While Spring is peak selling season in New York City, getting top dollar for your home is no walk in the park, no matter how many buyers have come out from the cold to pound the streets to open houses. With the real estate market still favoring buyers, sellers need to make sure that their properties stand out amongst the competition or risk standing to leave money on the table. The good news is though, that with mortgage rates still ridiculously low, buyers have more spending power and anecdotally, since the first of the year, we’re starting to see them use that power for the right properties. And by right, I mean damn near perfect, because this market just ain’t tolerating much imperfection.
So what are buyers looking for? Well, it’s pretty simple: they want to fall in love. It should be love at first sight when they see photos of your property online and you really want them getting the warm and fuzzies when they first walk through your door. First impressions are EVERYTHING and if you miss your opportunity to make an impact, your home isn’t going to make it to the hotlist and buyers aren’t going to be making you offers.
This is why staging has become such an essential part of a sales strategy, particularly in this market, but frankly, in any market. When you’re looking for an agent to sell your home, be sure to talk to someone with a successful track history with staging and make staging part of the conversation from the get-go.
How much staging your home requires comes down to this simple question:
‘Does your home project a lifestyle that buyers are willing to pay your asking price or more for?’
Occasionally the answer is a resounding, ‘yes,’ in which case we’re good to go and just need to add the special sauce of great architectural photography and some strategic marketing. However, if the answer is ‘no’ or even ‘maybe’ then we need to get to work. With most of the homes I see, the staging I need to do varies between a minor tweaking to a complete overhaul, but it’s rare that any home is camera-ready.
Here’s my guide to what you need to think about when staging your home. The trick to getting this right is to put yourself in a potential buyer’s shoes and be honest with yourself about what you need to do. And, if you need any more impetus to get to work, take a look at other similar homes on the market, as when you see how good the competition is looking that will be the only kick up the ass you need to get going on your home’s facelift.
So – staging 101. Let’s do it…
1. Detach And Don’t Take It Personally
This first step is a psychological one. You have to detach. You’ve decided to sell, so stop thinking of your property as your beloved home and start thinking of it as an asset you want to sell for top dollar. Your agent, if you’re working with one, should advise you on what kind of aesthetic will appeal to the highest number of buyers looking for a home like yours. Don’t take it personally if your personal style isn’t the right fit and some of your furniture and accessories don’t make the cut and need to head to storage. Embrace the process, swallow your pride and trust the professional you’ve hired.
2. Declutter and Depersonalize
Less is always more and the clutter just has to go. Buyers want to see space when they step into your apartment, not piles of magazines, kid’s toys overtaking the living room and closets busting at the seams. Clear surfaces of clutter, reorganize your closets so buyers see they’ll have plenty of storage space and get rid of anything you don’t want to take with you when you move (you’ll only end up paying more in moving fees if you don’t).
Depersonalizing is also essential. Buyers want to imagine themselves, not you, in the home. So take down personal photos, put away that kid’s artwork you have stuck to the fridge and streamline your space. If doing this seems overwhelming, there are services that specialize in decluttering and organizing like Done & Done Home who regularly save the sanity of Park Slope homeowners.
3. Repairs
You know what needs fixing, so get it done. Spackle cracks in the walls, re-caulk or grout the tub, shower or sinks, replace cracked or broken tile, update that ancient water tank and replace that malfunctioning fridge freezer. You might want to even consider a ‘pre-inspection inspection’, particularly if you’re selling a townhouse or condo. You’ll then be able to highlight any problems and rectify them before they become red flags when your future buyers have their own inspection.
4. Repaint
Unless your walls are spotless, you really need to paint. Don’t put that job on your buyers, because that isn’t going to bode well; particularly when you’re competing for their attention with other homes that are freshly painted or apartments in brand new developments that are finished to perfection. Neutral is key. White, or off-white is preferable as it gives your buyer a fresh blank slate that looks good with any color scheme. Take a trip to Tarzian on 7th Ave who stock the full range of Benjamin Moore colors – Decorator’s White, Chantilly Lace and Cloud White all work well. Remember, white walls give an airy, spacious and clean feel. Ask your broker for recommendations for painters – they’re likely to have a range of reasonably priced vendors they’ve hired before who’s work they can vouch for.
5. Floors
Old wall-to-wall carpet? Nope. Beaten up hardwood floors? Not ideal. Stained linoleum in the kitchen? Just. No! Spending some money on smartening up your floors is a great return on your investment. In fact, by not doing it, you stand to lose more in your sales price than you’d have to spend to get the job done. Refinishing and repairing your hardwood floors is a game-changer if they’re in poor condition- and yes, I know it’s a hassle and much easier if your property is already vacant- but do what you can. Go for a matt, natural finish – no high gloss, please! And the carpet? If you’re not able to replace it with hardwood floors or refinish those beneath it, professional deep cleaning can do wonders and take out years of dirt and any unpleasant odors.
6. Let There Be Light!
Replace any dated light fixtures with something more contemporary. West Elm has a great selection of reasonably priced options and often has sales. Go for incandescent bulbs for a warm feel. Cleaning windows inside and out is a must, and when showing and photographing make sure to pull curtains and blinds out of the way to let in sunlight and highlight a great view if you have one.
7. Set The Scene
Here’s where the magic happens and where you really have to just let go and go with the process. Make sure to remove any dark or heavy items of furniture and replace them with more contemporary and neutral-colored options. Use accessories like pillows, throws, lamps, ornaments, and artfully arranged books to add pops of color. In bedrooms, opt for white, clean (and crease-free) bedding and replace tired and lumpy duvets and mismatched pillows. Add a couple of accent pillows and a throw, for color and texture. In the master, matching bedside tables and lamps add a sense of balance and offer more styling opportunities. Make sure to designate space in your living area. Rugs are everything. One to earmark living space, one for the master bedroom. If you have an open plan living and dining area, even if you don’t currently have a dining table, make sure to illustrate that there’s room for one by adding one to the space. A living room should have a coffee table, at least one accent chair, and a large and contemporary statement piece of art does wonders.
For inspiration hit up Pinterest or view other listings online. And remember, this doesn’t have to be expensive. You’d be amazed what great furniture, bedding and accessories you can find at places like Target, Walmart and World Market. My team recently staged an apartment with some amazing pieces from Target that cost very little.
8. Bring The Outside In
Fresh flowers are lovely, but they don’t last. As someone who’s notorious for killing houseplants, I’m delighted that there are so many artificial and inexpensive options available now. Greenery always looks good, so make sure to add a couple of flower arrangements and some eye-catching plants (fake fiddle leaf fig trees – IKEA has great ones – are SO much easier to care for than the real thing and don’t have any less impact).
9. Deep Clean
Clean, clean, clean! There is no excuse for a dirty bath, a filthy oven or plethora of dust bunnies when you’re showing your home. If you hate cleaning, bite the bullet and pay for a deep clean. And don’t underestimate the effect scent has on your buyers. Burning a beautifully scented candle – I love the ‘Brooklyn Escapist Candle’ by Brooklyn Candle Studio – before showings will make your buyers feel more ‘Ah!’ than ‘Ew!’ when they enter your space.
10. Don’t Forget Curb Appeal
Tidy your front garden, add some potted plants to your stoop, cut back any unruly shrubs and weed and mulch beds. If you’re in an apartment building, make sure the front door of your home is freshly painted and use an odor neutralizer like Febreeze in the hallway.
So! There are my 10 top tips. But before I wind things up, let’s talk about the elephant in the room. Money. I get it, this stuff doesn’t come for free and there’s a cost involved. BUT! Doing the work could make the difference between selling for a premium and not selling at all, so scrimping on what needs to be done is only going to hurt your bottom line. But take comfort: it needn’t all be on your dime. Some agents, myself included, stage homes themselves with their own stash of staging furniture and accessories. For bigger jobs, or for those short of liquid cash, Compass offers a program, Compass Concierge, that covers all the costs of preparing your home – you just pay them back at closing.
Ultimately, there’s no way of avoiding the fact that to really give the competition a run for their money, you might have to spend some of yours, but ultimately your bank balance will thank you for it.
Lindsay Owen is a licensed real estate salesperson working with buyers and sellers of coops, condos and townhouses in Brooklyn and Manhattan. She can be reached at lindsay.owen@compass.com.
