It is well established that a potential buyer or tenant decides to buy or rent a house as soon as the visit begins; specifically, during the first 90 seconds. And home staging is breaking records.
So that’s how long you have to make a good first impression.
What I hear most often when someone wants to sell or rent their house is: “I’m not going to negotiate the price”. Well, I will start by saying that the basis of any good negotiation is a win-win situation for both parties. And, yes, I agree that if you don’t want to negotiate the price don’t do it. But then you’ll have to make it worth paying for.
It’s as simple as that.
While it is true that the sale or rental price of a house is one of the main factors that influence the decision made by the future tenant or buyer, there are also other important aspects to motivate them to do so. And one of them is that they fall in love with the house as soon as they enter.
But…
Only 10% of potential buyers are able to imagine the potential of a home.
So, let’s not ask them to imagine it, but to see firsthand what their life would be like if they had it. Create the need to live in it with a few simple tricks.
Home staging
If you’re wondering what it is, I’ll tell you your savior. This is a series of interior design and decoration techniques that have been used for years in the United States to get the most out of a property before putting it up for sale or rent. That is to say, to improve your image, with the objective of conquering the potential buyer or tenant and selling or renting the house faster.
And everything seems to have gone well for its owners. Why? Because if they didn’t, they would have stopped doing it by now.
How it came about
In Spain it arrived because of the crisis we lived through in 2008, where the supply was much greater than the demand; which meant reinventing the way of renting and selling houses.
Many individuals and real estate companies have opted (sometimes without even knowing it) to implement home staging techniques, a figure that we can now identify as a professional home stager.
It doesn’t matter the size, the state of conservation or the selling price of your home.
What it consists of
Generally speaking, professional home stagers are in charge of redistributing the furniture you have in the house and reorganizing the spaces or updating the decoration, to create a much more attractive setting.
Bottom line: make the most of what you already have.
Statistics say that houses that go through a home staging process sell 75% faster.
However, I will tell you right now a crushing reality (so, without anesthesia or anything): your personal belongings do not have to be liked by your future tenant or buyer. And here comes your collection of magnets, trophies or taxidermy items hanging in the living room or your children’s drawings on the fridge.
Step 1: depersonalize the house
The objective is to sell or rent a neutral space, in order to capture the attention of a wider range of potentially interested parties.
With home staging techniques we seek to create spacious, organized, clean, cozy and well-lit spaces, because for a first impression there are no second chances.
Think that the investment you make when hiring a home staging service will always be much less than the price reduction you would be forced to make if you did not make those changes.
Benefits of hiring a home staging consultant
The main advantage is the cost, which is much cheaper than a complete project. The price of this type of consultancy will depend on the square footage of the property, the number of rooms or the time to be invested by the home stager.
home stager
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In addition:
- It can be used for any type of property: newly built homes, second hand, unfurnished or furnished houses, office rooms, commercial premises…
- Your house after home staging will have many more visits and a much faster sale or rental, because there will be hardly any disadvantages to negotiate because you will have already eliminated them before.
- The value of your home increases automatically.
- Home staging does not mean renovations.
- It is a different strategy to lower the price of housing, which does not require a significant financial investment.
- It will add value to the house and to how potential buyers feel when they enter.
- Your house will stand out from others on the market.
- Your photos will attract more attention than others, because a picture is worth a thousand words.
– Around 94% of potential buyers conduct their searches on the Internet.
Contract a home staging consultancy with me here
Home staging tips
If you have never heard of this type of service, they work, as long as you follow the right techniques. Each house is different and requires the application of one or the other, and in a different way, so I don’t like to generalize. But in broad terms, it is essential:
- Make your future buyer or tenant see the virtues of your property.
- Consider the location and the purpose of the house: an apartment in the city is not the same as a summer house.
- Make it cozy. Nothing like walking in and feeling at home, or your future home, don’t you think?
- Everyone likes order and cleanliness. Even if your former roommate (who was dirtier than Dirty John) told you that no.
- A neutral space is worth 10 (potential buyers or tenants), because all of them will be able to imagine themselves in that space.
And here is some other information that may be of interest to you.
How long does it take to sell a house?
According to statistics from Tinsa (Informes IMIE Mercados Locales), one of the largest appraisers in Spain, the average time is 8 months.
What is the profile of the future buyer?
In this report by Sociedad de Tasaciones you can find information such as what you are looking for, what your needs are, how much time you spend looking for a home, etc. Here is an excerpt of the most relevant data I have seen:
Start of the purchase process: less than 6 months ago.
Intention to buy: as soon as you find what you are looking for.
Maximum price to be paid for the property: between 300,000 € and 540,000 €.
Importance of the elements of a house: common areas, terrace and garden.
The main obstacle to buying a home: the price.
I can’t tell you who it will be, but I can tell you how he would like to feel when he gets home.
And, if not, I’ll read you in comments 🙂
