Forget Curb Appeal, Does Your Home Have Screen Appeal?
2020 has been all about pivoting. 2020 was supposed to be ‘the year’ and for real estate, it has been. We’ve seen unprecedented highs and for some, it’s been the best year of their real estate life, whether you are an agent, broker, investment buyer, or a homeowner. That being said, it’s no longer about curb appeal – it’s all about screen appeal since in-person showings are less and less as a precaution.
In 2019 a report from NAR stated that 44% of potential buyers looked online for properties before doing anything else. 6% drove by homes to browse and remaining contacted real estate professionals to start their homebuying process.
Here are some steps on how to stage your house like a pro to get as much bang for your buck.
Out with The Old
Step 1: All of that decluttering you did at the start of quarantine is going to make step 1 so much easier, because you’ve already done it. Boom!
Put Away Personal Items
Step 2: Put away any toys, personal pictures or mementos. We want to make the space as neutral and large but homey as possible. If buyers feel like they could move right in, then the charm is working.
How to Share Your Home
Step 3: Choose whether you intend on using still photos, a video walkthrough, or both to show your house. Outdoor drone footage and interior videos with mild music helps raise views on a property. If you choose to use a real estate professional, having the describe the neighborhood and selling points of the home before or after the video showing can be beneficial for potential homebuyers.
Stage Your House
Step 4: Regardless of which option you choose above, you’ll want to stage your house properly. Meaning, consider your current layout. Look at each room and make sense of what would work best. Revert rooms back to what they are meant to be (like, you’re using your dining room as the office). Add greenery to spaces – a well-positioned plant adds brightness and life to the space. You can use real or artificial that look real in photos.
Use vertical space, meaning, anything that is on the floor that doesn’t need to be – hide it. By doing this, you can make the room seem larger. Consider adding floating shelving in lieu of bookcases and add table lamps instead of floor lamps. If you only use still photos for your listing, you can move furniture pieces around to what makes most sense to make the rooms feel larger. If the bed looks better on the opposite wall, move it. Make sure to thoroughly clean and replace lightbulbs. Keeping as many lights on as possible can make the house brighter and bigger. Little things could make a huge difference and it’s a fresh breath for you too.
Now, what if you’ve already moved into your new place and there isn’t any furniture? You can stage it virtually or leave as-is. However, staged homes tend to sell quicker and there are plenty of online tools to utilize. You’ll want to make sure to revert back to the end of step 4 and make sure the house is clean and all lights are turned on when you take your picture or video.
As always, if you have any questions at all about mortgages, real estate professionals or anything real estate, please contact the Jen Martinez Team anytime!
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