I’m back! When I modeled at this house in Swissvale, it sold for $26,000 over asking with eight offers!
As a couch that has been inside countless homes getting ready to be sold, I know my way around a sale. When it comes to selling a home, appearances matter.
That’s true even now, when the Pittsburgh real estate market favors sellers. In Julie and Ted’s recent market update, they explained that homes under $600,000 are selling quickly. While that’s mostly good news for sellers in the Pittsburgh region, it doesn’t mean your home will immediately sell without any extra work. All of the best practices still apply!
If you want your home to sell quickly, you should present it in the best light possible (literally and figuratively, as we’ll discuss in a moment) so that potential buyers are blown away by its appearance and features.
Take it from me, their little gray staging couch.
I loved the natural light at this house in Baldwin. It also flew off the market over asking price!
How to Stage Your Home to Impress Potential Buyers
I already ran through seven strategies for staging your home early last year. Here are a few more strategies you can incorporate for a great first impression:
1. Check your furniture. If you’ve read our first list of recommendations, you know the importance of removing clutter from your home. Now that there’s more space indoors, take a fresh look at your furniture. Does it feel good where it’s placed in the room? You don’t have to become an expert in feng shui, but you should adjust your furniture as well as possible to make each piece feel functional and inviting.
2. Mind your floors. Your floors are critical for your success. Steam clean your carpets and scrub your floors to breathe new life into them. If you have hardwood floors that have been abused over the years, consider refinishing them to remove all of the scratches. This sort of endeavor can take time, energy, and money, so if refinishing isn’t an option, consider using a few well-placed rugs to cover your most troublesome areas.
3. Show off your closets. Never underestimate the power of a great closet! Storage space is critical for making a home feel functional, so make your closets feel as roomy as possible. If necessary, remove large, bulky items so that visitors can get a better sense of each closet’s depth. As a general rule, leave about 25% of the closet open.
4. Give every room a purpose. This is easy in the kitchen and dining room, but think about that spare room with the cluttered weight set and makeshift desk in the corner. A cluttered room can feel overwhelming on a first visit, and that sort of distraction can ruin the sale. Instead, show a room’s potential. If you think that spare room would make a cozy office, remove everything that doesn’t go into an office and rearrange what’s left to create a productive workspace.
5. Work on your lighting. Ideally, you’ll show your home on a bright, sunny day so that lots of natural light spills across your rooms. Unfortunately, bright and sunny days are rare in Pittsburgh, especially as we enter the fall and winter months.
Experts recommend using three different types of lighting in each room: ambient, task-oriented (like a reading lamp), and accent. Mixing in different light sources will make each room in your home feel warm, inviting, and purposeful.
Need a hand staging? We can help! With dozens of successful home stagings under our belt, Julie, Ted, and I know how to make it work. If needed, I’ll even come along! Email us at theblocks@theblocksintheburgh.com or call at 412.926.7976.
Cheers,
The Couch (and Julie & Ted)