Six Ways to Dress Your Home for a Successful Sale

In this three-minute read, we look at ways to present your property to achieve the best possible deal.

Presenting a home in its best light can significantly bump up the selling price and speed up the transaction. So why don’t all sellers dress their property for a successful sale?

Surprisingly, many people don’t change a thing before they put their home on the market (a decision that hits them in the back pocket). People who take this ‘warts and all’ approach to home-selling tend to fall into three categories.

1. Sellers who have a strong emotional attachment to their home and can’t bear to change a thing.

2. Sellers who think they have brilliant personal taste (often debatable) and can’t put themselves in the shoes of buyers.

3. Sellers who just can’t be bothered.

Whatever the reason, take it from us: a little elbow grease and a small financial outlay can reap serious rewards.

We’re not suggesting that plush cushions and tasteful throws can make up for structural issues or a poor location. But most buyers are driven by emotion; they want to step inside a property and fall in love with it.

So woo them! Set your emotions aside and think about what will hit home with buyers.

Top tips for dressing your property.

Declutter

Bin old furniture or knick-knacks that have seen better days. Sell items that you no longer use (treadmills or exercise bikes often gather dust in the corner of spare rooms). Put bulky possessions that you just can’t part with into storage. It’s all about creating space.

Tidy

Ensure paperwork, photos, toiletries, and washing are out of sight. The same goes for shoes, coats, phone chargers, dog beds, and cat litter trays.

DIY blitz

Draw up a list of odd jobs that need doing and work through it. Fix broken cupboard doors and rickety fences and blitz carpet stains, mould, and damp. Give tired walls a lick of paint in a neutral tone.

Identify your target demographic

If you’re selling a four-bed home with a garden, it’s a fair bet families will be your target market, so make sure the outdoor spaces are welcoming and safe. If you’re marketing a sleek studio, target young professionals and dress the property accordingly.

Don’t send mixed messages

If you’re marketing a four-bed home, make sure each bedroom has a bed in it (even if that means borrowing or renting one). Similarly, if you’re trying to pass a small room off as a study, put a desk, chair, and lamp in it. Never load up rooms with odds and sods like gym equipment, fishing gear, or bikes. This only confuses buyers.

Don’t overlook outdoor spaces

Dress the garden just as you would any other room. That means taking any junk to the tip and installing garden furniture and a few colourful blooms.

For more advice about how to market your home, get in touch with us here at Sarah Mains Residential.