Back to Blog

The seller’s market is finally cooling down, and home prices are falling. Combine that with the increase in interest rates, and it is slowly becoming a buyer’s market. How do you get top dollar for your home when the Federal Reserve interest rate and home prices affect the market? In this buyer’s market, you have to become creative and combine home repairs and upgrades with staging the home so that the house is more attractive to the buyers.

Cosmetic repairs such as a new coat of paint and new carpeting combined with a thorough home cleaning can help. Another way to increase the likelihood of attracting buyers is to stage your home to visually appeal to buyers. Here are some tips on how to stage your home.

Investopedia.com

Investopedia gives you 12 key points to consider. A few are listed below. For the full article, click on the link for Home Staging.

Clean

A clean home shows potential buyers that you’ve taken good care of the property. Ideally, you should clean every part of the house, from the floors to the ceilings—and everything in between.

Declutter

There are two major problems with clutter. One is that it distracts buyers from your home’s features. The other is that it makes it seem like the home has less space.

Depersonalize

Buyers need to be able to envision themselves in your home, so remove all the family photos, keepsakes, and refrigerator art.

Wallpaper and Paint

It is unlikely that a potential buyer will like your wallpaper. Your best bet is to tear it down and paint the walls with a neutral color instead. It’s best not to paint over the wallpaper because it may look shabby and send a signal to the buyer about work they may have to do later.

Flooring

No one wants to live in a home with dirty, stained carpet, especially when someone else was the one who dirtied it. And linoleum is outdated and looks cheap. Although pricey, hardwood floors add value and elegance to a home.

Final Touches

Just before any open house or showing, make sure that your staging efforts have the maximum impact with a few last-minute touches that will make the home seem warm and inviting. Put fresh flowers in vases, let fresh air into the house for at least ten minutes beforehand, so it isn’t stuffy, light a few candles (soft and subtle fragrances only), and put new, plush towels in the bathrooms.

For more information and examples on how to stage your home, check out these articles:  

You can also check out books that are listed in the CCPL catalog. There are a few titles below to help you get started. 

Home Staging for Beginners by Sophia Grace

Knowing the basics of home staging — Home to stage your home, according to brokers — Getting on with home staging — Things you need to do before decorating — Things you should avoid doing — Specific home staging tips for different areas in your property — Things to do during open house

Home Staging that Works by Starr C. Osborne

Sell your home in less time for more money.

Staging to Sell by Barb Schwarz

Get set, go! — The let-me-tell-you-how-I-work approach — Step 1 : Meeting together the first time — The Career Book : the key to your credibility — Prospecting and uses of the Career Book — Step 2 : The exclusive detailed report — The Marketing Portfolio — Recipe for a sale : pricing the property right — The pricing-your-home triangle — Staging the property : the outside story — Staging the property : the inside story — Staging completion — State your life and work, too! — Your journey toward success — The S factor : staging success stories from ASPs and their sellers in the field