« Back to BOE Blogs

Make a Good Impression

Published: February 2017
Author: Bank of England Mortgage Staff

Today's market is very competitive, so making a good first impression is crucial. Home staging is the act of making a home look visually appealing to buyers. There are ways to highlight your homes qualities, de-emphasize its shortcomings and engage potential buyers.

Home stagers will make selling your home a lot less stressful. They have an eye for home appeal and can transform it into a welcoming, attractive product that anyone might want and will perceive as a much higher value.

Staging your home yourself or having a professional home stager do the work for you depends on your budget. Either way, the first impression is imperative.

Homeowners, reluctant to spend the money or admit that their decorating choices might not be catnip to buyers, are often loath to pay strangers to impose their tastes on their premises. Home staging has evolved over the past decade. Today, stagers are increasingly tackling all-out transformations in some cases that translate to a much higher selling price and even bidding wars. So if you are thinking of putting your home on the market, consider home staging.

Home Staging Tips

• Be Creative with Color, often when it's time to sell, some aspects of a home can be dated due to its color. Finding the best color combo to make it look fresh can be really eye catching to a buyer, so don't be afraid to use it creatively.
• De-clutter everything but the bare bone essentials should be removed or thrown out
• Less is More… select your best pieces of furniture and rearrange them.
• Let Light In, good lighting accentuates the best qualities of your home and illuminating essential areas.
• Bring The Outdoors in. There's nothing like a fresh healthy plant. Decorating with greenery will add charm and beauty to your home.
• Make an Entrance by making the entrance feel welcoming, you honor all who enter. Make it count!

Benefits of Staging (Yourself and Professionally)

• You will make a profit. The cost of professionally staging your home should be included in the sales price. If staged professionally, more often than not, the home is sold at asking price or very close to.
• Your home will sellmuch quicker. On average, well-staged homes sell faster for more money.
• Selling "as is" in any market doesn't work well. It's always a buyer's market, so give them what they want. Successful agents know that the key to selling competitively is professional staging.
• Most homebuyers can't see their home unbiasedly. When you create a feeling buyers are looking for and get them emotionally involved with your home, they are more likely to buy your home
• You can unwind. You will have the fulfillment of knowing you have done everything conceivable to affect a quick sale of your most valuable commodity and for as much as possible!