Selling

5 Reasons You Should Stage Your Home To Sell 

03.14.2024

Updated 2024

In the process of selling your home, there’s one thing you might wonder: Does home staging work, and can it work for your sale? The truth is that staging your home, when you work with a true professional, is about far more than cleaning up and making things presentable.

Staging involves strategically transforming your home to suit potential buyers. It helps give that “at home” feeling to just about anyone that walks through the door while generating more attention, interest, and – ideally – a higher sale price. It’s the aspirational key to help buyers visualize how they will live in your home.

Here are the 5 key reasons why staging your home works, and how you can use it to your advantage when it’s time to sell…

1. IT GIVES BUYERS A BLANK CANVAS…

In its most basic form, staging your home makes it more presentable. Painting in a neutral colour, taking down personal items, and general decluttering will get you off to a great start. 

Keep in mind that the foundation of home staging is to create a “blank canvas.” It allows potential buyers to see your home for its potential for their lives – and not its history.

The minute someone walks through your door, they should instantly:

  • Imagine themselves enjoying a meal at their kitchen table with their family. 
  • Envision themselves laughing with their friends over a cool drink on their patio. 
  • Begin planning where they will put their furniture and how they will decorate after they move in.

In each of these examples, staging makes your home about the buyer by allowing them to focus on their dreams and goals.


Staging is a major piece of the puzzle, but it’s not the only thing that can help you sell your home. Here are some other resources that will help:


2. IT TRANSFORMS YOUR HOME…

Home staging, at its heart, can transform a house into any buyer’s dream home. It’s one of the keys to making your listing stand out in any market. 

Staging focuses on the key elements of design – think pieces of furniture, layouts, and small accents that “feel like home.” 

It makes spaces feel more functional, inviting, and ready-to-buy. When you execute the plan with creative vision, you can truly highlight the endless amount of possibilities your home presents.

3. IT HIGHLIGHTS YOUR HOME’S VALUE…

When people tour a potential new home, they are there because they want to envision it as their own. Staging helps create that opportunity while showcasing a home as being well-maintained and cared for by the previous owners. 

Preparing your home for the market can mean undergoing a major overhaul, but it doesn’t have to. Think about the subtle differences small renovations can accomplish, like replacing window treatments or light fixtures. 

Taking care of these minor details means buyers will focus less on potential issues and more on what makes your home a fantastic place to live. 

4. IT LEADS TO A QUICKER SALE…

According to the Real Estate Staging Association, staged homes spend less time on the market (just 14 days for owner-occupied homes and 19 days for vacant homes, as of 2022, according to RESA). 

When your home sells quickly, you are less likely to encounter price reductions. Plus, increased desirability encourages more competition amongst potential buyers. Not only does your home look better, but it’s in a better position to sell – and fast.

The Real Estate Staging Association (RESA) also noted that staged homes command more money, with an average $28 return on investment for every dollar spent staging an owner-occupied property. Vacant properties averaged a return of $16 per each dollar invested.

5. IT APPEALS TO BUYERS OF ALL KINDS…

When you use high-end, stylish pieces, as well as a selective design that highlights the best aspects of a property, staging can turn your listing into the dream home for a wide range of buyers. It’s this magic that makes a staged home incredibly personal to a buyer. It no longer feels like someone else’s space. Ultimately, staging crafts a signature experience that is unforgettable (without being overbearing).

Staging is not about what someone has done with their home to make it unique, but what a potential buyer can do to envision it as their own. 

Proven Staging Techniques

What is your best path forward now that you understand the benefits of staging your home to sell? While working with an expert will help you take full advantage of this high-level strategy, there are several ways you can prepare for an optimal experience.

The first step is to take a walk through your home and aim to see each room from a buyer’s perspective. The following guidelines will help:

1. Start With the Outside

Many homeowners get so preoccupied with the interior of their home that they forget that it’s the exterior that buyers see first. It doesn’t matter how beautifully the interior presents if the first thing a buyer notices is an unkempt lawn or a long-neglected garden.

So first things first, clean up the outside as much as possible. Remove all debris that may have blown over from the neighbour’s yard. You don’t have to make your property look like a feature from Home and Garden. However, mowing the lawn, weeding the garden, and washing the outside windows and doors can help create a positive first impression.

2. Clean and Declutter

A home decorated with personal photos, trophies, and souvenirs are all signs of a life well lived. But they can all be distracting to a potential buyer. Thus, the first step to effective staging is to do a major clean sweep of the house. Your mission isn’t just to remove clutter, but to eliminate everything that makes this house “your home.” 

Remember, allowing your buyer to envision this space as “their home” is what will help you maximize your results from your sale. Thoroughly cleaning and decluttering each room is an excellent way to build the foundation. 


What’s your next move after selling your home? Here are a few ideas to ponder:


3. Decorate With the Buyer in Mind

Once your home is clean top to bottom, it’s time to think about what kind of furniture placement and decor will appeal most to potential buyers. The problem is in knowing what that might look like. 

You could try to guess or decorate to your own tastes while assuming buyers will also love it. However, real estate trends change quickly. What buyers would have paid more for a short time ago now adds no value, or could even be a hindrance.

At this point, the best advice is to seek out an experienced real estate agent who knows what potential buyers are looking for right now.

Working with a professional agent allows you to make the most of home staging without any of the guesswork or uncertainty. With their vision, together you can make your home shine!

Do you have more questions about staging or how to make the most of the current market? We are happy to help you get started. Reach out today to ana@asantos.ca or call 647.232.7317  for more information.