Written by Australia’s Rapid Renovation Expert, Naomi Findlay.

In the first installment of this series, I gave you an overview of the Australian home staging market.

I also discussed the effectiveness of home staging when it comes to creating wealth from the sale of a property.

For this final installment, let’s discuss the preparations needed when you decide to stage your property.

AUSTRALIA’S HOME STAGING INDUSTRY

The home staging industry in Australia is rapidly growing and professional services are available in all capital cities and in most large regional centers in varying capacities. Their services can include consultations only models to consultation and full installation of the property with hired furniture and accessories for the duration of the sale campaign.

The cost of home staging across the country can vary quite considerably, with metro and remote centers often being the highest. Although most capital city real estate agents are quite proactive when it comes to having a relationship with a home stager, at the time of writing this piece, not all agents rurally and remotely actively promoted staging on all their property listings.

So you ever decide to outsource this element of the project to a professional home stager, make sure that you start investigating at the early stages of the project as to the availability in your area. Have the stylist visit the property to provide itemized quotes and begin to develop a relationship with a local staging company, as this will be an essential part of your team moving forward.

BEFORE YOU GET STARTED

For those of you who want to give property styling a go yourself or have no other option as there is no professional home stager in your area that completes vacant property installations, then I have a checklist of things that you need to consider to get you started.

• Equip yourself with the knowledge on the basic principle of home staging or styling for sale.
• Consider how many properties you intend to renovate. Do they share a target market, and can similar furniture be used across multiple properties?
• Look for professional home staging examples that fall within your market and consider whether your styling will be able to compete with these properties (make sure you are very real with yourself on this one).
• Define the budget you have to spend on the bulk investment in furniture to style the property and make sure that this is factored into your budget. Even if you intend to use the furniture across multiple properties, unless you access a form of equipment or asset finance, you need to find the initial capital upfront.
• Don’t forget the logistics! Staging your own renovation is as logistically heavy as the actual renovation itself in some cases, so make sure you factor in not only funds for the stock acquisition, but also the transportation and storage of the stock in between renovation projects.
• If you want to partly or wholly style the property yourself, make sure this is one of the first things you think about. The last thing you want to be doing is buying all your stick at full recommended retail price the week before the photographer is booked. Plan ahead and source your stock from cost effective trade suppliers or to make sure you get maximum return on investment in the stock you acquire.
• If you are using a professional home stager, bring them into the team, introduce them to your agent and make sure that the whole team is briefed across your target market.

Now, on to the hands-on part.

TOP 10 HOME STATING TIPS FOR AN IMPRESSIVE PROPERTY

There’s one rule in home staging: you don’t get a chance to create a striking first impression. So I’m providing you with these tips to get started.

Mow the lawn

Studies have shown that excellent landscaping can help sell a home for approximately 4% – 5% higher. In contrast, homes on the other end of the spectrum can sell for 8% – 10% less. That’s a huge difference in market price!

Maintenance and Repairs

Take the time to inspect loose railings, screws, and sheaths. Not only do these fix safety hazards, but they also look very unattractive. These are inexpensive repairs that can be done DIY or fixed with the help of a professional.

Touch-up painting

Inspect the veranda, deck, down spout, gutters and small areas on the ends of the house. This simple touch up can create a whole fresh new look for the home. Concentrate on the front porches, verandas, and entryways.

Visible house numbers

Making it easy to find your home will make all the difference in selling it. Do your prospective buyers a favour and make it easy to identify the home. Make the numbers stand out in a prime location and easy to read.

The gateway to the home

As the entry point to the home, this is the focal point when it comes to street appeal. So be certain they are in tip-top shape. Improve the entryway by considering bright, functioning porch lights and a new doormat, preferably without a welcome note or text.

There isn’t a real estate agent who wouldn’t tell you that one of the most important terms that you can learn is ‘street appeal’. If you take the effort to ensure that the outside of your home is appealing, then it will make certain that potential buyers will want to look at the interior as well.

Value surface space

Clear off all horizontal surfaces, kitchen counters, and bathroom countertops, as this will help minimise a cluttered appearance.

The nose knows

Smell is the most powerful of our senses. Therefore, it makes a huge impact on people when they enter a home. If you insist on a scent for your home, settle for a very lightly scented candle or oil. Get rid of odours by scrubbing, cleaning the air vents, replacing old carpeting and cleaning drapery.

A timeless feel

In the world of real estate, there is a huge difference between an old home and a classic home. Overall, your home must present itself with an established look. In other words, that it has been well-maintained enough that it won’t fall apart.

Avoid making a statement

Loud decorating pieces and accessories should be removed, as this could turn people off. They could be considered controversial, offensive or simply unattractive.

Let your house stand out

Avoid making a statement, but consider the key things that will make your house stand out in the buyer’s mind. Pay attention to special little details they might pick up. Whether it be the flowers on the kitchen table or the ambiance of the living room. It is always something different and positive that sets your home apart.

There are a lot of great projects to tackle both inside and outside of the home that maximise your property’s potential to sell. The key is to look for projects that don’t require much capital, yet make an immeasurable improvement to the final look of your home.

This concludes the two – part series about the role of home staging when it comes to selling your property and creating potential profit as a result. As with many aspects in the field of making money from property, having a plan, executing due diligence and organisation are key to the success of your strategy.

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