In today’s competitive real estate market, home staging is not an option – it’s a must. To appeal to a wide range of prospective buyers, sellers need to do everything in their power to make their homes stand out. Of course, everybody knows the three D’s of home staging: declutter, depersonalize, and deep clean. However, while focusing on these three basic rules, many sellers overlook some of the biggest missteps of home staging. Therefore, if you want to sell your home quickly and for a top dollar, you’ll have to think about everything. That’s why we listed below the most common staging mistakes to avoid in 2022. Let’s get started!
Ignoring potential buyers’ demographics
When preparing your home for the market, one of the most common staging mistakes to avoid in 2022 is not thinking about who your prospective buyers are. What does this mean? In a nutshell, you have to learn about current market trends and evaluate the type of neighborhood your house is in.
For example, if you’re selling your condo in downtown Miami, it’s a better idea to stage your second bedroom as a home office or a guest room than a kid’s room. This is because people looking to buy a property in this part of the city are most likely to be young professionals rather than families with kids. On the other hand, if you’re selling a family home in the suburbs, then an additional kid’s room would be a big plus.
The bottom line is – know your audience. The better you’re familiar with current trends and what buyers are looking for, the quicker you’re going to sell your home. In addition, you’ll make a bigger profit as well. This is probably the best piece of advice for sellers regarding home staging.
Overcompensating with neutrals
Since the primary goal of staging your home for sale is to appeal to as many prospective buyers as possible, one of the staging tips is to use a more neutral color palette. While this makes perfect sense, many sellers take this too far. If you use only neutral tones for everything, you’ll create a bland and boring space. So, if you want to stage your home for sale and do it the right way, you need to mix neutrals with a little bit of personality. Unfortunately, this is something sellers often overlook, so this is another one of the home staging mistakes to avoid in 2022.
We suggest throwing a couple of cushions in bold color on your sofa. A colorful rug or carpet is also a must! You can add a pop of color with some beautiful art as well. Oh, and don’t forget about pretty flowers and plants!
Not focusing on lighting
Lighting creates an inviting and pleasant atmosphere in every home. That’s why prospective buyers love to see the airy and bright house. One of the biggest pluses is if you have big windows that let in a bunch of natural light inside your home. A room showered in sunlight will definitely get you a few bonus points. So, if you’re lucky enough to have this in your home, make sure you enhance it with proper window treatments and curtain placement.
If you don’t have enough natural light in your home, you can compensate with adequate lighting. Using both table and floor lamps will create various layers of illumination. Additionally, stay away from white LED lights as they are too bright. Go with warmer tones instead.
Overcrowding every room
One of the things you want to achieve with home staging is making the space look and feel bigger. You can do this by arranging the furniture properly. That’s why one of the biggest staging mistakes to avoid in 2022 is overcrowding your space with bulky furniture. Not only will rooms seem smaller, but you’ll also block the whole natural flow. And believe us – you don’t want to mess with the room flow. So, when positioning furniture, keep traffic patterns in mind and remove items that block entrances or obstruct movement and natural room circulation.
Additionally, professional stagers suggest avoiding angling furniture when staging a house. People do it because they believe it would make the room appear larger, but, if anything, it makes the room feel smaller. It totally disrupts the whole perspective of a room. Therefore, this is something you want to avoid.
Forgetting to stage closets and shelves
One thing that many sellers overlook when prepping a home for the market is closet and shelf staging. Many people don’t realize this, but both your closet space and additional storage need to be properly organized so prospective buyers can get a glimpse of the space and its functionality. Be sure that they will open up your closets to see how much space there is or check what’s inside the kitchen cupboards. If you leave a mess there, you’ll leave a pretty bad impression. So, besides decluttering and cleaning, make sure to do some organizing as well.
Neglecting curb appeal
Every experienced broker will tell you that curb appeal is a feature you simply cannot overlook when staging a house. First impressions are essential, so you definitely want to make this one count. With your curb appeal, you need to set the right tone for the rest of your home. If prospecting buyers like what they see on the outside, they will feel more excited about the inside as well.
Therefore, trim some weeds here and there, mow the lawn, clean out the driveway, and spruce up the yard with some colorful flowers. Additionally, make sure there isn’t any debris around the front yard. When it comes to your front door, make them clean and inviting with a fresh coat of paint. And just like that – your curb appeal is improved!
Ready to stage your home like a pro?
Besides the well-known rules of home staging, you need to think about some oversights as well. We gave you the list of most common staging mistakes to avoid in 2022 to help you sell your home for the top dollar. As you can see, you’ll have to put in a little more time into prepping your house. However, it will all be worth it once you see how many prospective buyers are interested in your home. So, keep this list in mind, and good luck!