It’s no secret people judge a book by its cover, despite how often we’ve been told not to.
Likewise, potential buyers of properties are likely to make snap judgments based on how a home looks, even if they don’t mean to.
That’s where staging comes in.
Far more than an act of vanity, staging could help you sell your home quicker or even attract multiple bidders. To help understand some best practices for staging your home, we asked Justin Zachariuk, Personal Real Estate Corporation at The Agency, for some tips and tricks.
Staging refers to setting up a home with furniture and decor to demonstrate to potential buyers how the space may be used. For instance, putting a couch and tables in a living room to show buyers what size and types of furniture will fit. The goal is to help them visualize what they could do with the space.
“It's basically painting a picture for a potential buyer of how they can live,” said Zachariuk.
Why staging matters
Staging may feel superfluous — after all, why not just leave the rooms in your home empty and let potential buyers imagine what to do with the space? But that’s not nearly as effective.
As Zachariuk explains, “The biggest problem with that is they can't really imagine the space as much. I find everything feels a lot smaller in the space.”
For example, bedrooms in Vancouver’s newer condos can be quite small. This plants seeds of doubt in buyers’ minds.
“One of the biggest things I have come up [from buyers] is, ‘can I fit a nightstand?’ Can I fit a queen size bed in here?” said Zachariuk. “So when there's actually a bed in some of the rooms — especially now in Vancouver, we have these micro-size apartments and you could have a bedroom and people are like, ‘can I even fit a bed in here?’”
Once you stage a bed and nightstand in a small bedroom, potential buyers are much more likely to realize the space will work for them. As Zachariuk says, "sometimes with staging, you can show that and they’ll say, ‘wow, OK, I can actually fit a bed and I can have a nightstand,’ which is a huge win.”
While it may be obvious to you how to use your space because you’ve been living in the home, other people don’t have the same familiarity with it.
And if you’re in a building with many identical units, it can be hard to stand out in homeseekers’ minds. Staging helps make your property look unique.
“You might have one or two units in the same building that are for sale. And most of the time people will book the staged one because it looks a lot nicer. And I find the buyers actually pick that themselves,” said Zachariuk.
How to stage your space
When it comes to staging your home, you can do it yourself or use a professional staging company. Zachariuk recommended working with professional stagers. Your agent can recommend stagers they’ve worked with before.
Not only do professional stagers have the knowledge and equipment needed to make your space look as presentable as possible, but you’re also trying to show potential buyers how your space could be used, not how you’re currently using it. For example, you may have a red sofa with yellow pillows, but not many potential buyers are likely to share your taste.
That’s why Zachariuk recommends more neutral pieces of furniture and decor, which most professional staging companies have ample supplies of.
“Stagers actually have a warehouse themselves. And the great thing is picking a great stager, like for example, Stage Masters, who I use, they have their own warehouse and have a lot of products,” he said.
“You want to make sure you find a good staging company that has the best range of products, because you don't want them doing the same vignette, same couch, same coffee table. You want them to change, so you look different from other listings as well.”
If you’re pressed for time, he recommends focusing on spaces that most people spend the most time in: the kitchen, living room and bedrooms. If you have a patio, balcony or other outdoor spaces, these are also worth some attention. Adding a few outdoor chairs and tables, or sprucing up the plants and greenery can go a long way in making your home stand out to potential buyers.
The important thing to remember when staging your home is that you want to make it look as appealing as possible to the highest number of potential buyers.
Homeseekers are much more likely to make offers on spaces that look and feel clean, inviting and fresh.
