Did you know? The period between Boxing Day and the beginning of the new working year is the busiest time of year for people browsing the property portals
According to Rightmove “last Boxing Day, visits were 54% higher than the previous year.
There were also more than 51 million visits to Rightmove between Boxing Day and the first working day of the new year”
So it’s a fantastic time to launch your property for sale especially as stock levels are very low.
Now I know that, at the moment, properties are flying and seem to sell themselves without any effort so you may ask “why should I bother staging my property when it will sell anyway?”
Why Are You Selling?
- Have you seen your dream home but it’s a little more than your budget?
- Have you been advised that you can’t borrow as much as you thought you could?
- Are you moving to a more expensive area where your budget doesn’t get you as much?
These are all reasons why you may be looking to squeeze every penny you can from your existing property. If you really want/ need to maximise your selling price, presentation still matters even in a buoyant market. Here’s why…
- Your marketing materials will look better especially if professionally prepared
- Your viewers have an enhanced viewing experience
- More people will view which leads to higher offers.
Let’s examine these more closely
Marketing Materials
When prospective buyers are searching for their next home on the property portals you want your property to stand out from the crowd.
You want the image that pops up in buyers’ feeds to look good and make them click through to learn more about your property and book a viewing.
To do this, the subject matter of those images needs to look appealing. Help your prospective buyers imagine themselves living in your property. Sell the lifestyle. How many times do you scroll through a property’s images and wonder “why have they taken a picture of …?” Sometimes it feels as if an agent has included images just for the sake of it.
Empty properties are particularly difficult for buyers to visualise.
My top tip – not only stage your property but have a professional photographer who specialises in property photography take the photos. Not only will the images be of a high quality but they will include lifestyle images such as exterior photos taken at dusk. Believe me it’s worth doing.
Enhanced Viewing Experience
Having enticed your prospective viewers to view you need the viewing to meet the expectations that your images have evoked.
A staged property means that buyers will get a taste of what life will be like for them if they buy your property. They will be able to picture themselves enjoying family movie nights, entertaining friends, enjoying a barbecue in the garden.
It’s the little touches that professional staging delivers that can make all the difference, that can give that elusive “feel”
What Are The Blocks?
Ok so we know that you really need/ want to maximise the selling price you achieve when you sell your property, and you understand the importance of presentation in achieving this.
But you hesitate to stage your property – why?
I think there are a number of factors:-
- You don’t know enough about the process
- You lead a busy life and you haven’t got time to spend on making the house look attractive
- You don’t know what you should be doing to the property to make it look attractive
- You need every penny to buy your next property and you’re worried about the cost.
- Delay – staging will delay your property going on the market.
These are all very reasonable and rational thoughts.
So I would like to try and address some of them.
Process
Home staging is not a concept that is widely known about in the UK although it has been a standard part of the process of selling your property in countries such as the US for many years.
My home staging service begins with an initial chat, preferably at the property although it can be via an online platform such as Zoom. The aim of this conversation is basically for me to get to know you, understand your situation and the background to your move, to explain the three services that I offer and for me to carry out an initial assessment as to whether home staging is likely to be of benefit. It is important to understand that not every property requires assistance with its presentation. If I don’t believe that my services will help then I will say so. It is not in the clients interest, or mine, for me to say that the property needs staging, if it doesn’t.
I offer three levels of service to suit everybody’s needs whether it’s simply giving the client the tools to go away and implement the recommendations themselves or whether it’s a full hands-on delivery. The services are
- Verbal Advice
- Written Report
- Advice plus Hands On Implementation
How Much Will it Cost?
I know that, at first glance, spending money on your property when you are going to sell it may not make sense. After all we know that, in most cases, buyers will want to make changes so that they feel the property is “theirs”. Why tried to second guess what buyers will want to do?
Well for a start buyers may want to buy a property that they don’t have to do anything to. Secondly even if buyers do want to put their own mark on a property, they may not want to do so immediately. It is actually a good idea to live in a property for a while in order to find out how you are actually going to live in it because how you imagine you will live in a property may not turn out to be how you live in it in reality.
I Don’t Know What I Need To Do
Even if you understand the importance of presentation when selling your property you may worry that the things that you would do might not be the right things and that therefore what you did would be a waste of money.
It’s certainly true that not every action will add value. To take the example of a kitchen. Peoples taste varies enormously so replacing a kitchen could be a huge gamble.
You wouldn’t want to walk past the property shortly after completion only to see a skip outside and that brand-new kitchen inside to the skip.
Professional advice provides that reassurance.
Too Busy
I know. No matter what our circumstances there is always something else to do whether it’s work, housework, cooking, looking after the kids or elderly parents and we would all like to have some time to enjoy ourselves.
The whole experience of moving is stressful and time-consuming. We have to deal with estate agents, solicitors, removal companies, mortgage advisors. The list can seem endless.
It may feel as if you simply don’t have time to spend getting your house ready.
Delay
If you have seen your dream property and are anxious that you will miss out if your property doesn’t sell, or you have some other reason for needing a quick sale as well as maximising your selling price any delay getting your property on the market may be a concern.
Many agents when they are describing their services will talk about how quickly they can get your property to market.
The amount of time it takes to stage a property obviously depends on exactly what needs doing but it is often possible to carry out the necessary actions within a very short period of time.
If the aim is to maximise your selling price then spending a short period of time staging your property can be worth that little wait. Even better if you are able to plan ahead, then seeking advice in advance of when you aim to market your property is time well spent.
What’s It Like To Work With Me?
I understand that employing someone you’ve never worked with before is daunting. That is part of the reason for the initial consultation. It’s an opportunity for you to get to know me as a person so that you can assess whether you would feel comfortable working with me.
I will always be respectful of the fact that, even if you are going to be selling the property, it is your home into which you may well have invested a lot of time money and love over the years. Undoubtedly, you will have a lot of memories bound up in the property. The advice I give will be cost-effective and my aim is always to ensure that any money that you invest in the property is recouped through the increase in selling price although it’s impossible to offer any guarantees.
Can I Help You?
That’s where I can help. My home staging services either give you the knowledge you need or even simpler, let me do it all for you.
If any of the issues that I have outlined above resonate with you then why not give me a call. My home staging services either give you the knowledge you need or, even simpler, let me do it all for you.
And Finally …
Still not convinced?
When asked by the Home Staging Association UK&Ireland “when comparing similar properties did staging increase the offer value?” The results were
29% Yes from 1 – 3%
38% Yes from 4 – 6 %
39% from 11 – 15 %
So if you are thinking of selling your property and want to make the most of its potential then give me a call on 07745 876182 and let’s have a chat. I cover the Wirral, Cheshire, North Wales and the North West
