Why Preparing Your Home to Sell Matters More Than Ever

For the past several years, sellers in Massachusetts and Rhode Island became accustomed to hearing about homes selling quickly, multiple offers, and buyers willing to overlook imperfections.

But as the market shifts and buyers have more choices, how your home looks and feels is going to matter more and more.

At the Seavey Realty Team, we have always believed that preparing a home properly isn't simply about making it look pretty.

It is part of the selling strategy.

Pricing, condition, staging and marketing all need to work together if you want to achieve the strongest possible result.

Your First Showing Is Online — But Your Most Important Showing Is in Person

Professional photography, video, floor plans and online marketing are incredibly important.

They get buyers interested enough to schedule a showing.

But then they walk through the front door.

That's where the real decision begins.

A home should feel warm, inviting and easy to imagine living in.

This is also why we don't believe virtual staging does the entire job.

Virtual staging may make an empty room look beautiful online, but when the buyer arrives and finds an empty house, the experience can feel completely different.

Virtual staging changes the picture. Physical staging changes the experience.

And there is a big difference.

Buyers Need to Picture THEIR Life in Your Home

The National Association of REALTORS® found that 83% of buyers' agents said staging made it easier for buyers to visualize a property as their future home.

That is exactly what we are trying to accomplish.

When someone enters your home, we want them thinking:

“I could live here.”

Not:

“This is someone else's house.”

That is why I recommend removing every personal photograph before your home goes on the market.

Family wedding pictures, children's photos, school pictures and walls filled with family memories may mean everything to you — but they make the house feel more like your home.

We want buyers imagining it as their home.

They should be picturing their family around the kitchen island, relaxing in the family room and waking up in the primary bedroom.

We Have Seen What Physical Staging Can Do

One of our best examples was a home that had previously been listed at $749,000 for 251 days and marketed with virtual staging.

It did not sell.

When we took over the listing, we physically staged the home and repositioned it at $739,000.

The result?

Six offers the first weekend.

The home ultimately sold for $770,000 — $31,000 over our asking price.

Even more interesting, several of the buyers had previously seen the property.

The house itself had not changed.

The way buyers experienced it had.

That is why we take staging seriously.

Staging Doesn't Mean Filling a House With Furniture

Good staging is not decorating.

Sometimes it actually means taking things away.

We look at:

• furniture placement

• clutter

• personal photographs

• countertops

• closets

• lighting

• artwork

• bedding

• room purpose

• small repairs

• paint and touch-ups

• curb appeal

Sometimes removing one oversized piece of furniture can make a room feel dramatically larger.

Sometimes changing bedding or adding a few pillows transforms a bedroom.

And sometimes an empty or awkward room simply needs to be shown with a clear purpose.

The goal is not to make your house look artificial.

The goal is to remove distractions and allow the house itself to shine.

Don't Wait Until Your Home Isn't Selling

One of the biggest mistakes sellers make is saying:

“Let's put it on the market and see what happens.”

Then, after several weeks without an offer, they start discussing staging, painting, repairs or a price reduction.

By then, buyers have already seen the listing.

Days on market have accumulated.

And you've lost the opportunity to make your strongest first impression.

We believe in doing the work before Day One.

Your first weekend on the market matters.

Don't waste it.

How the Seavey Realty Team Prepares Your Home

When you list with the Seavey Realty Team at Keller Williams Elite, we don't simply put your home in MLS and hope buyers come.

We walk through your property with you and determine what should be done — and just as importantly, what you shouldn't waste money doing.

We help prepare and physically stage the home, using our own staging inventory when needed.

Then we combine that preparation with professional photography, floor plans, video, drone photography and 3D marketing when appropriate.

Because our job isn't simply to list your home.

Our job is to position it to compete.

And as the market continues to shift, that difference is going to matter more than ever.

Thinking About Selling?

If you're considering selling in North Attleboro, Attleboro, Mansfield, Plainville, Wrentham, Foxboro, Rehoboth, Cumberland or the surrounding Massachusetts and Rhode Island communities, talk with us before you start making changes.

We'll walk through your home and show you exactly how we would prepare it for today's buyer.

Seavey Realty Team | Keller Williams Elite
Lori Seavey, REALTOR®
508-446-1258
SeaveyRealtyTeam.com

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