The past few years have been rough on the real estate industry. People are less inclined to drop their dollars on big-ticket items like houses, leaving home sellers and realtors scrambling to figure out how to lure them in. Fortunately, a survey conducted by HomeGain.com in 2009 revealed a surefire way to move property faster: staging. Almost all of the one thousand–plus realtors who responded say that staging a house—that is, prepping it so it has mass appeal—is the second-most-essential project homeowners should undertake when selling. (The first is cleaning and decluttering the home.) In fact, 44 percent believe that a staged house sells weeks earlier than a nonstaged one.
Hiring a professional stager is one option for sellers, but those services range from a few hundred to a few thousand dollars. Luckily, 82 percent of the realtors surveyed suggest do-it-yourself staging instead, which can cut costs without cutting your chances of a sale. I interviewed a couple of Bay Area–based realtors to find out their tricks for making homes appeal to prospective buyers.
Start from the outside.
“First impressions are really critical,” says realtor Silvia Damen, MBA. If buyers drive up to the house and see a shabby lawn and paint peeling off the door, they’re less inclined to get out of the car. If your garden’s lacking, Silvia suggests buying fresh flowers from a nursery or home-improvement store and planting them around the entryway to create a warm, inviting atmosphere. Touch up the paint on the door if need be, and throw a new doormat in front of it for an extra-friendly touch.
Remove all personal items.
You might think that lots of knickknacks and photographs make a home feel more, well, homey, but they’re actually a turnoff for buyers. “They often don’t want to necessarily see who’s living in the space. They want to be able to see themselves there,” Silvia explains. That means taking down personal pictures and artwork, putting away books, magazines, and tchotchkes, and basically scrubbing the house of any mementos that remind buyers that someone else lived there first.
But that doesn’t mean the house should look bare-bones, either. Instead, seek out small, neutral additions—Silvia refers to them as “fluffing items”—like vases, candles, framed pictures of nature scenes, bowls, artwork that’s not too flashy, and even encyclopedias to fill in the empty space on shelves and in bookcases. She recommends checking out affordable shops, like Ross and Bed Bath & Beyond. Thrift stores are also a good bet—just avoid the stuff that looks too outdated or beat up. You want items that look less personal but still make the space look good, and fortunately, that needn’t cost a lot.
Let there be light.
Both Silvia and another realtor I consulted emphasized the necessity of bright, airy rooms. “Make sure you have the curtains drawn and blinds open,” Bobby advises. But that might not be enough if the walls and furniture are dark, too. In fact, if the walls are anything but a neutral color, consider repainting before you put the house on the market. White walls reflect outside light, making the room appear bigger and more cheerful. Furniture should also be in neutral shades for the same reason; if your furniture’s darker, put it in storage and pick up a few pieces from thrift stores or used-goods Web sites like Craigslist and Freecycle. (Sometimes you can find quality furniture for free on those Web sites.) Using slipcovers might be an even cheaper option. Bedding and towels should be light as well; use neutral tones for bedspreads—Silvia recommends cream-colored or sage—and white towels in the bathroom. To prevent the space from looking too stark with all of the neutral colors, though, use small pillows and throws to add a pop of color. Fresh flowers work wonders as well.
Lighting is equally critical; Silvia makes sure that every lightbulb in the house has as much wattage as possible. She also replaces light fixtures if they look too old or tarnished. “Go to Home Depot and get a modern lamp shade or different lighting covers. It costs anywhere from $30 to $50 and it’s worth every penny,” she suggests. Silvia even brings her own lamps to a property to help set the stage. “Since I have two listings, I don’t have any nightstands or lamps right now,” she shares.
Make the house smell good.
You may not realize it, because you’re there all the time, but your house has a distinct smell—one that others might not appreciate. That’s why realtors like Silvia and Bobby rely on baking cookies, open windows, fresh-smelling flowers, and candles to remove odors left by food, cigarettes, pets, and so forth. Bobby recommends a specific candle called Wipe Out to eliminate funky smells. As an alternative to baking cookies, Life123.com says that baking a sliced apple in water and cinnamon makes the whole house smell like apple pie.
Give every space a theme.
You want to draw prospective buyers into every room, to create universally appealing spaces in which they can see themselves living. To start, arrange the furniture in the living room around a focal point, like a fireplace or a coffee table; you want it to look appropriate for relaxation and conversation. Remove a few pieces of furniture, if necessary. People should be able to walk around freely, and too much furniture gives off a cluttered vibe. Set the bedroom as a luxurious place to sleep by carefully arranging bedspreads and pillows and adding a few candles and flowers. The bathroom should be clean and bright; clear the shower and counter of all personal items, like toothpaste and shampoo bottles. Kitchen counters should be cleared of appliances; substitute a cookbook or two and perhaps a bottle of wine to set a culinary mood. Setting the dining room table helps with that, too.
If there’s an extra room in the house, you might turn it into an office or a playroom; that helps buyers even more readily imagine themselves living in the house. My coworker’s friends went a step further when selling their house, playing a children’s movie in the playroom to set the stage. Speaking of entertaining, don’t forget the backyard—if the space is big enough, put a few lawn chairs and a small table out there to show how perfect it is for hosting informal get-togethers on nice days. Clean up the lawn and add a few plants first, though.
Sellers hesitate to invest so much money in houses they’re putting up for sale, but Silvia’s quick to point out that staging efforts won’t be in vain. “For every dollar that my clients spend on staging, they’ll get back at least $2 or $3,” she says. “It’s really that important.” The 2009 HomeGain survey showed similar results, with realtors reporting an average of 586 percent return on investment. Clearly, these open-house tricks of the trade really do make a difference. However, none of them will help move a house unless the seller does the most important thing first: clean and declutter. Silvia, Bobby, and the survey’s respondents believe this is the most important part of the process. So before you start shopping for throw pillows and scented candles at thrift stores, break out the sponges and Dustbusters.
