What is home staging and why is it essential in Tavistock and Okehampton today?

There are so many things to think about when selling your home that it can often feel overwhelming. You may have already planned to spruce up your home with repairs, a refresh of the décor and even some decluttering here and there, but what about staging? Many sellers consider home staging as presenting a clean and tidy home, but there is a lot more to it than that. With an increasing number of homes competing for buyers’ attention, home staging could give you the edge in both attracting that attention and securing an optimal price. This is why at Miller Town & Country we wanted to give you all the information to maximise your home’s potential, so let us introduce you to home staging and why it is a necessity today.

What is home staging?

Home staging fuses together interior design and marketing to create an experience for home buyers that allows them to see themselves living in your home. Your home should present a lifestyle – it should be warm and welcoming, with minimal personalised features such as family photos. The goal is to make your home appeal to the maximum number of buyers and allow them to imagine their life in the home (rather than seeing reminders of the current occupants). According to data from the Home Staging Association UK & Ireland ‘staged homes receive an offer in an average of just 45 days, and in 33% of cases, sell over three times faster than a non-staged home.’

In their home staging report 2022, 100% of the respondents agreed that:

• Staging increases the number of viewings.
  
  • Homebuyers spend more time viewing a staged home as opposed to a non-staged home.
  
  • Properties with professional photos get more viewings than properties with poor images.

‘Home staging used to be optional. Today, it's a necessity in selling a house.’ Barbara Corcoran

Staging 2023 key trends

Home staging styles often follow home interior trends. You always want to create a warm and welcoming environment. This year it’s about adding some natural elements, organic textures and, dare we say it, some pops of colour. Wellness is also extremely important this year in interior design, providing a space that promotes healthy living and self-care. Here are some of the key 2023 home-staging trends to think about when you are preparing your home for sale.

Bringing the outside in

Connecting your home with nature is a trend that has been around for a number of years, after all nature is powerful and can impact how we feel, and is a fantastic source of stress relief. You can achieve this by adding some natural elements and shades to your room design as well as materials such as stone, wood and also plants. This is not about overpowering spaces with objects but thoughtfully placing items within a room design to create a cohesive and relaxing atmosphere.

Pops of colour

When it comes to home staging, the common rule of thumb has always been to stick to neutral colours, but this year you can also add a pop of colour to make a space feel less formal. You don’t want to go wild as your décor needs to appeal to a wide selection of potential buyers and colour doesn’t always have to be through paintwork. Colour can be added through soft furnishings, such as throws and pillows, a key accent piece of furniture or even wallpaper.

Accent pieces

Another trend that is coming through from the interior design world is using accent pieces. Using something that is bold will make rooms more intriguing without having to do any major work. Again, you shouldn’t be filling your room full of interesting pieces as it is about adding one or a couple of strategic items such as decorative pieces or even artwork.

It doesn’t have to be expensive

None of this needs to come at a huge cost, and there may even be things tucked away at home which you can utilise if you ‘shop your own home’. Have a rummage around and make use of pretty pieces and unused decorative items which may have found their way into a cupboard. Also try looking in charity and second hand shops for decorative pieces such as mirrors and artwork which could make a big impact but won’t cost too much. Do avoid adding clutter to your home and remember less is more.

It is a necessity

The Okehampton and Tavistock property markets at the moment are definitely in transition towards a buyers’ market, which is why you need to do everything you can to not only add value and attract buyers but to get offers that are exciting and can help you to get moving. If you would like more advice not just on how to present your home, but how to ‘stage’ it ready for market then please do contact the Miller Town and Country Team on 01822 617243 or 01837 54080.