Is Staging Necessary for Short Sales?
First, Wikipedia defines staging your home as:
“Home staging is the act of preparing a private residence for sale in the real estate marketplace. The goal of staging is to make a home appealing to the highest number of potential buyers, thereby selling a property more swiftly and for more money.Staging techniques focus on improving a property’s appeal by transforming it into a welcoming, attractive product that anyone might want.”
Not staging your home can be detrimental to your chances of getting your home sold in a reasonable time frame. This is even more essential in a short sale situation because you want there to be an offer as soon as possible so that the process can be started faster.
Research
There has been plenty of research to prove that home staging is imperative to selling your home quickly. Many professional staging companies boast percentages equivalent to homes staged selling for %17 more and in 1/10 of the time it takes to sell a non-staged home.
The Real Estate Staging association did tests selling identical homes professionally staged vs the same home not staged. Their research showed that the staged homes sold in 45 days compared to a home that was not staged selling on average in 102 days.
Estimations are made that only %10 of home buyers are able to visualize the potential of a home. That means that other %90 cannot look past the clutter, dirt, imperfections, and taste specific decor.
As a home seller, your number one priority is to make your home desirable so that most of the people walking through during showings can see themselves living there.
According to a 2011 study by Homegain.com, these are the top updates you can do while staging and the return you can get on your investment is well worth it:
- Clean and declutter: 872%
- Lighten & brighten: 572%
- Landscaping (both front and back): 473%
- Paint interior: 250%
- Update kitchen: 237%
- Update bathroom: 172%
Interior
The biggest thing a realtor or professional stager will tell you to do to ready your home for sale is to declutter. As shown, this provides your biggest return and does not cost hardly anything but time for you to accomplish.
Making sure all your light bulbs work is another easy way to help your rooms feel light and bright. This is another cheap and easy way to boost your home’s appearance.
Curb Appeal
Get rid of all those weeds and plant some fresh flowers out front. A buyer decides if they like the home within the first 30 seconds of seeing it. Many will not even get out of the car if the front of the house does not look good. Curb appeal is essential!
It may seem pointless to put more money that you do not have into a home you are short selling. But finding ways to stage on a budget or even decluttering, which does not cost you a thing, can be extremely beneficial to your home selling process.
