The Gist:

• In the ever-evolving market of Real Estate, we know that visuals are a key component of a successful marketing strategy.

• Visual marketing is very important in real estate — When people wander into a real estate hashtag on Instagram, they are immediately attracted to attractive visuals.

• You may have about a dozen viewings, but thats only a fraction of the tens of thousands of people who see the pictures online. If your A-Game is a vacant home, you may be overlooked!

• Selling your home is a long process, so staging your home can help make it a lot simpler.

• Here are some factors you should take into consideration when staging your home:

  • It starts at the curb-appeal. Make sure your out-of-season decorations are packed away, your sidewalks and steps are clear of snow, ice, leaves, garbage, and kids toys.

    • Lawn maintenance can go a long way as well. Cut the grass, edge the sides of the lawn, trim the hedges, etc.

    • We live in hockey country, so if there are puck marks on your garage door, give it a touch-up!

  • The first glance inside the house is powerful. If you open the front door and there are shoes and coats cluttering the area, it makes the space feel smaller and reminds the buyers that this is someone else’s home.

    • Pack away whatever you will not be using. Box them up, label them correctly, and put them into storage. This will actually help you in the long run when it comes to the actual moving process.

      • This goes for any area of the home — Pack away the clutter, and stack the boxes nicely in the garage, storage space, or basement. Just make sure that the boxes do not block the buyers from seeing the dimensions of the space!

  • Take a look in your closets, because the buyers absolutely will!

    • You should always be able to see the floor of the closets. A buyer will never approach a full-to-the-brim closet and see how much capacity it has, but the capacity remaining will!

    • Empty hangers - Get rid of them! It makes the closet look more spacious.

  • In the kitchen, counter space is a huge deal! You want to show off how much counter space there is, and make sure it’s clean!

    • The kitchen cabinets should also be clean, because the buyers will again take a peek in there. Get in there to dust and tidy up, and it can make a huge difference.

• 360 Impressions offers Occupied Staging, which involves going room-by-room and making suggestions on things that would be optimal to change (such as replacing a really stand-out bedspread with a toned down one).

  • Kelly will also help you bring in accents such as artwork, greenery, mirrors, decorative pillows, throw blankets, etc.

    • You may not think these things are important, but think of them like icing on a cake — it makes it a lot more appetizing to buy!

• As for Unoccupied Staging, it may feel like a huge, expensive project. A vacant property with no furniture can feel overwhelming and not really stand out to buyers, especially when they’re open concept.

  • 360 Impressions will come in and go room-by-room to measure everything from the room size itself, the doorways, the windows, the counters, etc. They will take notes on the paint colours, and come up with a plan on how to best stage each room to be complimentary.

  • Staging typically only happens in the primary rooms - Kitchen, living room, dining room, master bedroom, and possibly an office/den for effect during this work-from-home era.

  • There is a lot of work involved, but when you put everything together, it looks amazing and is incredibly satisfying.

• Painting is the most economical home upgrade you can do. Touching up any scuffs or scratches on the walls may take the room from an 8 to a 10, and repainting any statement walls with a neutral colour helps prospective buyers visualize your home as their home.

• At the end of the day, the home should look and feel homey, cozy, and make buyers really experience the wow-factor of the property.

Kelly Ritchie is the owner and property stylist of 360 Impressions Home Staging & Design, and has been helping homeowners prepare their homes for sale for over 3 years.

If you’re thinking about listing your home, make sure your home is designed to appeal to the widest possible range of buyers.

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