What you should know about selling empty/vacant houses

It is fairly uncommon to find a property being sold vacant. As a rule, vacant properties are harder to sell than occupied or staged properties. It has nothing to do with the price or quality of the property. It’s how prospective buyers view a vacant home and today’s expectation that Real Estate agents properly prepare and market homes for sale. Here are a few reasons why vacant homes are harder to sell. 

Empty rooms appear smaller than they are

It is hard for buyers to correctly guess the proportions of a room when bare. This is because pieces of furniture in a room give us a frame of reference for measuring the room. Buyers will assume that a vacant room is smaller than one with furniture. This is true even when the vacant room is larger. 

Empty rooms show their flaws

Décor and furniture deflect buyer’s attention away from any flaws a room might have. In an empty room, there is nothing for a buyer to focus on in terms of functionality. Their scrutiny is more thorough and they are likely to fixate on minor issues. 

Empty rooms lack personality

When surveying an empty house, it’s hard to imagine what the room would look like furnished. There is nothing about the room to spark imagination/evoke emotions. As a result, buyers experience the property as a house and not a home. Since emotions are a big part of how people make buying decisions, this results in buyer indecision and wasted time.

Empty homes are harder to market

Selling an empty property forces the owner to build their marketing strategy on the location and price of the house. By staging the house, the seller introduces emotional elements that can be used to promote it. The value of each space, once staged, is highlighted so the buyer is forced to evaluate all the spaces that appeal to them instead of just the overall price of the home.

Empty homes are hard to differentiate

At any given time, there are hundreds of properties on the market that are similar in size, design, and price. When confronted with a choice between two comparable houses, buyers will go with the one that has the greater emotional appeal. A vacant house puts itself at a disadvantage in this regard. Even if it has better features, there is no way to make them shine. 

How Staging a Home Sets You Apart

The latest staging statistics of 4,505 vacant homes showed an 18% increase over list price once professionally staged. Rather than tell buyers about a property, staging allows you to show potential buyers the best aspects of a property. The evidence of the home’s potential is right before the buyer’s eyes giving them hope for the future.

Successful Realtors partner with professional stagers to prepare and market homes that:

Display desired lifestyles

Staging helps you show buyers that the property matches what they envisioned for their dream home. Without staging, the house is nothing more than a structure of wood, cement, and plaster. Staging provides the house it’s identity and personality. 

Maximize spaces

Regardless of how tiny or awkward the rooms in a house are, staging shows value in each space. The spaciousness of a room is more about how furniture, décor, and paint are utilized, rather than actual dimensions. 

Look AMAZING in listing photos

The first place most buyers will encounter a house is on the internet. Staged homes are not only visually appealing; they are specifically designed for the internet. These pictures are highly sharable, which means that a lot more people are going to see the listing and prioritize the listing to visit…which results in faster offers tied to your marketing! 

Increase a home’s perceived value

The final sales price of a property is determined by the value buyers place on it and not what the owner asks for it. Staging a home increases its perceived value because buyers are already emotionally attached to the property and therefore willing to pay more for it. 

The “Fear of Missing Out” phenomenon is real.  Staged properties bring immediate and substantial offers from buyers not wanting to miss out on their dream home! FOMO buyers tend to not negotiate down on price…it’s gratification for them to experience a stylish home that warrants the price. It’s a win-win for the seller to also profit off a great sale and for the Realtor who gains a larger commission and a quick sale!

Boost your brand

The better your homes are presented and marketed as a whole, the better your personal brand will be.  You’ll get more referrals from sellers who appreciate you taking pride in their largest asset as well as preferential viewings from other agents who look forward to your listings consistently marketed as beautiful, move-in-ready homes.

Ready to stand out from the competition and be recognized for listing gorgeous homes?  Click Now

See how a staging investment of just $950 to $2,900 can result in a listing that sells faster and for more money!