Home Staging – Overview

What is Home Staging? Here is a little insight for everyone who would like to dive further into the topic. Have fun!

Cleaning

It sounds basic, but it is the first step for successful Home Staging. The eye of the interested party should not be flooded with too many or inappropriate objects. The potential buyer should feel refreshed and welcome when visiting the property.

Inhabited properties

In the case of inhabited properties, a neutral feeling of living should be created for those interested. Which of your own furniture cuts a “good figure” in the Home Staging process and which do not. Freshness and modernity should flow through all rooms. The rule here is: less is more.

Checklist

In the case of inhabited properties, a checklist offers residents optimal preparation for upcoming visits:

– Tidy up before the viewings, create an atmosphere as neutral as possible

– Thoroughly clean all rooms and fittings, especially in the bathroom and kitchen

– Ventilate and create a pleasant room scent with flowers, fresh coffee, a cake in the oven or a discreet room spray

– Take out the garbage

– Brighten up the curtains, raise the blinds, clean the windows, turn on all the lights, even during the day!

– Take your pets to the neighbours and remove all bowls, scratching posts etc. from the apartment.

– Put all personal items such as photos, cosmetics, etc. in a cardboard box, one for each member of the family/resident. This makes it easy to hide away for each visit

– Have new towels and mats ready for the bathroom/WC and kitchen, which will only be laid out during the tour. For living rooms and bedrooms, acquire pillows and bedspreads that are only used for viewings.

DGHR

The German Society for Home Staging and Redesign e.V. (Deutsche Gesellschaft für Home Staging und Redesign e.V.) is the association of Home Stagers. It now has over 250 members in Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Luxembourg and Italy.

First impression

The first impression is often the most important one for making a positive decision. Within a few seconds, the “I want to live here” feeling appears or not. Pick up your prospects emotionally from the very first moment. The design of the outside area and corridor of the property are particularly important here.

Colours

Whether green striped or ochre, you win more potential buyers with neutral and discreet colours in home staging. Colour accents can have a refreshing effect. It is particularly harmonious when a colour family runs through all rooms. You can also orientate yourself on predefined colors. In this way, even the green tiled bathroom is given a completely different appearance.

Odours

Many people react very sensitively to odours. Cat litter box and ashtray can thus become a deal breaker during the visit. Make sure you get some fresh air before the tour. Ventilate, clear away the litter box and ashtrays, wash curtains and textiles and use a pleasant room spray if necessary. The scent of fresh coffee or cake in the oven can also work wonders.

Light

Let there be light! In Home Staging, this is one of the most important factors for successful sales. Open curtains and blinds, clean all windows, mirrors and glass surfaces. Switch on all lamps in the home preferably create several light sources per room. Even during the day! Exploit all natural and artificial light sources. Light is also the decisive factor for an appealing exposé in the form of a brochure or on the Internet for photos of the property.

Real Estate Agent

Home Staging offers many advantages for real estate agents, both in seller’s and buyer’s markets. More time for new projects through faster time to sale. Higher demand leading to higher revenue. Impressed customers spreading the word.  Ensure a competitive advantage in your business.

Seasons

The seasons can influence the furnishing of the stagnated property.  Fruit, plants, but also colours may vary seasonally and bring the environment bang up to date.

Perspective

Only about 20% of people who visit an empty property can imagine it being furnished. Give each room a function. Show the potential of each room and give an impression of better dimensions. The smallest room does not have to be a utility room but could be repurposed to create more value in the form of an office or cleverly designed guest room. Space is precious, especially in urban areas

Uninhabited property

Empty properties offer a very good base for successful Home Staging. A blank canvas enables the space to be designed with a specific demographic in mind. Temporay furniture and soft furnishings create the vision.

Show Apartments

For property developers a show home offers a powerful sales instrument. Home Staging is the ideal live experience to complement the space.  The target group is addressed directly. The sale of the property is accelerated and the security for the building project is increased.

Neutrality

Extreme colours, patterns or materials reduce the size of your potential buyer group. Through Home Staging and bringing in more of a neutral pallate, a wider audience is addressed. The home should be designed in such a way that the interested party can imagine moving in immediately. This is particularly good to implement in the design of empty properties.

Fruits

Most people immediately associate fruits with freshness and health. It is not for nothing that we often first walk through the fruit and vegetable department in supermarkets. The potential buyer should have their senses stimulated. So don’t forget the sun-yellow lemons or the peel of cherries at your next visit!

Individuals

A quick sale of your property at the best possible price is often very important, especially for individuals. Home Staging provides time and financial opportunities for new projects and plans. The investment pays off, as in most cases it comes back in through the increased sales price achieved.

Square metres

Every square metre is precious, especially in urban areas. Home Staging emphasises how a space could be used to its maximum efficiency, enhancing its appeal.

Purification

When you sell a car, it goes without saying that a clean car is likely to sell better. This also applies to real estate. It is best to hire a professional cleaning company. The standard of cleanliness in a sales property should correspond to that which we have in a hotel.

Schwarz, Barb

Barb Schwarz is the founder of Home Staging. Home Staging has been successfully used in the USA since the 1970s. In Germany, Home Staging has become more and more established over the last 10 years.

Pets

“He’s harmless, he just wants to play.” Dogs, cats and the like are many people’s favorite companions. However, during viewings you should try to accommodate your pets with friends or neighbours. This also applies to their equipment – scratching trees, cat toilets, rubber bones, bowls etc.. Create a fresh enviroment for your viewings. This allows you to reach the largest possible number of potential buyers.

USP – Unique Selling Point

Every property has something very special, a so-called unique selling point. What could this be in your space? A special view, a beautiful window, a great fireplace? Find the USP in your property and put it in the spotlight.

Sales tool

Home Staging has become an important instrument in the orchestra for the successful promotion of real estate. It is the prerequisite for professional photos, an effective online presence and an unforgettable live experience for your prospects.

 

Sense of well-being

Location, price and architecture are important factors considered when buying real estate. The decisive factor, however, is the feeling that we have when entering a property. Within seconds our subconscious mind decides whether we can imagine our own life here. Our gut is faster than our mind. Take advantage of this knowledge and get your interested parties emotionally from the very first moment.

Holiday ornaments

Whether Christmas or Easter, seasonal accents can also help to inspire customers in Home Staging. However, too many references to the holiday seasons can be overwhelming.  Here again, less is more.

Y – Why Home Staging

Home Staging aims to sell properties faster and at the best possible price. Private individuals, brokers and property developers benefit from this highly effective sales instrument.

Target group

“The closet is still good.” Deal sensitively and appreciatively with such statements of the previous owners. If you have lived in a property for decades, it is understandably often not easy to part with objects you have grown fond of. Try to make it clear that the target group that is to buy the property now is likely to have a different taste. Even with empty properties, it should be carefully considered who the desired target group should be. Family, older couple or student – put yourself in the perspective of your target group and address them directly. Ask yourself in every room whether they would really feel comfortable in this environment.

Advertorial due to naming of brand/company/people

Do you have further questions or are interested in a Home Staging?

Non-binding inquiry

INKA ANIOL Home Staging & Interior Design