Staging Your Home For Sale - Is It Worth The Investment?

For the past three months the average selling price of a staged home was 19% above the listing price while the unstaged home was only 15%. The 4% difference more than paid the staging cost.

Here are the ten secrets for selling from a successful home stager:

• Freshen up the home by painting walls a light, neutral color, such as antique white. Lighter colors appeal to a wider range of buyers and make each room look larger.
  
  
• Take a close look at the floor coverings in each room. If you have hardwood floors under the carpet, you will always make money by removing it, even if the floor is not in perfect condition.
  
  
• Allow as much light as possible to enter the room. Open up or remove all draperies, blinds, shades or other window coverings.
  
  
• Removing the clutter of everyday life - all utilitarian items, stacks of paper, toiletries, kitchen utensils, electronic equipment and television sets.
  
  
• Remove furniture from each room that does not go with the decor, such as items that stand out too much and items that are worn or of an unappealing color.
  
  
• Place the remaining room furnishings in a way that makes best use of the character of the space. A room should be balanced so that people do not focus on one particular piece of furniture.
  
  
• Now that you've removed the clutter from your home, adding some nice but inexpensive accessories will greatly elevate the perceived value of the home.
  
  
• Clean, clean, clean. Every crevasse within the home should be spotless and gleaming. Even your normal weekly cleaning can not come close to the quality of clean you need.
  
  
• You can't over spend on fresh plants, and landscape plants. These provide a strong addition to the ambience you want to create.
  
  
• Be Available to show your home! Since you are selling your home yourself you need to reachable so that you can show it to prospective clients. If you are going to be out of town or unreachable consider a lockbox or have a friend available to show it. Think of it this way: If prospective buyers can't see it they will not buy it!!!