To style or not to style your home when selling, is a question we are often asked. We all have opinions, but we put this to a panel of leading real estate agents to find out if it really does make a difference. Learn what styling means, if it does really pay to style your home, what the benefits are and where you can get expert advice to make the most of your property.
Does it pay to style your home?
When, Why and How to Style Your Home
Styling your home to look its best will boost final sales price between 7.5-12.5 per cent, according to a survey of the top agents in the LJ Hooker Network in Australia.
The surveyed agents were strikingly unanimous in their opinion of how much styling can impact the sales price. The agents surveyed represent the best real estate knowledge available in Australia, and consist of 23 members of LJ Hooker's elite Innovation Team.
We asked our agents how important styling is for a property for sale vs a rental property:- 96% said styling to sell was essential, whilst only 4% said it was not.
- Whilst for a rental property, only 22% said it should be done, whereas 78% said no.
What Does Styling Mean?
Styling means to decorate and organize your home and garden to look its best on inspection days.
It takes a bit of work and time to get it your property looking its best. Vendors can style their own property, but LJ Hooker agents agree it is far better to consult an expert who has decorating experience and knows what is the most persuasive for buyers.
Not everyone can afford to pay for an expert to come to their home and that is why LJ Hooker has created an in-depth guide to styling your property when selling. The guide is full of tips, tricks and strategies that you can use to make a memorable first impression on potential buyers.
Our surveyed agents believe that different tasks having varying degrees of importance. Below is the percentage for each task.
- 100% - eliminate smalls
- 97% - remove clutter
- 91% - clean and trim the garden
- 78% - clean dirty rugs
- 69% - lay out fresh towels and pillows
- 66% - repaint walls
- 51% - refinish floors
- 43% - regrout old tiles
- 40% - install new bathroom fixtures
- 35% - install new kitchen fixtures
- 28% - install new kitchen cabinets
- 25% - install new lights
You can see that according to our surveyed top agents think much more important to remove smells than to install new fixtures and lights.
The Top Benefits of Home Styling
Selling a home is never an easy task. Let’s be honest – it takes a bit of work and a lot of patience! But according to our panel of leading real estate agents, taking time to style your home to sell will make a big difference to how many buyers you attract, how quickly you sell your property and the price you achieve.
- 87% of top agents believe you will earn a higher sales price by styling
- 70% say you will get a quicker sale
- 65% say you'll attract more bidders or interested parties at auction
- 48% say you will receive more offers if selling by private treaty.
When Does it Make Sense to Style a Property?
It goes without saying that it's important to style when the property is empty, messy, dirty, crowded or poorly decorated. However to make the most money out of ANY property it is important to spend time styling it - from making a good first impression, to clearing the clutter, to depersonalising rooms so potential buyer can imagine themselves living in your home....the list goes on.
There is something that can be done to every room in every home to make it more attractive to buyers.
Many people believe that buyers are entranced by the smells of baking cookies, bread or brewing coffee during inspections. However, few agents agree. Most felt that buyers have a negative reaction, worrying that the pleasant smells are intended to mask something undesirable.
Instead, agents' top tips for the day of inspection are to remove pets and their paraphernalia, clean up the garage and closets and display fresh, cut flowers.
It can feel overwhelming going through all the different factors that can influence the impression of potential buyers. To make the process of styling your property as smooth as possible, the team of experts at LJ Hooker have put together a free comprehensive eBook that goes through everything you need for success.
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