NM Home Team Blog

First, let's talk about what "staging" is.  Staging is placing art, furniture and accents throughout the home to make it more inviting.  By staging a home, you are working to make it look bigger, brighter, cleaner, warmer and hopefully, make potential buyers fall in love with it.  Good staging to a home is like putting a well tailored suit on a man, it looks well put together, portrays confidence and draws people in.  

Why would you want to buy a home that looks distressed or plain when there is a home down the road that is clean, well put together and I already have ideas on decorating?  

Yes, staging does cost a little money that you may not have originally had in budget for, but it can make a big difference in how your home sells.   If you are still living in the home, you may be able to use many of the items you already have.  You may want to invest in a new piece of art work or small table to help bring a room together.  Remember, you want the home to look inviting but you don't want to personalize the home in any way.  All personal pictures and collectibles should be packed away while you are having your home shown.  

Remember: When a buyer is looking at your home, you don't want them to see it as YOUR home, you want them to envision it as THEIR home.  

Here are some reasons why you should stage your home: 

1. Higher Price For Your Home.  If your home looks more pleasing and inviting, a buyer may be willing to pay a little more for your home than seeing it empty.  You want your buyers to really want your home.  
2. Sell Your Home Faster.  Homes that are staged often sell much faster than unstaged homes.  Studies have shown that homes sell 43% faster when they are staged.  
3. Make a Great First Impression.  Stage your home before you list it.  You'll get good pictures to use when home is listed in the MLS, which is the first step to getting people in to look at your home.  

You can stage a home yourself, although you may want to hire a professional stager to come in and help you get the home perfect for showing.  A stager isn't focused on making a home perfect for you and your family, they take a home and make it appeal to a wide range of tastes.  Although you may love those floral curtains, a stager might walk in and ask you to change them or take them down completely to show off a view of the Sandias.