Home styling services — are they worth it?

Published on 06/04/2018 on https://www.realestatebusiness.com.au/blogs/17106-home-styling-services-are-they-worth-it

Buying a home is an undeniably emotive experience, but can a home styling service really help you achieve a higher sale price? With more than 12 years of industry experience, I’ve seen time and time again how some simple styling tricks can transform a property and attract offers well over the asking price.

As managing director of Biggin & Scott Knox, I have had the privilege of overseeing the sale of a vast number of properties throughout Melbourne’s eastern suburbs. Over the years, I have been asked countless times how clients can maximise the sales price of their home. It’s a question I’ve given a lot of consideration to and one that I’ve studied quite closely throughout my career, and I believe the answer is actually very simple.

In order to get the best price for your property, you need to establish an emotional connection and create an environment that buyers can picture themselves living in. And how can you achieve this? With strategic styling and expert decorating. To put my theory into action, I began honing my passion for design and started offering home styling services.

Before long, this additional offering blossomed into a thriving business of its own. Operating as a bespoke home styling agency under the name Hollywood Interior Designs, my secondary venture saw almost immediate success. Why? Because home styling services are just that effective.

Recently, a client contacted me regarding the sale of their two-bedroom town house in Croydon. The market indicated that it would be possible to achieve a price of approximately $550,000, but the client was hoping to expand on this. With the assistance of my styling service, the property sold for a price of $596,000 — a whopping $96,000 more than what a comparable property in the very same complex had sold for only a few weeks earlier!

In my view, results like this speak for themselves, and I would encourage all vendors to consider all of their options before putting their house on the market. However, if hiring a home styling professional is not within your budget, here are some of my most effective low-cost tips that you can implement when selling your home to achieve a superior sales price.

Tidy up and remove clutter
When preparing your property for the photographer or for an open home, your first priority should be to tidy up and remove any clutter. Having excess items around the house can cause rooms to feel smaller than they really are, so you should try to avoid leaving unnecessary items lying around. Remember, the same applies to the backyard, so consider storing any children’s play equipment, bikes or gardening equipment in the garage. Space is at a premium these days and clutter will detract from this.

Minimise personal effects
While you are cleaning up and decluttering, make sure to remove all personal items from around the home — photographs, in particular. Essentially, you want prospective buyers to be able to imagine the home is theirs, so you want to avoid reminding them that other people actually live in the property. If possible, try to remove as much of your personal belongings as possible, save for stylish pieces of furniture and visually appealing decorative items.

Keep it neutral
If you are considering undergoing some minor renovations prior to sale, my best piece of advice is to steer clear of bold colour schemes and try to keep it as neutral as possible. A fresh coat of paint can do wonders, but remember, not everyone will share your own personal style, so clean white walls with subtle accents of colour is the most effective way to appeal to a broad range of buyers.

Add a touch of luxury
For a simple way to make your home that extra bit more memorable, consider adding a beautiful bouquet of fresh flowers or a fragrant, scented candle. Never underestimate the power of the senses, and smell can be equally emotive as sight! It’s the finishing touches like these that can really make a buyer connect with your property, and often it’s these finer details that can set your home ahead of the rest.

Danelle Hunter Biggin & Scott Knox