See How Easily You Can Sell a Home with Professional Staging

Professional staging for Arlington, VA, real estate has become increasingly popular in recent years. Transforming well-loved — and often well-worn — houses into a buyer’s dream home is something that takes serious skill. It requires a keen eye for design, an ability to cut through the clutter, and a savvy pulse on the real estate market — all of which are talents that are typically best outsourced.

And while the rise in popularity may make hiring a professional staging company seem like merely the trendy thing to do, the research shows something entirely different. Staged homes sell 73% faster than their unstaged counterparts, on average.

Even better, your profit could increase exponentially. Homes that receive staging experience, on average, boast a 20% increase in their sale price. Most sellers can expect to invest 1% of the sale price into staging their home, but many (about 75%) witnessed a return on their investment of 5% to 15%, according to the Real Estate Staging Association.

Still feeling uncertain? Not impressed by the numbers?

Here are five reasons you should start staging your Arlington, VA, real estate:

Increasing a home’s perceived value is one of the most important benefits of staging. Professional home staging companies have an innate ability to minimize a home’s flaws and maximize its potential by accentuating its most attractive features. By creating a clean slate with a neutral backdrop, stagers can bring in high-end furniture or luxurious elements that emphasize the home’s character and make it shine.

These efforts are not in vain, either. The National Association of REALTORS found that more than a quarter of buyers were willing to overlook a home’s faults if it was staged in their 2021 Profile of Home Staging.

Staging a home involves removing sentimental belongings from each space. Houses filled with a seller’s personal items make it difficult for buyers to envision their future in the home. They are surrounded by someone else’s memories when they should be dreaming of making their own.

Staging eliminates that barrier and creates a neutral space for buyers to imagine how they could utilize each room. It gives them the opportunity to picture what it would look like if they lived there.

And staging tactics are effective: 82% of agents said staging a home helped buyers envision living in the home and making it their own.

It may be cliche, but the fact remains: You won’t get a second chance to make a good first impression. The majority of home buyers view listings online before going to see them in person. How a house looks in pictures could very well determine how fast and for what price it sells.

Staging a home is the first step in making a memorable first impression and converting casual scrollers into serious buyers. When buyers see a home that is visually appealing online, they are more likely to schedule an in-person showing. These visits are essential to showcasing your home’s true potential and making a sale — but they won’t happen if your online listing doesn’t draw them there first.

One of the most common misconceptions when selling a home is that buyers would prefer to see each space completely empty. Theoretically, this would allow the buyer to envision how they could use the space and fill it with their own belongings. This theory, however, is not entirely true.

While most buyers will almost certainly fill the home with furniture they already own, they might have trouble picturing how it would translate in that specific space. They already have pre-arranged groups of furniture in their heads, and it can be difficult for them to imagine using those pieces when the home looks different, or the floorplan doesn’t match their existing space.

Staging a home helps guide the buyers through this process and opens the door to new possibilities, ones they may not have even considered. Using furniture and decorative elements to showcase the home gives buyers a sense of its potential and helps them recognize the ways they could use it to match their own needs and interests.

There are hundreds of homes for sale in Arlington, Virginia. You need your listing to stand out if you want buyers to bypass the competition and pay attention to yours. Professional home staging companies know all of the tricks. They can look at your space and find ways to make it shine — whether by making it look brighter with some additional lighting or adding warmth with cozy accents. They can rearrange furniture to make a room appear bigger or include artwork that complements your home’s natural charm. With experience in real estate, professional stagers know how to make your home more desirable and one that buyers want to purchase.

If you want your home to spend fewer days on the market and make you more money, professional home staging is an investment you should consider. Bringing in a company to accentuate your home’s best features and make it appealing for buyers will not only help your listing get more clicks, but it will also help drive showings and bring you more interested buyers — resulting in a faster sale and a higher sale price.

Ready to take the next step? We know how overwhelming and stressful it can be to sell your home, especially in such a competitive market. It can feel like there are a thousand things on your to-do list, and you simply don’t know where to start. Fret not — this is where an experienced and highly skilled real estate expert comes in.

Our experienced team of trusted professionals is ready to help. We can get your space staged and your home on the market. Contact real estate professional Andreea Leu to get started on selling your Arlington, VA, real estate today!