Staging Your Home To Get The Best Price

So the market has shifted in Vancouver and you are planning to sell your home in the next 3-12 months; how you market and present your home will be the difference maker in how stressful and successful your sale is.

The biggest mistake I see in the market today is owners not putting enough emphasis on the staging of their home before listing. Yes homes have been selling high and quick BUT the new "stale listing" is only 15 days on market so if you don't sell in that first two weeks; you'll be fighting an uphill battle.

Now when I say staging I'm not (necessarily) referring to a staging company that you hire to refurnish your home but I do see value in that with some homes, especially those that are currently vacant or in the luxury market. Staging is referring to the process of getting your home ready for photos and showings. Staging can include; renting furniture, painting, small repairs, buying new appliances, and turning a guest room into an office but it most certainly should include deep cleaning, depersonalizing and decluttering.

Staging is scalable and will make an impact on the ease at which your home sells.

Since you are intending to sell this home as fast as possible, use the time preparing your home for sale to start the move. If you're fortunate enough to have more than one home, ideally you would prepare your home and leave it vacant while it's listed so it's always ready to show.

Do

Purge closets and cabinets for anything that can be packed early, tossed or donated.

Declutter your kitchen, seeing your counters full of appliances will only lead the buyers to question the amount of kitchen and pantry storage.

Paint. Fresh coat of white or neutral paint will work wonders.

Depersonalize, you want the buyer to walk through your home and picture their lives here. 

Consolidate your Art collection or add pieces if necessary. This is very important for listing photos but also helps to depersonalize and highlight attractive attributes in your home.

Store excess furniture and optimize the existing furniture in a way that shows off how functional the space is.

Keep the house clean while it is on the market, buyers will want to see your home outside of the open house windows and being able to accommodate that will support your goal of a quick sale at a strong price.


Do Not

Do Not Cheap out on the listing photos; these are the most important marketing your home has. I recommend asking your photographer to have videos and some photos shot in 16:9 ratio so your Realtor can optimize them on social media.

Do Not deodorize or use strong candles. This is a  for buyers and agents as it is assumed you are trying to cover up an unwanted smell.

Do Not shut the light out. This goes for listing photos and showings; you know when your home looks the best and try to showcase it in those windows (pun intended).

Do Not stick around for the showings. It can already be uncomfortable for Buyers to come into someone else's home, having the Seller on site is always awkward. Trust your Realtor will do their job and give the buyers their space.

While Vancouver's Housing Market certainly saw a shift towards balance in the late Spring of 2022, with the amount of interprovincial and international immigration BC has seen in the last 18 months, buyer demand is expected to stay strong and a well priced, well marketed home will sell!



-Kade Lacasse | Vancouver Realtor