How to Increase Your Home's Value with Effective Staging

Categories: Decor DIY Essentials Homes Planning Real Estate

Published 04/06/2021

Staging your home in the best way possible is proven to increase the value of your home. Walking into a house with basic furniture and decorations gives potential buyers an idea of what life will be like there. And removing personal items helps you disconnect from the home.

In a recent report by the National Association of Realtors, 83% of buyer's agents said staging a home made it easier for a buyer to visualize the property as a future home. The most commonly-staged rooms include the living room (93%), kitchen (84%), master bedroom (78%), and dining room (72%).

Darryl Glass, Realtor & Broker-associate with Advent Properties, Inc, has staged and sold numerous properties over the years. In his most recently sold listing at 27084 Underwood Avenue in Hayward, he experienced 134 requests for a tour within 10-days and received a total of 31 offers before a 25 day escrow period. How? Strategic staging! On the 3D virtual tour provided by Asteroom — 381 users spent the most time viewing the living room, kitchen, and bedroom behind the front yard & patio.

So, it's worth it to declutter, clean up, upgrade, and design your home based on your ideal buyer. Here are a few tips to help you impress professional home appraisers:

Toss Non-Essentials

You might like your knick-knacks and quirky decorations, but a potential buyer might be turned away by them. If it isn't necessary, get rid of it or hide it somewhere. If you free up more space in your home, you could raise its value. At this stage, you should be past any emotions about your old home and thinking about your future in your new one. Your sentimental knick-knacks will have a place there, away from a potential buyer's judgemental eyes.

But this isn't only for knick-knacks and decorations. Every bit of personal touches should get removed. Your house needs to be as generic as possible to appeal to the most people it can. Picture a nice hotel that you stayed at and shoot for that — only the essentials.

Clean Like Crazy

Think of the cleanest your house has ever been — now make it even cleaner. Hire professionals if you have to! It can create an impression that you've taken care of your home. Watch out for weird smells as well. Cigarette scent is not attractive to potential buyers, and neither are pet smells. If you can move your pets to another location, make sure you do so. It would be a shame for your cleaning efforts to be ruined by a wet dog or a cat that misses the litter box.

Paint Everything Neutral Colors

Using one neutral color throughout your home adds to the clean look you're going for, and it allows imaginations to run wild about what colors can change once a buyer moves in. Use bold colors sparingly to highlight important features. Everywhere else, the neutral color will help to open up your home's perceived space.

Upgrade and Replace Any Eyesores

Add new coats of paint or stain to cabinets. Replace old door knobs and handles that are loose or falling apart. Freshen up the bathroom and rip-up and replace old flooring. The more things you can make new, the better, and make sure your home has proper lighting. The neutral colors on your walls should help to increase natural light, but that's not enough. No one wants to live somewhere dark and gloomy.

Even if a buyer can't afford a new home, they'll want it to feel like new. You need to provide them with the illusion that they're buying something fresh. Your home could be 100 years old, but with proper upkeep, you can shave off a couple of decades.

The number one thing to keep in mind is that potential buyers don't want to see your home — they want to see theirs! They don't have the same sense of style as you or the same preferences. As much as you love your home the way it is, other people won't. You need to set up your home the way they want to see it. Either that or you need to make it as basic as possible so that their imagination can take over.

Doing this will increase the value of your home. Making it more appealing and reduce the work that the new owners will have to complete. It can be hard to let go, but you're moving for a reason. Start letting go sooner rather than later.

To receive more home staging tips or an award-winning and knowledgeable Realtor to list your property, contact Darryl Glass today! Dial (510) 500-7531, email dglass@adventpropertiesinc.com, or tap here to schedule a call in the upcoming weeks.