Nearly 77% of agents who represent buyers say staging makes it easier for buyers to visualize the property as their future home, and 62% believe that staging decreases the total amount of time that a property stays on the market (according to a study conducted by the National Association of Realtors).
Decluttering your home is the first and most important step. What you conquer after decluttering depends on your home. However, the living room is often a good place to focus followed by the master bedroom and the kitchen.
Here is some advice to get you started:
Often, fewer pieces of furniture and accessories help buyers see themselves in your home and help spaces appear larger. Try to remove furniture and keep objects on furniture restricted to one, three or five items. Look at your walls and see if you can reduce the number of pictures.
Walk through your kitchen and put away anything you don’t use on a daily basis. Don’t forget to clean off the front of your refrigerator. Repeat the same process with your bathroom. Only keep out the items you really need, and keep them together in one spot.
Make sure that you paint each room and thoroughly clean carpet, draperies, and windows. Walk your property. Can you store your garbage cans? Are there any materials (e.g., wood chip piles) that you can clean up to make your lawn look nicer? Make sure that plants and hedges look nice. Finally, don’t forget your front door. Often adding some extra paint to the door and the trim gives a nice first impression for potential buyers.
Once your house is listed, you will have buyers walking through it whether they are at an open house or a showing. Don’t forget to always clean before buyers walk through your home. Making cookies may be a bit overboard, but it doesn’t hurt to use air freshener, open your shades and have nice, relaxing music playing.
Source: National Association of Realtors, Prepping a Home for Sale