Is It Decluttering?
Is It Depersonalization?
What About Staging?
How About Curb Appeal?
Is it just one of them? NO.
To be fair, it’s a combination of them.
Tried, Tested and True. These are the most classic ways to sell your home for top dollar.
Decluttering: ever walked into a cluttered house, the owners are hoarders and you are just overwhelmed by the amount of STUFF they have. Your focus is on the STUFF meaning your focus is NOT on the home! Buyers are quickly disgusted by the amount of garbage or stuff homeowners have even if the buyers themselves are hoarders. Buyers are not Realtors so a majority of them aren’t able to see beyond the junk.
Depersonalization: have you ever gone to an open house and your eyes just started looking at the homeowners picture frames, “oh that guy looks familiar”, “oh that girl is cute”, “nice, they took a picture with the Canucks”… Once again, buyers are distracted and they focus on the memorabilia and pictures instead of the home. That’s why when you walk into a showroom at a developer’s presentation center, the picture frames always have abstract pictures so that you can imagine putting in your own family pictures in those picture frames.
Staging: Of course staging is important. You might want to have a sofa, king size bed and an office all in your bedroom but how effectively does that show the spaciousness of your room? Staging is about being a minimalist. It’s about strategically placing certain furniture pieces in rooms to make the room feel warm, comfortable and spacious. No one likes a cramped space.
Is That All?
No, you should actually consider landscaping because it really affects the curb appeal of the home. You don’t get a 2nd chance to make a 1st impression. If buyers have to walk through bushes and plants poking at them in order to get to the front door, they’re not going to be in a good mood or state to start when viewing the home.
Another thing I’ve noticed is that a majority of the listings I see out there have horrible descriptions describing their home. Most of the time the real estate agent just writes out the features of the home. They don’t emphasize the “so what?”. They may say “it’s a 5BR home with a suite in the basement and patio at the back” but the question buyers have in their mind is “so what?”.
Thats the difference between a Feature Driven vs Benefit Driven description.
Instead of just emphasizing the features, why not point out how a patio in the backyard benefits buyers. It allows for a great entertaining space for summer weekend bbq’s and morning and evening coffee time on your lawn furniture. A suite in the basement allows for a mortgage helper or a place for your in laws to stay in when they’re in town.
The key is to help buyers to see the benefits. This is most effectively done via words that paint a picture and stir up emotions.
The biggest lie I was told when entering the industry was “the home will sell itself, you just have to open the door”. THAT IS A LIE!
You have to actually sell the home when clients come in. Help them to visualize themselves in the beautiful space. Buyers need to be guided through the house. When I do it, I don’t necessarily bombard them with information, but from time to time I’d highlight a particular feature and how it would benefit the buyer.
For more information about this topic, feel free to email or call me.
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