Province
Staging a house to sell is becoming all the rage. And more and more people appear to be turning to a real-estate stager or home showcaser for help.
It’s all about showcasing a home so it will sell fast and for top dollar.
“Basically, in home staging what you want to do is highlight the architectural selling features of the home,” Val Sharp, president of the Canadian Redesigners Association, said in a telephone interview from her Victoria home.
“So you place the furniture, hang the art and use accessories to do that,” she said.
When successfully staged, a home becomes more appealing to a wider range of potential buyers.
The difference between a redesigner and a home stager, Sharp explains, is that redesigners create a home that the people who live there will love, while the focus of a home stager is to create a home to sell.
Most makeovers — whether they’re a redesign or a home staging — are done quickly, usually in only a day or two.
Nancy Poulin of Regina offers the following tips to help homeowners make the most of their home’s appearance:
– Hang artwork properly, or the room will look off balance. Most people hang things too high.
“Artwork in a room should be hung closest to eye level for the activity that’s being done in that room,” Poulin says.
– Use mirrors to help open up a space and make it look larger.
– To make a hallway seem wider, paint one wall a shade darker than the other.
– Spray lemon or orange-scented furniture polish on a surface close to the entrance so potential buyers are greeted with a pleasant, fresh, clean smell when they enter the home.
“Don’t spray anything too perfumy, or they will be wondering what you’re trying to hide,” she cautioned.
– It’s never good to show a vacant house. Rent furniture and accessories, if necessary.
Staging a home can get better results, faster, Poulin says. But the house has to be priced reasonably, as well.
“No matter how much staging you do, if you are asking way over the market price, it’s going to take longer to sell,” she says.
— CanWest News Service
© The Vancouver Province 2006
