When it comes to selling your Clovis CA home, the first impression is the key factor. Prospective buyers usually make up their minds ten seconds after they step in the front door.

With a purchase as big as a home, buyers are very careful, and they look with a critical eye on every little detail of the home. So how can you raise the appeal of your property?

To achieve the best possible outcome, your home should be presented in the best light possible the first time. This can be accomplished through techniques such as decluttering, depersonalization, and creating an appealing ambiance.

But if you truly want to raise the appeal of your property, increase the sale price, and decrease the time your home stays on the market, then you should stage your home.

Home staging is not simply decorating your house.

Home staging is a systematic and coordinated methodology that involves a fusion of science and art, psychology and creativity to achieve the desired results. It is a valuable tool that helps improve the perceived value of your home. It puts a special emphasis on presentation and appearance. The key to this whole thing is appealing to the largest audience.

Hi! I’m Jason Nenadov, your top real estate agent in Clovis CA! If you’d like to know more about how I can help you sell your home, visit https://equityassetsrealestate.com/about-jason-nenadov/.

Read on to find out why you should take the extra steps to stage your home and what the best ways are to highlight the top 3 rooms in your property.

Do staged homes sell for more money?

Studies have shown that a property which is properly staged fetches the best price on the market, and in some cases these homes actually end up going for higher than asking price!

The Real Estate Staging Association conducted a study in 2009 which involved 126 vacant and occupied unstaged homes. They were previously on the market an average of 263 days unsold. The homeowners had their properties staged. Those same homes sold in 60 days on average after staging. The result is 78% less time on the market.

Home staging considers the steps necessary to make a home look exceptional. It properly displays the potential of a space and draws attention towards what it would feel like to own such a beautiful home.

The result is a faster sale at a higher price.

How Can Home Staging Help Sell My House?

When selling your property, it’s necessary for you to see it as product, that must be marketed and merchandised properly. When done properly, staging will bring out the best aspects of your home, highlighting the desirable features. It encourages home buyers to see the character of the home and to envision themselves in the home living the lifestyle they want.

Here are some ways home staging can help sell your home.

1. It connects the buyer to the home emotionally

If you’re selling a vacant house, it will be hard for buyers to emotionally connect with empty rooms, devoid of any character. Home staging warms up your rooms and paints pictures of a lifestyle that buyers long for.

2. It helps you think like a buyer

One of the hardest things about selling your home is having the ability to see things objectively. Sellers find it easier to visualize the property as a future home when it’s staged.

3. It deters low ball offers

A home has to be worth the price you’re trying to sell it for and home staging not only deter low ball offers, it also increases the chance of selling for above the asking price.

4. It shows your home better

A professionally staged home presents and shows better than competing houses for sale. In addition, photos of professionally staged listings look better in print and web media.

How much does it cost to stage a home for sale?

The cost of home staging comes down to your location, local economy, demand for house stagers, and where your price point is. The more expensive the home, the more it costs to stage.

Here are the home staging average costs:

• If you prefer to stage your home yourself, a consultation or home staging plan can cost approximately $400 to $600.
• If you want to have a professional complete all of the work, the cost of staging a home could be anywhere from $1,000 to $10,000 or more, though the average price is closer to $2,000 to $4,000.
• On an hourly basis, the cost to stage a house is roughly $100 to $200 per hour.

An excellent way to save money when staging is by only focusing on the main areas of a home.

What are the most important rooms to stage?

Not all rooms in your home are equally important in the staging process. So avoid wasting time and possibly money staging rooms where it doesn’t matter.

The National Association of REALTORS®’ 2017 Profile of Home Staging ranks the most important rooms to be staged, based on a survey of real estate buyer agents.

Here are the results:

1. Living room
2. Master bedroom
3. Kitchen
4. Yard/Outside Space
5. Dining room
6. Bathroom
7. Children’s bedroom
8. Guest bedroom

How to stage your living room?

The living room is a natural gathering point for everyone in the house, it is where families come together. It is usually where we entertain guests.

It’s important to stage the living room so that it welcomes the potential home buyers and helps them envision themselves living in the home. They need to see that there is enough room to fit their family comfortably in the space.

When staging the living room, the focus should be on creating a suitable conversation area.

You should also keep the following points in mind:

• Make sure your carpets are cleaned. If there is a need to replace them, don’t hesitate to do so. Remember that every discoloration is a strike against your home.
• Clutter can make your living room feel cramped, so make sure to remove stacks of books, toys, figurines and any other knick-knacks. Remove your family photos, too, since that interferes with the visualization process.  A clutter-free environment allows the space, beauty and intrinsic value of your home to shine.
• Keep accessories to a minimum, but do include essential furniture. This include a sofa, a coffee table, a rug, an accent chair, and media console. The fewer items that are in the room the larger and cleaner it will appear. If there’s a natural focal point such as a mantle you can arrange the seating around it. A well-staged room has a singular definable purpose and a focal point.
• Include multiple light sources, and leave them on during the showings to keep the space light and bright. This can really make or break the impact of your living room. Downlighters and table lamps can create a cozy atmosphere, while uplighting can add a touch of drama.  
• Play up the windows. Don’t hide your windows behind heavy drapes or curtains. Keep your window treatments minimal to allow natural light in. The abundance of natural light tricks the eye into thinking a space is larger. It’s also a good idea to place a mirror directly across from a window. It reflects the light and makes the room look bigger.  

Watch the video below for more ideas on how to spruce up your living room:

How to stage the master bedroom?

The goal in staging the master bedroom is to make potential buyers feel like they have just entered a five-star hotel or a vacation property. It’s the one room in the house that serves as a retreat from the cares of the world and the stress of busy home life. You want to create a space to unwind and relax after a long day of work.

Here are some staging tips to create a master bedroom worth making an offer for:

Make the bed look comfortable

The bedroom should be the focal point of this room. When staging the master bedroom, the goal is always to make the bed look as comfortable as possible. Use crisp white sheets and linens so potential buyers will see a clean and serene place to rest.

You can place an end table and a lamp on either side of the bed to create a balanced space. You can also draw interest to the bed by using a nice headboard. A soft, neutral toned headboard will help buyers envision how they they will design the bedroom.

Organize the closet

Don’t forget one of the most important features: the closet. Closet space is very valuable to buyers. It ranks as one of the most important aspects of the master bedroom so it is imperative that it is neat, spacious and organized. An unorganized, cluttered closet  will give the impression that there isn’t enough space to hold everything.

Declutter the closet so that it will appear large and easy to use for various types of storage. You can also color-coordinate and group like items to create a sense of order. Remember to keep the floor cleared, especially if it’s a walk-in closet and keep anything highly personal out of view.

Use simple window treatment

Bring the light in. Natural window light makes a room warm and welcoming. When staging your master bedroom, it’s better to choose a window treatment that is simple and classic. A window with a clean edge and line appearance will also make a room feel more spacious. Curtains aren’t necessary and in fact should be avoided if your windows have nice woodwork around them or have nice shutters. In those cases, you want to showcase them.

Ease up on the decor

Remember to keep the decor to a minimum. Artwork should be neutral in focus and complementary to the style since preferences for artwork are often personal and subjective. Most of the time, one to three pieces of framed art arranged above a bed or dresser is enough.

The video below will give you more ideas and design tips on how to create a “dreamy and relaxing” master bedroom suite:

How to stage the kitchen?

Staging your kitchen can also make the difference between a quick sale or having your home linger on the market for months. Remember that a kitchen ranks very high on a home buyer’s list. The condition of your kitchen can make or break the home sale.

However, you don’t have to spend a fortune for a complete kitchen makeover. A major kitchen overhaul can cost a huge amount of money — money you probably will not fully recoup when you sell. There are a number of DIY fixes and home staging strategies that can make your kitchen more appealing.

It’s also important to know what a successfully staged kitchen looks like.

• Your kitchen should look, feel, and smell clean and fresh.
• Your kitchen should feel spacious and light. Make sure there’s plenty of room for storage inside cupboards and closets.
• Your kitchen should be tasteful and good looking. Make sure that there are no out-of-date features.
• Your kitchen should show signs of life but is not messy and disorganized.
• Your kitchen should look welcoming so that buyers will find it easy to envision themselves using and enjoying the space.

Here are some tips to prep your kitchen before you sell your home.

1. Have your kitchen professionally cleaned

I can’t stress enough how important it is to have a sparkling clean kitchen. So to make sure that it’s done right, have a pro thoroughly clean your kitchen. Believe me, it’s one of the best investments you can make when preparing your home for sale.

2. Eliminate objectionable odors

No matter how well you have staged your kitchen, if home buyers encounter unpleasant smells when they come to your showing it could all be for nothing. Nothing turns off a potential buyer faster than a bad smell.

Smell is the sense most tied to memory and emotions. The right aroma can leave potential buyers with a lasting positive memory, while unpleasant smells can make them forget about all the great features of your home.

When staging your kitchen, you need to be hyper aware of odors. The kitchen can be a breeding ground for unappetizing smells. Make sure to clean and deodorize the refrigerator, microwave, garbage can, and garbage disposal.

Aside from neutralizing offensive odors, you should also find appealing scents to fill your kitchen to help endear house hunters to your home. A research conducted by a group of neurobiologists showed what smells have almost universal appeal.

They found the following to be the top 5 best smells:

1. Lime
2. Grapefruit
3. Bergamot
4. Orange
5. Peppermint

You may want to consider starting with these simple scents to freshen up your home.

3. Purge and organize your cupboards

People will be looking inside your cupboards and drawers so make sure they are organized. If they are overstuffed, you’re basically telling your buyer you don’t have enough storage space.

Pack up all the items you don’t use on a daily basis. Remove excess stuff, mismatched items, and anything that simply does not look good. You can also use baskets and containers to make everything feel more organized.

4. Paint and update

An easy way to refresh your kitchen is by using a fresh coat of paint. In fact, painting will give you the biggest bang for your buck. So give your kitchen a new coat of paint in a hue that works with the color of your counters and cabinets.

While you’re at it, you should also consider replacing outdated light fixtures, old kitchen faucets and cabinet hardware. These relatively cheap fixes can bring maximum appeal and make the kitchen feel fresh and new.

5. Accessorize with items that make sense in a kitchen

After cleaning and decluttering your kitchen, you should also add some accessories. You shouldn’t leave the counters completely empty as it will make your kitchen appear boring and lifeless. However, don’t decorate the counter too much. The same goes with the top of the cabinets as over decorating tends to take away from your kitchen’s true potential.  

You can use decorative canisters, herbs, a bowl of fresh limes or lemons, specialty olive oil, a bottle of red wine, and pretty cookbooks. You can also set fancy hand and dish soap on a tray. Don’t forget to place new tea towels. They are a great, cost-effective way to add a splash of color and pattern especially to white kitchens.

Home Staging Don’ts

Staging is all about creating a welcoming environment where potential buyers can immediately feel at ease, as if they were already in their own property.

However,  it’s not as simple as many sellers think. There are pitfalls that must be avoided at all cost. Review this list of home staging mistakes so you won’t make one when it’s time to sell your house.

1. Don’t assume that your house will sell itself. It may be perfect for you but it’s not always the case with other people. It’s your responsibility to make it the most appealing home on the block.
2. Don’t make buyers walk around obstacles like children’s toys, clothe piles, or dog beds.
3. Don’t leave personal signs of ownership. Take down the family portraits, kitschy collectibles and even monogrammed towels.
4. Don’t forget curb appeal. The lawn and landscape deserve as much care as the inside of the house.
5. Don’t leave anything broken. Make sure everything is functioning properly and in working order. Repair  leaky faucets, cracked windows, loose doorknobs, broken tile, as well as replace any light bulbs that don’t work.

The Bottom Line

“Wow! Where do I sign?”

Those are the words you want to hear as potential buyers walk into your home. By following these home staging strategies, there’s no reason that they shouldn’t. These simple changes around your home can help speed up the sales process and even boost the value of your property.

Do you need help staging your home and getting it on the market? Learn more about how we can get the best price in the best time through thoughtful home staging.

Call me, Jason Nenadov, at 559-246-8991. I’ll be happy to assist you with all your real estate needs.