Staging a House versus a Condo

When it’s time to sell your home, you know that creating an attractive feel is critical to getting the highest offers on your home.  Regardless of what property type you have, staging is an important step in preparing for potential buyers to visit.  However, if you’re staging a condominium, the goals and strategies are somewhat different than if you’re staging a single-family home. 

Amount of Furniture

House – Less is more.  The goal is to open up walkways and make the buyer feel like each room has an abundance of space.

Condo – Strategic placement of existing furniture is critical.  Many potential home buyers struggle to envision how a bed and dresser would fit in a small bedroom, so showing that both fit comfortably is important to show the room is big enough.  Avoid clutter, but significantly less furniture may make it appear that the furniture cannot fit.

Personal Items

House – It’s important to remove most items that are unique to your family like family photos.  Potential buyers want to envision themselves in the house, and it’s difficult to do that if there are consistent reminders that this is another family’s home. 

Condo – The same logic for houses applies to condos.  Fewer personal items not only allows buyers to see this as their potential home, but also removes some clutter that can make the area look even smaller.  It’s also especially important to consider personal items in the bathroom, since buyers are likely to spend a significant amount of time looking at the size of medicine cabinets and other storage areas in smaller bathrooms.  Any medications should be removed and put in a safe place.

Amount of Small Objects

House – After removing personal objects, try to take out anything that you don’t absolutely need.  For example, if you’re selling your home during the winter, store all your summer clothes and only keep enough winter clothes for a short period of time.  The extra space in the closet will make the closet look significantly bigger.  The same idea applies to bookshelves.  If your bookshelves are filled to capacity, it looks like you’re forcing things together and so creates the appearance of clutter.  Open up shelves and use only a few decorative objects.

Condo – Everything that is true for houses is true for condos here, with an added concern.  In the kitchen of a condo, counter space is a luxury.  Store any appliances or spice racks that are taking up space on your counters.  The appliances you need, box or put in a cabinet for easy access, but they should not be out while the home is being shown.

Curb Appeal

House – Spruce up your garden, walkway, front door, and everything else that a prospective buyer will see from the outside.  Many home buying decisions are made on the way to the front door, so you want an attractive exterior.

Condo – With a curb, it may seem that curb appeal is irrelevant.  In fact, the appeal comes from the front door.  Make sure the door is well maintained, then take a moment to stand in the doorway and observe what the condo looks like.  The first thing that a buyer sees when the door is opened is one of the most important things in your home.  Add coordinated color, classic style, and anything else you can to make that first look breath-taking.

Picking the strategies that work for your property, can help speed up your selling process!