Staging your home can make the difference between a quick, speedy sale and a property that winds up lingering on the market for weeks. Not only can staging reduce the average sale time from 48 days to six, it also has a high potential return. The National Association of Realtors says the potential return could be as high as $400 for every $100 spent in staging.

It’s all about making your home look more appealing and removing the distractions for the buyer. They want to imagine their lives in the space, envision where their belongings will go, and get a feel for how their daily lives can take shape in the home you’re trying to sell.

You can hire a staging company to help you prepare your property for viewings, or you can do some of these tips yourself.

Replace the Furniture

Handling furniture is a tough call when your home is on the market. No one wants to see your well-worn sofa or stained coffee table when they’re walking through your home. In competitive markets, it can pay to make a trip to the furniture store and refresh some of the more important items in your home. You only really have to focus on the most important rooms in the house: the living room, kitchen, master bedroom. 

Your goal should be to fill the home with items that compliment the space. Your personal belongings might be too big or too small for the space or simply too worn to take center stage in photos and at open houses.

If you’re using your own furniture and you’ve done a great job with staging, sometimes the buyer will even ask to purchase the furniture as well. 

Rearrange Furniture

Once you’ve decided what you’re keeping in the property, now you have to rethink where you’re going to put it all. You want to have as much open and walkable space as possible. During an open house, the space might have more people inside than it usually does. You want it to feel spacious and comfortable nevertheless.

Move furniture out away from the walls and into conversation clusters. This will help potential buyers visualize their own belongings in the room.

When it comes to oversized or unnecessary pieces that clutter things up, put them into storage. You want to remove anything that’s going to distract buyers from the property itself.

Repaint to Make Rooms Feel Bigger

Pictures are one thing, but the showing is where potential buyers really fall in love with a property. It’s their chance to actually feel what it’s like to be inside the house, and one of the biggest factors they’re paying attention to is space.

The paint colors you use in your home have a major impact on the experience. One thing you can do to create the impression of more space is painting a room the same color as the one next to it, especially the kitchen and dining room. Creating a seamless aesthetic between these two spaces makes them feel more connected, like one much larger room.

Create a Virtual Tour

Virtual tours were already gaining in popularity, but now they are an essential part of any real estate sale. Even back in 2018, nearly 80% of homebuyers started looking at listings online. A virtual tour provides two benefits: first, it’s an opportunity to give buyers a closer look at the property right away, and second, it weeds out those with lukewarm interest. That means more high-quality prospects are booking viewings, potentially speeding up the sale and making life less disruptive to you and your family.

A simple solution is a video walkthrough, where the agent creates a video walking through the space. A higher-end option is a 3D interactive walking tour. You just need to learn about the tools and apps you need to create it. A good photographer can also create one for you and could be a very sound investment.

Bring in Fresh Plants

Let your home breathe with life! A few well-placed, healthy plants can bring a sense of freshness. Succulents are an excellent plant to add to the living room, and they’re pretty easy to care for. You might also want to place a vase of flowers in the kitchen or the dining room though it will take a bit more upkeep to make sure they’re always fresh. Living houseplants can make a home feel more welcoming.

Deep Clean

Last but not least, you’re going to have to clean like you’ve never cleaned before. Under the stove? Check. The far corners of the ceiling? Check. The floors will need a good scrubbing, and you want to make sure even those hard-to-reach places are gleaming. If you’ve never hired a professional cleaner before, now might be the perfect opportunity.

Staging your home won’t just make selling it easier. It can also improve the offers you get. Invest in the showing process, and you’ll reap the rewards.