Wanna get the most out of your Home Sale?

Consider staging it.

I am Realtor. I love houses. Buying, selling, decorating, remodeling. I love it all.

In the past, I haven't staged houses. So many people have gotten good at decorating (thank you Pinterest) there's not always a need. But turns out there are some very good reasons to stage a home.

What are they? Read on.

1 - It's empty. This is an obvious one. A house without anything in it can be a tad boring to look at. Staging changes that!

2 - The homeowner is more mature. People are like fine wines... we get better with age. I whole heartedly believe this. But sometimes, and I mean no offense here... as we age, we can become a little skewed as to what is "in". This goes for almost everything: clothes, make-up styles, food, furniture. It may have been amazing when you placed it there 20 years ago but to that potential buyer who's a 34 year old mother of 2... she's not impressed.

Let me give you an example. My daughter is 14. Last year, she had to have Air Force Ones... I thought Vans were still the thing. I was wrong. Turns out Air Forces were 100% the THING. Those shoes on her feet made her feel shiny, new and cool. The same kinda goes for houses. When some people reach a certain age they may not really know, like or care about trends in home styling anymore. And that's ok by the way... they're supposed to be playing more golf and drinking more martinis! However, that's also when they need stagers to bring them up to date.

According to an article compiled by the National Association of Realtors, the largest group of homebuyers in 2020 are the Older Gen Y/Millenials ages 30-39 coming in at 25%. Ages 40-54, the so called Gen Xers, are in a close second coming in at 23% of the home buyers.

They have money and they're ready to buy. May be a reason to stage. Just sayin'...

See the whole NAR article: HERE

3 - Quick sale. Really want to sell that house? There's 2 things you can do. Bring that price down and/or stage it.

4 -The house is amazing but the decor is not. This is a hard one. Bottom line here is, not everyone has good taste. As a Realtor, it's kind of your job to help the seller put their best foot forward and that could mean suggesting a stager. This has actually happened to me before: the coffee table is absolutely horrendous. But it's the homeowners prized possession. They think the coffee table alone may sell the house. When it all actuality, it's so bad it could kill the deal (well, maybe...).

Turns out, if you have a good house, it may sell. But if you stage a good house - it WILL sell.

5 - Helping BUYERS find their vision. Some buyers really need to be helped along by physically showing the the possibilities of a home. If they see a room it's a room. No big. If they see a desk in that room it's now an office. They then remember they NEED an office. This house has one!

If a house is poorly decorated, or spaced... buyers will think it's a bad house. If they see a well pro-portioned, up to date place... they will think it's a new, cool pad to call home. It can change their whole mind set. And their whole plan to purchase.

Check out some of the possibilities below. These are BEFORE/AFTERS (love those!)

How do you stage? There are different ways. You can hire someone to add to what you currently have like some of the pictures above or you can have the stagers do everything from top to bottom like the pictures that follow.

What rooms do you stage? That depends. What do you want to showcase about your house? Who do you think would want to buy your home? Below was a bedroom turned into an office. Since people are home more these days... a home office is now a top priority.

Master bedrooms are always a big deal. Stagers will make it feel like a get away, a retreat.

Here's another Master.

Of course living and dining is big since that's where everyone is...

Kitchens matter too. Those can be easily de-cluttered and re-designed. Throw up some cool counter stools, signs, bread boxes and a trendy canister or two. Done.

Finally tonight, please remember not all stagers are created equal. There are some good ones, some okay ones and some really great ones. Find a really great one and work with them!

I like Honeycomb Homes AZ, LLC... you can find them at info@honeycombhomesaz.com

And say HELLO to your home sale!