Selling your home is a laborious process, no matter how many times you’ve done it or how much of an expert you may be. If this is your first time selling your property, you might be surprised to find out about some of the things you’ll have to do that aren’t obvious — like staging your condo.
You may think that preparing your home for an open house just means cleaning up and clearing away your personal belongings, but staging involves a lot more.
What Does it Mean to Stage Your Condo?
When you put your condo on the market, you can expect to have to vacate your home for open houses, where prospective buyers will come in and take a close look at whether your home might be right for them. On these occasions, you’ll want to stage your condo — but what exactly does that mean?
Staging isn’t just cleaning and decorating; think of it as more of a production. You want your home to be a buyer’s dream home, and for them to imagine living their daily lives in it. You’ll want to make your kitchen a culinary lovers dream come true, and your bathroom a relaxing oasis. The goal is to evoke emotion in buyers, and really have them envision themselves living in the space.
If you think this sounds like a huge task, then you’re right. Staging your condo properly can be the difference in receiving an offer, so you want to make sure that you put some effort into the process. If your home’s on the market, take a look at these tips on how to stage your condo.
Tips for Staging your Condo
- Optimize Your Space
This tip is especially important if your condo is on the smaller side. You’ll want to organize your furniture in a way that optimizes your space, and makes it look as big as possible. Try not to overburden your condo with too much furniture, and think about storing some of it away temporarily. Large, bulky items will take away from the space, so consider smaller, lighter pieces. - Have Charm and Style
Your neighbourhood will have a lot to do with the buyers that you attract, so use your insight to gauge what type of style your potential buyers might be into. If you live in a younger area, take note of current trends and try to make small changes to make your place appealing to a younger crowd. If most residents in your area are retired, go for a more simple, timeless look. - Think About Utility
Since most condos aren’t huge with tons of storage space, think about how you can show your home’s utility when staging. Make a point to have neat storage boxes and organizational fixtures wherever you can, to show buyers that there’s more to your condo than meets the eye. Showcasing storage and functional utility will appeal to buyers of all kinds; having an overflow of items that need to be stored away is universal. - Don’t Forget the Outdoors
It’s easy to get caught up in organizing the inside of your home, but don’t forget to address the outdoors, too. If you have a balcony, placing a small patio set and some greenery can be enough to make a potential buyer think about how nice it would be to sit out there with a good book on a warm summer day. Entertainment, quiet time, and even BBQ’s and events can all come to life on a balcony or patio — be sure to do all you can to help buyers envision their future parties out on your balcony. - Be Clutter-Free
This might go without saying, but ensure that you clear your home from all clutter. You want to create a blank canvas so that buyers can easily imagine their lives in your condo. Rather than making it feel like a home, aim to make it feel like a stage on which someone’s life can be played out. - Have Focal Points
Locate any focal points in your home, and use decor to accentuate them. If you have a fireplace, decorate the mantel and have that be the focal point of your living room. When you have showpieces in your home, don’t be afraid to play them up; it’ll help to draw the attention of buyers, and offer them something they didn’t know that they wanted. - The Master Bedroom
The master bedroom should be a space of relaxation and tranquillity, where you go to unwind. Make the bedroom a clean, clear space that buyers can get excited about coming home to. Adding a few pieces of decor here and there to accent the space is a good idea, but try to keep it gender neutral so that it appeals to anyone’s taste. - Create Flow
While you can have a different theme in each of your rooms, you’ll want to create a flow throughout your condo. Give it a walk-through once you’ve finished decorating, and ensure that your space doesn’t feel disjointed from room to room. It’s also a good idea to ensure that furniture is placed properly so that people can talk through with ease, and don’t stumble over an ottoman. - Accentuate the Positives
Chances are, buyers will always find something about your condo that they don’t like. It’s unrealistic to try to please everyone, so they key is to play up the positives. This tip circles back to locating focal points; accentuating the selling points your home will help to draw attention away from the negatives. - Be Bright and Cheerful
Bringing light into any home is important. If your condo lacks sources of natural light, use fun and light-coloured decor to make it a cheerful environment that any buyer would be happy to come home to.
- Optimize Your Space
Before delving into the decor aspect of staging, you’ll want to give your condo a thorough clean. Not to mention after the open house — after having strangers comb through your home, you’ll likely want to get a nice and thorough cleaning. Fortunately, Maid4Condos can help.
From basic to deep cleaning services, we can help get your home in pristine condition. Call Maid4Condos today at 647.822.0601 for an estimate, or contact us here.