Selling a home isn’t simply about listing it, it’s about how the home is introduced to the market. The best selling strategies involve presenting the home in a clear and effective manner while making well-informed decisions regarding presentation, timing and buyer perception.
That’s why using a professional sales design service is so beneficial. Home staging companies play a beneficial role in this regard like Sayde Mark Designs, which takes a unique approach to staging. Staging is approached as a strategic layer of the selling process and this component of the home staging process helps homeowners tell their property’s story in a way the potential buyers can easily understand right from the start.
Selling Smarter with Flexible Financing
Time and money both have an important influence on how sellers prepare before putting their home on the market. Publications focused on design, such as Architectural Digest and House Beautiful, regularly advocate for presenting properties in an attractive manner, stating that this will enhance buyer interest. While the idea is appealing to many sellers, the timing of when staging costs occur (generally before any strong listing activity starts) causes many sellers to hesitate in staging their homes.
The best time to stage is when you know what you are going to do with the home and why, and not because of financial pressure.
What “Stage Now, Pay Later” Really Means
The idea of “Stage now, Pay Later” represents a shift in how sellers are treating pre-listing staging and preparation of properties. Some homeowners are selecting to use third-party staging platforms, such as Notable, to coincide with the timing between the staging and preparations and when the house sells, thus allowing them to stage their homes prior to selling, but to delay payment on the staging until they close.
The intent of this process is not to promote additional costs, rather to relieve the financial constraints of Sunday-into-Monday decisions that could result in a hurried or lower-quality outcome.
Professional Staging Increases Home Value
Making a space feel beautiful does not happen quickly. A well-staged home will help potential buyers intuitively sense how they can use and flow through the space. A home may feel even more desirable than before, but the buyer cannot put their finger on why. As pioneering designer Elsie de Wolfe so succinctly stated,
“I am going to make everything around me beautiful, that will be my life.” – Architectural Digest – Elsie de Wolfe
Beauty, when intentional, becomes a quiet driver of value.
The Financial Flexibility Advantage
When time and money are not the primary consideration for sellers at the time of listing, they are better positioned to make sound design choices.
- The seller should concentrate on first impressions created from the main entry to the rest of the home, avoiding over-designing or needless remodels on their homes.
- The seller should be able to match his/her home improvements with what he/she feels they can expect from prospective buyers, rather than matching what is trending in the industry.
Good design comes from the thoughtfulness of selection rather than the quantity of elements. Better judgment and selection are possible with the flexibility afforded to the seller when time and money are not a factor as flexibility supports better judgment.
Maximizing ROI: Strategic Use of Staging
Effective home staging acts as a tool for removing excess from your home, rather than adding to it. Instead of layering more accessories, the idea is to remove the visual clutter so potential buyers can see and appreciate how to use your home, including:
- A clearly defined purpose for all of the different, open areas or transitional spaces (e.g., entryways, dining rooms, living rooms, etc.) so potential buyers understand immediately what each area is meant to be used for and how it fits into the overall flow of the home;
- A neutral colour palette that creates a sense of transition and flow from one space to the next, which emphasises the architectural features of the home;
- A logical placement of the furniture so that it encourages movement through the home and illustrates how the home functions in everyday life.
As demonstrated regularly through Dezeen’s residential pages, the best example of how less is more is with the use of clean lines and open spaces that allow for maximum natural light and airiness, giving architectural form and space the opportunity to shine. In Dezeen’s ongoing features about interiors, it’s obvious that successfully designed homes rely on simplicity, legibility, and an understanding of space as opposed to the use of unnecessary decorative elements.
Reference: Why Staging Creates Bidding Wars
Reducing Time on Market Through Clear First Impressions
The majority of buyers will typically view a property for the first time online; therefore, quality staging ensures that listing photos convey warmth and scale, as well as livability, as soon as buyers see them online. Staged spaces with an intentional, livable design are typically more successful than spaces with heavy or elaborate styling, both in terms of experience and visually. Spaces that create ease of understanding create confidence in buyers, because they don’t have to guess about scale, circulation, and use. However, an over-styled space can detract from the architecture and make a room appear smaller or less adaptable.
Thus, the reason for staging properties is not to create a spectacle; it is for the legibility of the space. If buyers can quickly understand how to live in a space and imagine themselves living there, they will be less hesitant to make an offer. The principle of creating clarity versus ornamentation is at the core of a modern staging strategy.
Applying for Flexible Financing
When a seller has an option of Deferred Payment, it should be set up so that the process provides a very simple, discreet and non-intrusive way to run throughout their listing timeline, created to assist with preparation rather than dictate where the sellers staged during the preparation, allowing them to stage at the most effective time rather than when it meets their financial needs best.
The decisions made regarding staging design are based on the market and the actual spatial reasoning of the home, not the staging or financing mechanics. The strategic partnership created between the staging company and the seller allows the seller to evaluate the areas in which to stage their home to create the most positive perception, as well as judge whether it is best to hold off on staging certain areas until a later date. The focus will always be on the area of priority, not possibility, therefore ensuring each design decision contributes to how buyers actually feel about and experience the home.
When there is flexibility in the timing of financial transaction(s), the seller can utilize the staging planning process without making a compromise on the final product. The seller will have the opportunity to develop a well-thought-out plan, to take their time in preparing their home and be confident in their preparation.
Confidence, Flexibility, and Thoughtful Preparation
The best real estate listings for sale do not necessarily have the most “wow” factor. Instead, they have intentionality behind them. Because of being planned out and designed with buyer psychology in mind and prepared using evidence from the buyer market, these homes will be viewed in many different ways by potential buyers as opposed to having one look for all buyers like with the elaborate listings we often see posted online.
In a very competitive market, listing homes that have had design experts use a buyer psychology-based approach to create a balanced, simplified, and obvious way of displaying themselves will result in a perceived attitude of “quiet confidence” for those homes. Such homes are likely to be the biggest advantage in a competitive market where buyers have a wide selection to choose from.
Reference: Why Empty Rooms Don’t Sell: The Case for Furnished Staging