As social media and TV floods our screens with picture-perfect homes, buyers are expecting their future home to be Instagram-worthy. Click through to learn more about how to perfectly prep your home for listing.
As social media and TV flood our screens with picture-perfect homes, buyers are expecting their future home to be Instagram-worthy. Most of us have a general understanding of basic home staging:
- De-clutter
- Deep clean
- De-personalize
But, that’s pretty generic. So, we asked our trusted friends at BY Design Home Staging to share a few tips and tricks to prepare your home for market. We’re happy to share their sage advice (sage-burning not included):
- Your First Showing is Online: “Curb appeal” is now every online photo of your home, not just the view from the street. Once your house is on the market, it is no longer your home. It is now a product that needs to be styled and marketed to receive higher offers and a fast sale.
- Staging Before Listing: In real estate, your first impression is your only impression. Don’t put your house on the market to “see what will happen.” Those first few weeks are your best chance to get top dollar. After that, the buzz is gone and the price starts to drop. Capitalize on that early advantage by having it showcase ready.
- Furniture Placement: Float your furniture in the room. Homeowners sometime make the mistake of shoving all the furniture against the walls in an effort to make the room look larger. It looks a bit like a washing machine stuck on the spin cycle. Your rooms will actually look bigger if you create space behind the furniture and design a conversation area. Also, remember the walkways should be at least 36” wide for optimal traffic flow.
- Bang for Your Buck: Paint is your best friend when selling your home. Little known fact: the kitchen and baths sell houses. A quick update of painted cabinets and a neutral wall color will bring freshness to your home to make it desirable to home buyers. Replace any outdated light fixtures. So many beautiful light fixtures are now available online inexpensively.
- “Show Towels”: Every bathroom should feel like a spa! Use fluffy white towels—you never see purple towels or towels with a decorative border in a spa.
- Window Treatments: We know, you paid a lot for them! However, often times they block light coming in and are dated. If your window treatments are not solid, straight panels, take them down. No swags, valances or scarves. They will only date your listing photos. Don’t be afraid of bare windows.
- Style Like a Furniture Showroom: Check out your bookcases. Are they cramped? Edit out 50% of the books and items. Create vignettes on the shelves by turning some books horizontally and some vertically. You can even turn your books around, so the page edge shows, to lighten a dark bookshelf and avoid distracting titles. Add art and decorative boxes to make it more pleasing. You can even leave some shelves empty. Style your surfaces—coffee table, dining table, mantle, etc. Remember to use an odd number of decorative items to make it more attractive.
- Go Big or Go Home: Use large scale art and accessories. Items smaller than a basketball can read as clutter in your photos. To make a bigger impact use fewer, larger pieces.
Still feeling overwhelmed? With over 200 REALTORS® in 4 offices, we’re confident we can help find “The Very Best” partner for your home selling journey. Call us today at (210) 824-7878 to learn more and schedule your free market valuation.
Special thanks to Julie Young and BY Design Home Staging.
