and toilet are sparkling clean. Re-grout and replace caulk if necessary.
- Keep all personal items and toiletries stored under the sink or in a linen closet.
- Create a spa-like feel with a scented candle or potted plant. The scents of jasmine and lavender will create a calming feeling.
If you live in the home while it is for sale, you will need to be diligent about keeping the house in show-ready condition. You never know when a buyer is going to want to see the home. You can request a notice of a few hours before a showing, but if you have let things go too far, you may not be able to get it all done in time.
Don’t forget to pay attention to the outdoors.
This previous blog post will help you boost your curb appeal. The front porch is an important place to stage as it is the first impression of your home. Create an inviting space that welcomes potential buyers. Tidy up the yard and landscaping as well.
Staging does not have to be expensive. A gallon of paint does wonders to make rooms feel fresh and modern. You may need to use more elbow grease than cash to complete your staging.
It may seem inconvenient to pack away so many things in your home. However, it will be worth the effort. You will eventually need to pack your belongings for a move. You can get a head start by decluttering before you list your Brooklyn home and pack away excess and personal items. It is a short-term inconvenience that may reward you greatly.
Contact me, Charles D’Alessandro, your Brooklyn Real Estate Agent with Fillmore Real Estate. As a Brooklyn real estate agent with over 30 years of experience, I can help you list your Brooklyn home utilizing my expertise to your advantage.
In the event our office is shut down, we are always committed to your safety during the COVID-19 health crisis in compliance with the State of New York public health policies. I can be reached by phone at (718) 253-9500 ext. 1901 or by email at [email protected].
