When to Stage Your Home
In a recent statistics report by Real Estate Staging Association, (RESA,) a US-based organisation that touts the benefits of property styling homes listed for sale, it becomes abundantly clear why house staging is an essential step in real estate sales there. The statistical evidence applies as well for property staging Sydney and in other Australian cities. The speed of sale and savings associated with the staging or styling of a property is staggering.
According to the study of 1081 homes:
• Totally unstaged homes spent an average of 184 days on the market
• When these homes were then staged, they sold in 41 days on average
• Homes that were staged BEFORE going on the market sold in an average of 23 days
In other words, homes that were staged before being listed spent 90 percent less time on the market.
This is a powerful argument in favour of making a relatively small investment in professional preparation for your home ahead of presenting it to the buying public. What makes an even larger impact is the savings associated with staging first.
You can calculate your cost easily by adding your mortgage payment to your cost for maintaining electricity, water, and other regular costs including lawn maintenance. So, if your mortgage is $1,800 and your direct expenses are another $800, your cost for a house languishing on the market is $2,600 for every month it stays there. If your home is unstaged, that means that like other unstaged homes it will remain on the market for roughly six months, for a total carrying cost of $15,600. How many of us would not want to pocket an additional $15K?
If you are struggling to decide whether or not to stage your home, or thinking you might stage it if it doesn’t sell right away, look again at the numbers. It’s impossible to ignore the benefits of home staging.
When the market is competitive, and the buyers’ options are nearly endless, it makes even more sense to bring in professionals in property staging Sydney. These industry insiders know and understand what the buyers in your range are looking for. They make it their business to have a very precise knowledge of everything the buyers are looking for from the colours and finishes they like in bathrooms to the sort of artwork they like on their walls. This advance understanding about the people who are likely to buy your home gives you the advantage of styling it with the idea of making the buyer fall in love at first sight.
As it works out, buyers do fall in love at first sight. Within 10 seconds of entering your home, your buyer will have either fallen head-over-heels for your property, or not. Making it even more challenging is the fact that, because 90 percent of buyers begin their home searches on the internet, many homes in our area never make it to anybody’s “must see this” list. In a digital world, there are an entirely new set of challenges for the home seller.
The good news is there are property styling companies cropping up on every corner in the Sydney area. Your hardest decision is likely to be which property styling professionals to entrust with your biggest investment.
We suggest that you look for a property styling firm with at least one person on the team who has some serious real estate experience. This extra edge is an important one to be sure. Also important is the size of the furniture inventory your property stylist has at his or her fingertips. Some home stagers hire their furniture from yet another vendor. This means you have less flexibility in terms of style and ambiance. Go for a styling company with a fully integrated operation with not only lots of furnishings for hire, but also a fleet of trucks and delivery professionals who are skilled, efficient and, most of all, careful to avoid damage.
At Urban Chic Property Styling, we take great pride in providing all of these advantageous component parts. Our Creative Director, Juliana Gowen, has had 25 years of experience as a successful real estate agent. She boasts a huge inventory of furnishings and all the resources to deliver a complete transformation of your home in short order. So if you are selecting a property staging Sydney company to help you sell your home for top dollar, please allow us to help you. Call us for a consultation today.