When it comes to
homes for sale in Napa, CA, homeowners are looking to attract buyers who love their luxury homes as much as they do. Chances are, you feel the same way about your home. But, buyers will probably not be in love with worn-out appliances or marked-up walls that your family has come accustomed to. Therefore, you'll want to give your space a fresh, new look to allow potential buyers to get a feel for the possibilities of your luxury home. Home staging is a great way to do this and can be a vital part of the selling process.
What is home staging?
When you have potential buyers coming to your Napa Valley, CA home to take a look around, your goal is likely to have them feel at home or see themselves actually living there. You want them to feel like they're not in a stranger's house. While too many personal belongings around a home can distract people, rooms that are completely bare can come off impersonal and cold. The solution to this is home staging.
Home staging is where the luxury home up for sale is furnished and decorated temporarily to make it more appealing to potential home buyers. In some cases, there may be renovations made. While it is possible for you to stage your own luxury home, it's best to let a home staging professional do the work for you. Your Napa Valley real estate agent may be able to provide you with a recommendation or referral list of staging companies you can look into.
Why home staging is important
One thing about luxury homes is most are very spacious. Therefore, it can be a challenge to properly maximize, decorate, and utilize each space properly. With too much space, it can become overwhelming. Staging is crucial since each room is set up. Using the right furniture can help to create zones and give it the proper layout.
Ways staging can help sell your luxury home faster
Well-staged Napa Valley homes for sale look amazing and attract potential buyers. In contrast, properties that don't go through staging struggle to attract prospective buyers.
When you have your luxury home on the market, staging is an important part of the selling process. Because potential luxury homebuyers have different preferences and perspectives, staging methods for luxury homes will be different from those of regular homes. Even so, there are a number of ways staging can help you sell your luxury home.
1. Helps homebuyers emotionally connect
Staging helps showcase an appealing, move-in-ready luxury home that generates an emotional connection with homebuyers. You can make a memorable impression by updating decor with an inviting, on-trend style, especially in:
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Primary bedrooms
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Dining rooms
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Living rooms
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2. Sells a lifestyle
Staging sells more than just a home — it sells a lifestyle. Homebuyers in the market for a luxury home in Napa, CA, are looking for a specific lifestyle. Staging helps you create the illusion of lifestyle. For instance, if you have a waterfront home, you can decorate it with water-inspired art. Or, if your luxury home has a breathtaking view of the ocean or sunset, draw potential homebuyers' eyes to this particular feature of your home and property through the way the outdoor furniture is arranged.
Staging can impact the sale of an empty home significantly. Vacant homes, on average,
sell for around $11,000 less than furnished homes. They also sit for six days longer on the market than furnished homes.
When a home is staged, it's easier for potential buyers to see themselves living in the home. Not to mention, furniture helps to create a reference point for scale. Rooms may seem bigger furnished with proportional furniture than they would if the home is unfurnished.
Staging also helps take the attention away from blemishes and brings out your luxury home's unique features. For example, you can create a warm and cozy vignette by staging armchairs near a fireplace. Cover up old floors with well-placed area rugs.
3. Shows a home's potential
Home staging shows how to use the space with decor and furniture. Neutral designs are appealing to a large range of consumers and show off the architecture's positive features. It's far more appealing for potential homebuyers to see stylish representations of what the home could potentially look like than simply seeing empty living space.
4. Makes luxury homes appear larger
While it might seem counterintuitive, empty homes can make a home feel smaller than when they're completely furnished. A professional staging company will bring in different accessories and furniture that will help scale the rooms. This gives potential buyers the impression that it's a larger space than it really is.
5. Increases perceived value
You accentuate the home's positives and minimize the negatives to help make it look more valuable. For example, you could declutter and depersonalize the space to eliminate any potential distractions. After that, you could:
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Brighten up the space with a fresh coat of neutral wall color paint
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Arrange furniture strategically, removing bulky pieces
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Remove old window treatments
Simple updates like these can help enhance the unique features of your luxury home and increase its perceived value.
According to NAR's 2021 Profile of Home Staging,
more than a quarter of buyers will overlook the faults of a luxury home and property if it's staged.
6. Helps make it through the inspection and appraisal process
Homes go through contracts fast in a hot seller's market. But, many of these contracts fall through. This is because buyers are feeling pressured to jump on properties that they're not totally in love with and that don't check all the boxes on their wish list. When buyers aren't completely committed to the home, there's a higher risk they'll back out of the contract.
Perhaps the home down the road turns up on the market while your home is still going through the inspection period. And, maybe the neighbors had their home professionally staged and it looks spectacular. It may be more expensive, but because the homeowners took the time to have it staged and presented well, the buyers back out of your contract to scoop it up because they fall in love with it.
Or, perhaps the inspection report on your home shows a previously unknown plumbing problem. This may not phase the potential buyers if they've already fallen in love with your home and can see themselves hosting Thanksgiving dinner there. It's the emotional connection that's important and helps keep buyers from backing out and staging will help make it.
7. Helps sell homes priced above market value
If the price of Napa Valley homes for sale in your neighborhood rise and you're attempting to price slightly above market value, it's important more than ever to stage your home. You'll need to step up your game to convince potential buyers that your luxury home is more valuable than the competition.
Staging your home will give it that move-in charm, which is something many potential homebuyers are willing to pay more for. At higher prices, it's more vital than ever to stage homes, since higher-end homes sit on the market longer — much longer than the average single-family home. This is because only a limited buyer group can actually afford the higher price tags.
8. Staged home photos get more views
Most homebuyers will go online to begin their home search journey. Buyers are persuaded by visual cues. Therefore, the quality of the photos you put online can impact a buying decision. It's your first impression that can turn into your last impression, so it's important you peak buyers' interest with your online photos of your home and staging is one way to seal the deal before they even step foot into your home.
Staging is a critical part of the selling process, no matter what the real estate market looks like. Homeownership is one of the biggest investments people make. To increase your negotiating power, you want to create spaces with which potential buyers will fall in love. But keep in mind, that staging will vary from home to home. There isn't a one-size-fits-all staging approach. Also, you're not dealing with the typical homebuyer. Luxury home buyers are a different group of buyers that aren't "wowed" by standard home fixtures and accessories you see all over Instagram. This is why it's important you work with a professional stager to present your home, and you can start by working with your real estate agent.
Connect with Lauren Lawson Napa Valley, CA realtor to determine if staging will play an important role in the sale of your Napa Valley real estate. If she believes your home will sell quickly or for a higher price, she'll recommend a professional staging company in her network.
Contact Lauren today!
