6 Steps to Stage Your Portland Home Like a Pro

Professional home staging: the art of arranging furniture and decor to help buyers imagine what it would feel like to live in your home. Whether you are “staging” the home you already occupy, or are bringing furniture into a vacant property, professional home staging can make a big impact on your home sale.

Complimentary Home Staging Consultations

As a top, experienced Portland real estate agent, I know how important this can be and so offer complimentary home staging consultation on all of my listings. For around 2 hours, the professional home stager will walk through the home with you, from room to room, making suggestions on the furniture and decor you already have. If you need a vacant home staged we will assist you in the process (every home is different).

Professional Home Staging Works

Here in Portland, my real estate team has confirmed again and again that staging a home results in more buyer walk-throughs. Buyers who visit a staged home are more likely to make an offer, and these homes spend less time on the market than unstaged homes.

These observations are backed up by data from the National Association of Realtors. In addition, about one-third of buyers’ agents surveyed for the NAR’s 2017 Profile of Home Staging found that staging a home increased the dollar value offered between one and five percent.

Let’s translate that into real numbers: Portland’s current average home price is $429,000 (RMLS Market Action Report November 2017). That means the seller of this “average” Portland home has the potential to bring in an offer of $4K – $20K more by staging their home. That can be quite a significant return on investment.

For most Portland home sellers, spending thousands of dollars on staging may not be practical – or needed. Read on to learn how to reap the benefits of staging without breaking the bank.

DIY Home Staging Tips

1. Declutter. Store any personal items, including kids’ toys, pictures of family, unnecessary bathroom items and countertop appliances in the kitchen. Clean your home from top to bottom.
2. Clean up the yard and put away non-seasonal decor or unused outdoor furnishings, barbecues, etc.
3. Focus on the front of your home. Keep porches neat and tidy; take all personal affects from the entryway and living area. The idea is to allow buyers to imagine that they already live in your home.
4. Repaint. If your interior walls haven’t been painted in a few years, doing so will brighten and improve just about any room. It’s an easy DIY project if you have the time. Go with light, neutral colors for the greatest buyer appeal.
5. Check out photos of staged homes online for design ideas. You don’t need to be a pro to put together a room that looks comfortable but not crowded. Identify each room’s focal point and draw attention there; keep the rest of the room as simple as possible.
6. For more practical home design tips, check out this Lifehacker article.

Pro photos are a necessary finish to pro staging.

The best redecorating job in the world will not do the work of selling your home if the photos are dark, blurry and poorly composed. See our post on the why’s of professional home photography here — and contact us if you’d like to take advantage of professional photography as part of our comprehensive listing package.