How Home Staging Can Help You Avoid a Price Reduction
By Susan Atwell as published in The Somers Record
Have you heard the old saying “Beauty is only skin deep, but ugly goes clean to the bone”? Well, it’s no joke to house hunters. If potential buyers can’t immediately see your home’s surface beauty, they won’t hang around long enough to find out what lies beneath. Buyers will assume that superficial flaws go down to the foundation.
Many of today’s buyers are busy two-income families who don’t have the time, money, or desire to tackle any updates before moving into their new home. Most buyers begin their house hunting on the Internet with a list of features they want in a home. Once they find the home they love—one that feels right—they’ll throw out that list and buy the property anyway.
What about the price? Is a low price alone enough to trigger a quick sale? Probably not if the price is the only thing potential buyer’s love. That’s why today’s home sellers must do more than just focus on price. Gone are the days of selling a home “as is.” No matter how hot the market, there will always be homes that make buyers pass.
Do you, as the home seller, really need to take the time to properly prepare your home for sale? Can’t you sell it “as is” at a reduced price? You can try that, but here are two things price reductions alone can never do. The first is that price reductions will never make a home appear move-in ready. Second, price reductions won’t make buyers connect emotionally with your home.
Making your home appear move-in ready is job number one in home staging, and it often costs less than you think. Buyers will pay for the convenience of a turnkey home. For example, 20 years ago when I bought my first home, I bought it at the top of my price range. Why? Because an extra $10,000 in the list price spread out over a 30-year mortgage was more palatable than the idea of a renovation project of the same amount. As a new home buyer, I didn’t have the cash to invest, but I did have the credit. Paying a little more for a move-in ready home was very attractive.
Staging can prevent buyers from submitting a low offer. Many home buyers are inexperienced and assume that any changes needed in an unstaged home will cost much more to implement than they actually do. For example, a house that is not staged may appear dirty, neglected, dated, and in need of repair. A home in this condition will likely see offers that are thousands lower than the asking price. Or if a home buyer feels like the potential to-do list is too much, they may leave the home feeling deflated and overwhelmed.
As a home seller, is saving a bit of your time worth leaving thousands of dollars on the table? What exactly can home staging do for your bottom line?
Your home will dress to impress. Give your home a competitive advantage. Like meeting someone for the first time at a job interview or on a blind date, appearances matter. If you’ve grabbed the buyer’s attention visually, you’ve got a chance at grabbing him or her emotionally.
Make it easy for buyers to fall in love with your home. House hunters buy the home they love, the one that excites them. Staging allows buyers to connect emotionally to your home by picturing themselves living there. You know you’ve set the scene when house hunters start planning where they will put their furniture instead of commenting on yours.
Your home will show as move-in ready. Most home buyers are looking for an easy transition, not a project. A move-in ready residence will put your home at the top of their list. Combine that with a competitive price, and you could sell faster and for more in the least amount of time and with the least amount of indigestion!
If you could buy a new car for the same price as a used car, wouldn’t you buy the new car? This is what staging does for your home. It makes a home feel new and fresh. It gives buyers the feeling that they are getting a great value, which is something that can’t always be measured in dollars and cents.
So whether your home is already on the market or you are getting ready to sell, a lower price is a good way to gain interest in your property. Just remember that price isn’t everything. Home staging will transform your home into the one that buyers can’t resist. For a competitive advantage, stage your home to sell.
