Selling Your House? Avoid These Staging Mistakes!
(Author note: Originally published July 2020; Revised & improved from original!)
Recently spotted on Realtor.com: People who don’t want to sell their house for asking price!
Can you believe it?
Actually, those sellers probably do really want to sell for asking price. Unfortunately, the interior decor that worked well for them as home dwellers won’t get them top dollar when they sell. The truth is, the asking price has already been reduced, and they lost out on a lot of coin. What a shame!
Why are some home sellers unsuccessful?
As part of my ongoing business development, I stay updated on the real estate market in my location, as well as select areas of the country. I examine trends in new construction, redesign for older homes, pricing and marketing strategies, and online photo quality. In particular, I scrutinize the “recently sold” homes, as well as the “price reduced” homes. Why? I look for clues about why homes sell quickly, and why some sit on the market without offers.
80-90% of buyers look online FIRST!
Homes that sell quickly are reasonably priced for the neighborhood, have high-quality photos online, and look current. The properties with price reductions tend to have a too-high initial asking price, poor online marketing, or appear unappealing compared with local comps.
What do I mean by “unappealing?” Specifically, those houses have outdated styles or old design styles that will require money to fix. Sometimes, marketing is also a problem. I have seen unprofessional online photos that emphasize the wrong aspects of the home, have little or no staging, and are unbelievably cluttered. Let’s break these points down and examine visual examples of each.
Outdated style
Styles more than 10 years old do not look modern to home buyers. Today’s home buyers want a move-in ready home, and they picture themselves moving into a model home. While the expectations may not be realistic, that’s the truth of it!
Some styles in particular date a home, especially styles that are no longer in vogue. Here are some especially outdated trends that I noted in several markets: 1) Old-style wallpaper, sometimes throughout the house; 2) Oudated color choices–Google 90’s and early 2000’s interior color schemes; 3) Dark, heavy furniture & Mediterranean style.
What are some other items that date a home? Large entertainment centers, bulky furniture, and overbearing details.
Outdated design
Outdated design, especially awkward architectural elements, can be tricky! Nobody wants to sink time or money into a house that they are selling! Are you seriously going to pay to have a wall nook drywalled over? Doubtful! Will you tear out your tiled-in sunken Jacuzzi tub in the 90’s bathroom? Not a chance!
See my recently re-published article, “Staging Purchases that You Must Make“
You may have large built-in wall nooks, large ledges with no apparent purpose, or odd windows to work around. All of these features were so popular in the 90’s and early 2000’s. Unfortunately, those features aren’t old enough to be retro yet, but they are old enough to look..well, old. If you have awkward features in your home, look on Pinterest or Houzz for ideas of how to embrace or distract from those design challenges.
Photos that emphasize the wrong things
This problem is easy to address! Hire a professional photographer who specialized in home photography for sellers, as well as a professional home stager to work alongside them on photo day.
Realtors who snap photos with their smart phones do you a huge marketing disservice, because angles and lighting matter. Does anyone really need 5 different views of the same room? What about a close-up of the toilet or the stain on the wall? Insist on professional-quality photography–your home’s online presence can make or break your sale, so get it right the first time.
Poor or no staging
Failure to stage is another huge home selling mistake! Empty houses do NOT photograph well! Even minimal, well-placed furnishings provide context for rooms. For showings and photographs, buyers need to envision their own things in your home, otherwise they won’t make an emotional connection.
By seeing how well furniture fits into a room, or how well a floor plan flows, you help buyers to imagine living in your home. Wall art or strategic furnishings can distract from less-desirable aspects of a home, such as a narrow room, awkward layout, or outdated fireplace. Be smart and hire a professional stager to help you with this!
Clutter
Stagers also help you, the seller, to step back and see past the clutter in your own home. When you live in a house for a while, you get used to seeing your own stuff everywhere. It really helps to have an objective third party–without an interest in sales commission–to be honest with you about making necessary changes. Stagers have the goals of ensuring a profitable sale and guiding you to make the changes that really matter.
As far as decreasing the overall amount of clutter in your home for sale, please listen to your realtor and your stager! Less is often more when you are selling, so start packing up your excess furnishings–you’ll be moving soon anyway!
Along those same lines, please don’t stack packing boxes in the rooms of your house! Use the attic, garage, and closets as long as it doesn’t junk them up too much. If you have a LOT of extra things, consider renting a storage unit, having a garage sale, or donating to a charity. you don’t need to keep all of that stuff around when you’re trying to sell.
Selling a house is stressful–been there, done that! Hopefully, you will find my suggestions helpful, and avoid becoming one of those people who has to settle for a lot less money!
