With Sydney housing prices dropping for the second straight quarter, home shoppers have every reason to celebrate. Sellers, on the other hand, may be feeling a bit bewildered. How, in a housing market like this one, can a homeowner make a solid profit in the sale of their home?

Well, first of all, remember that the gains the property market has made recently are unprecedented – prices may be falling, but they are still higher overall than one might have expected five years ago. Secondly, remember that even with all the houses on the market today, taking the full advantage styling your home can offer, may bring your price back up the fractions it’s lost in the recent softening of the market.

In other words, it’s still a great time to sell your house.

You will still take the same steps toward the sale that you would have when the market was more robust, but you’ll simply have to expect more of your home stylist. It’s the job of your stylist to bring every single positive point your house has to offer to the attention of potential buyers. In a market like ours, every little advantage styling can produce is essential to your final sale price. It’s still possible to get more for your house than you’d imagined possible.

With so many houses on the market to choose from, buyers are likely to be very selective. Banks are not loaning as much money as they did before. Eight months ago, it was a different story. Now, though, buyers must lower their expectations. For most buyers, their dream house is out of reach. Faced with settling for less, buyers come to the marketplace with a determination to get every amenity they can with the dollars they have. Are they persnickety? Well, we’d prefer to call it meticulous.

All of this translates to the home seller as, “get your ducks in a row”. If there are negative issues associated with your house, fix them before you list it. Deferred maintenance issues such as roof repairs, peeling or faded paint, dingy carpeting, or even ancient appliances, must be put in order. You want your prospective buyer to look at your place and see that there are not likely to be any system failures looming on the horizon. (Today’s buyers have been scrimping and saving for a very long time to raise a deposit. They are in no position to bear the financial blow of a new roof or a failed A/C unit anytime soon.)

Your home stylist will need to maximise every positive point your house has to offer – perhaps even invent a few. The name of this game is finding ways to make your house look and feel more like that dream house the mean old bank won’t let them have. If selling high is your goal, pull out all the stops when it comes to staging.

Then there is the psychology of the sale. Scientific studies prove that we human beings make big buying decisions based on emotions. Whether you’re selling toothpaste or a four-bedroom house, the key to a great sale is still about making the buyer feel safe, secure, and successful. High end furnishings, upscale appliances, and décor that says “a VIP lives here” will help push your sale over the top.

Most home stagers have what it takes to make a listed house look wonderful. In this market, though, you need a bit more. A little black dress looks elegant all by itself, but when you set it off with a string of pearls and sensational shoes, it’s a different ball game. That’s why you want a home stager who has as much experience as possible. You want a stager who has worked in a shifting market before, so one that has been in business for 10 years or more is best. This way you can be sure that your stagers truly understand the challenges of staging homes in a buyers’ market.

Making the most of your property will still fetch you a good price for your house. Finding the right staging company that understands the important advantage styling can bring to bear is the surest way to a sensational sale. Here is our equation for success: experience plus expertise equals advantage. If you’re ready to list your house for sale, make your first call to Urban Chic Property Styling and let us do the maths.

Image courtesy of Inoko.