Why Your Home will Sell Quicker with a Home Stager

                     Guest Blogger #787, Entry #1857, November 23, 2012

Ever wondered how your property can get that ‘display home’ charm and enticing feel? What if all the hard work of designing and planning was left to the hands of the professionals, saving you time and money in the process? Home Staging (or Property Styling as it’s referred to outside the U.S. and U.K.) is the best way to create a good first impression of your property, making it ready for the real estate market – and hopefully maximizing the chance of a profitable return.

Consider hiring a professional home stylist

What does it involve?

Home staging can be as adventurous and thematic as the owner wants, going from small scale accessory hire (cushions, lamps, vases), to complete interior and exterior home packages. It all depends on how much owners are willing to invest in the cost of enhancing the aesthetics of their property, and what scale of styling is needed for the property’s size. Some examples of home staging include:

• Vacant Home Styling
• Rental Property Styling
• Complete Staging (entire home)
• Accessory & Prop Hire

Ensure your home is inviting to a future buyer

Isn’t it just another form of interior design?

Most would ask if there is a difference between the two, especially if there is a sizeable financial investment involved. Home stagers have more of a real estate focus than interior designers and will be able to gauge the buyer market more strategically through their property styling process. Sydney-based property styling company Home Presentation describe the difference between the two as a matter of one being more suitable to make a property ready for sale than the other:

“Be aware that they (interior designers) may not be appropriately qualified to offer a home styling service that will make the most of what you already have in the property and may spend large amounts of money in a makeover – presenting a property for sale is not a makeover.”

What does it cost?

Like any tailored professional service, home styling is more of an investment than a cost. However, if you were asking to sell your home for over $500,000, would investing 1% of your overall properly value ($5,000) seem like such an unrealistic expense if you were to increase the likelihood of a profit?

Property stylers will most likely charge either by the hour, or by the size of the home; i.e. a one bedroom apartment may have a standard hire rate of $3,000 for a period of three weeks. A styling setup like this may be suitable for someone with a number of open inspections over a period of time.

Sell your home quicker with a home stager

Property styling companies also offer complete home design packages, which extends the presentation of the home to the garden in addition to the interior rooms. This is a more expensive approach, but what is more likely to increase the likelihood of a property sale – would it be a home that is presented with basic, day-to-day furnishings or a property that is staged ready to seduce buyers with an enviable lifestyle?

What are benefits of hiring home design?

Apart from removing the organizational stresses of presenting a home for sale, hiring a design for a property is one of the best ways to boost market value. According to Home Presentation, properties that are styled to sell have attracted a 3-6%* minimum increase in their market value, with selling margins going as high as 16% in the United States.

With static real-estate markets in America, and similar growing trends in Australia and in the United Kingdom, property owners need to be strategic in their selling approach so that they are not forced to drop the market value of their real estate. If the initial investment seems a little daunting, most companies offer a non-obligation free quote before committing, and will be able to give property owners an indication if it is the right selling approach for them.

For more home staging ideas on Stagetecture, click here.