When it’s time to sell, all the house is a stage, By Dian Hymer - (Excerpt from article published in The San Francisco Chronicle):
Staging homes for sale is a concept that’s relatively new to the resale home market. However, builders of new homes have benefited from staging for decades.
Staging makes it possible for builders to resell entire housing developments. They simply build a few model homes and decorate them to the hilt. Buyers like what they see and commit to buy even before the builder breaks ground on their new home.
In the Bay Area, staging homes for resale has been popular for years. Sometimes this involves a major expense if refurnishing the entire house is involved.
Staging also can be relatively minimal. Some sellers significantly enhance the appearance of their home merely by consulting with a staging specialist for an hour or two.
Why go to the trouble and expense? Experience has shown that the cost of staging often returns double the cost and sometimes more. It can also result in a quicker sale.
Home seller tip: The best way to find a decorator who specializes in helping sellers get their homes ready for sale is to ask a local real estate agent for recommendations. Also, check the Internet and the Yellow Pages.
Homeowners who understand the staging concept and who have a good eye for décor may be able to stage their home without hiring a professional.
Recently, sellers of a charming older home in the Crocker Highlands area of Oakland asked their agent to walk through the house with them to tell them specifically what needed to be done.
The agent suggested rearranging artwork and furniture, removing some items completely and accessorizing other areas with houseplants so that the home showed to it’s best advantage.
The sellers had design expertise, so they had no problem staging their home themselves. The listing showed so well that it attracted five offers and sold for a handsome price.
Most people (and this includes real estate agents) don't have a good design sense. So, in most cases, sellers will benefit by hiring a design expert to help them create a desirable ambience.
If you're intent on doing the staging yourself, consider the following guidelines:
- Too much furniture in a room can make it appear cramped and small. Remove pieces to create an open, inviting look. Unless you're selling a very large home, the bigger a home appears, the better.
- Pay attention to how your furniture is arranged. Furniture placement should encourage a good flow within and between rooms. For example, avoid blocking the entry to a room with a large piece such as a sofa. If you have French or sliding doors that lead to outdoors, move furniture out of the way so that buyers can appreciate the easy indoor-outdoor access.
- Make use of every nook and cranny. You might be able to use furniture removed from over-crowded rooms to create a usable space elsewhere.
For instance, a secretary that's crowding the living room might be ideal in an alcove off the upper hallway. Or the extra room downstairs that you've never used could become a media room with a sofa, television, stereo and an extra coffee table.
- Removing clutter does wonders to create an inviting decor. It's usually a good idea to box up family photos. Personal photos can distract buyers. You want buyers to concentrate on your home, not on your stuff.
The closing: Group collections of small items like miniatures, pieces of pottery or baskets so that they make a statement.
Dian Hymer is author of "House Hunting, the Take-Along Workbook for Home Buyers," and "Starting Out, the Complete Home Buyer's Guide," (Chronicle Books).
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