First impressions are everything in real estate — and in the age of digital listings, the time frame for a property to make a good first impression has narrowed greatly.
“[The home buyer’s] attention is probably gone within a matter of milliseconds because of how quickly people are just scrolling through so many images,” says Stephanie Engel, strategic interior design advisor at Real Estate Bees and owner and principal of Spaces Reinvented, LLC, in Lakeville, Minnesota.
That’s why Engel believes staging is vital for wooing buyers. To put an even finer point on it, she says, “You want to try to make the most money in the quickest amount of time.”
Luckily for Engel, for a recent staging project of a two-story single residence in the Twin Cities, the seller didn’t need any convincing that staging was the way to go. That’s because the seller happened to be one of Engel’s regular real estate partners, who had seen firsthand the powerful effect of a staged property on buyers. And because he was selling one of his personal properties, he had already begun preparing the home for would-be buyers.
Engel recalls that her client had already repainted the entire home and replaced the carpet in a neutral color. The biggest discussion centered around the kitchen, the “heart of the home.”
The white cabinets captured the kitchen trend many home buyers look for, but the countertops were green — a color the homeowner liked, although understood it wouldn’t be a hit with all buyers. He decided to swap them out for a light gray. The difference is astounding, especially when sunlight filters into the large window over the sink.
But there’s one thing Engel was pretty confident homebuyers wouldn’t want, and that was the current brass hardware. “[If] the next prospective homebuyer wants to replace it with a different set of hardware, [they can] knock themselves out,” she says. “But at least they don’t have to live with the ’80s brass.”
Even small changes can have an impact — so the owner updated the brass kitchen hardware with brushed nickel, and the simple DIY project enhanced the aesthetic.
Engel’s favorite room to stage was the sunroom. She doesn’t often have the opportunity to stage a sunroom because it’s an added cost for the homeowner when staging other rooms takes priority. Again, having a motivated client on board helped here, and so Engel staged a sun-drenched seating area for an additional wow factor.
Did the home make a good first impression with buyers? It sure did. The property went into “pending” status in just two days after hitting the market; ultimately, the seller received an offer for over 10% of the listing price.
While not all home staging stories end as happily as this one, Engel’s work certainly increased the odds of it happening for her client. A seller might be reluctant to spend more money on a home when putting it on the market, but it’s money well-spent.
“Staging is the best return investment on a home that a homeowner can make,” Engel says.
