The reality is that your home is just one amongst the sea of other properties being listed in the market. Furthermore, as the world recovers from COVID-19, there will be stiffer competition between resale homes and new launches.
Just private residences alone, there were 5362 resale transactions in 3rd Quarter 2021, accounting for 59% of all sale transactions. Following a similar trend, the number of HDB resale applications registered has increased over the year from 7581 total registered in 1st Quarter 2021 to 8433 total registered in 3rd Quarter.
With the diversity and myriad of choices available for buyers, they have the liberty to be critical of even the most trivial issues, such as negotiating the prices lower or, worse, walk away, especially if they intend to purchase for their own occupation.
However, these numbers are still good news for sellers as it shows signs of a recovering property market as we return to transaction levels higher than before COVID-19 occurred. Provided that the sellers are able to market their property effectively.
What exactly is home staging
The process of home staging was coined by Barbara Scharz in 1972, the then real estate agent with a background in the theatre. Her time in musicals and Broadway ignited the idea of setting the scene in homes for buyers to view properties in the best way.
Over the years, home staging picked up steam in the western real estate industry and has now influenced the Asian real estate market as it has become a normality in selling houses in Singapore in recent years. However, it is not a foreign concept to most Singaporeans as this is a concept that developers have been utilising for their show flats for ages.
These days, most home sellers are already going the extra mile of preparing their houses to look neat and well maintained for sale. A unit will only stand to lose out if no preparation work was done to save the perceived cost.
In this article, we want to show you the importance of setting up your home for viewings even before listing the property, especially the dos and don’ts of home staging. Let’s dive right in!
Do: Pack and Clean Up Your Home and make the necessary touch-ups
It is essential for your home to be clean and tidy to almost a showroom condition if possible.
The first impression is crucial, and there is only one chance to make that impression.
According to research that surveyed “The Impact of Staging Conditions on Residential Real Estate Demand” ¹, the house’s overall condition significantly impacts the perceived liveability and, hence, the overall impression of the property. Ultimately home staging allows potential buyers to envision themselves as a future occupant of your home.
Cleaning and packing up can also help declutter the apartment to make the apartment feel spacious and inviting.
Minor issues such as a leaky faucet could signal potential buyers that the house may have more extensive, costlier issues that have yet to be addressed. They would also not be able to envision themselves living in the home with satisfaction with such perceived problems that they have to rectify and perhaps lead to a more complex negotiation on the sale price to buffer for such maintenance works.
Do not: Let your pets run amok
A scenario to avoid
As much as pets are often cute and cuddly, not everyone is affectionate with pets.
The smell and fur of dogs and cats may be off-putting to non-owners, especially for Muslim buyers who may have religious opinions against dogs.
Having pets may also trigger allergies that potential buyers may have, making it an unpleasant viewing experience for them to remember.
If possible, it would be best to put up the pets elsewhere, such as your parents or friends home during the duration of the sale.
Do: Set the ambience.
When it comes to the styling of the home staging furniture, try to keep it as neutral as possible to appeal to the broadest range of potential buyers.
Simple scented candles and background music can also help elevate buyers’ spirits, potentially making them fall in love with the place.
Do: Rent Furniture / Arrange Your Furniture
With furniture strategically placed in, it can help to liven up the unit and allow potential buyers to feel the “true” size of the units as opposed to a unit without furniture.
The furniture acts as a subconscious cue, signalling to buyers the size of the unit as they would then know what size of furniture they can fit in.
Accompanying accessories such as soft furnishings help to magnify the space as well. Letting the viewers visualise themselves staying in the apartment
Do: Leave it to your property agent for viewing arrangements
Home staging extends into the viewing arrangements when selling your property. The viewings are arguably the most important and often the deciding factor whether a potential buyer proceeds with the purchase.
We think it is best to engage a property agent to leverage their vast experience in presenting the home as they would have dealt with a diversity of viewing arrangements.
Their experience can make for a swift deal. Not only do you save time, trouble and unnecessary frustration from having to deal with everything yourself. You could also potentially profit more than you had initially hoped for — covering the property agent’s commission and maybe having more cash to pocket.
Home Stage with PropertyLimBrothers!
Over at PropertyLimBrothers, we practise home staging to a great extent. Close to 85% to 90% of our clients undergo partial or complete home staging. You can check out our past sales and what it is like to undergo home staging here!
We have dressed up both vacant homes and occupied homes, so you do not have to worry about having to vacate the house during the home staging process!
For occupied homes, we will do the necessary preparations to extract your current furniture to be put into storage (if required). In most cases, your current furniture can also be used as part of the home styling. Making way for home staging furniture to come in. Owners can continue with their daily life, using the staged furniture until the property is sold.
Engaging us would make the home staging a hassle-free process for sellers as we take care of all the furniture moving. If requested, our home staging partners can also arrange for your furniture to be delivered to your new unit at a small fee!
If you would like to learn more about “What happens when you engage PropertyLimBrothers to sell a property”, do give the article a read. Otherwise, if you have already decided to choose us as your preferred professional real estate team to take on such matters, you may reach out to our Listings Team or find out more about the seller’s experience here!
