How to Stage Your Home for Great Listing Photos

What do home staging and real estate photography have in common? Both methods are meant to highlight a property’s most impressive and distinctive features. When done right, both practices should make a home sell faster.

The power of high-quality listing photos

90% of buyers searched online during the buying process, making it imperative for sellers to include multiple listing photos to capture their attention and persuade them to view the home in person. Moreover, properties with high quality listing photos sell 32% faster than comparable homes with low quality listing photos.

While the services of a professional real estate photographer are indispensable, it’s important to stage the property prior to taking photos for maximum effect.

47% of Realtors believe that home staging has an impact on buyers’ perception of a home while 82% are convinced that home makes it easier for buyers to visualize a property as their future home.

The combination of professional home staging and real estate photography can help sellers feel more confident about listing their homes and attracting the right offers.

How to stage your home for top-notch listing photos

• Create the illusion of more space by decluttering – Remove excess furniture and keep unsightly wires and piles of old magazines out of sight for an orderly and spotless look. Keep décor tasteful and minimal. With fewer objects crowding your home, you can create the feeling of a more spacious area in real estate photos.​​
• Depersonalize your home – Before photographing your home, remove personal items like family pictures, collectibles, memorabilia, and similar items that mark the property as your space. Stick to essentials like basic furnishings and tasteful decorative pieces. Use neutral colors and abstract artwork to add a bit of flair to the interiors without being too overt.
• Turn on the lights and let sunlight in – A combination of natural and artificial lighting can make your home appear warm and inviting, helping buyers envision a bright and positive place that’s delightful to live in. Open up windows and turn on all the lights, but make sure to avoid direct and harsh lighting that can negatively impact photo quality. You can diffuse light and glare with sheer curtains and other furnishings.
• Clean reflective surfaces and objects – Before having photos taken, take note of any reflective surfaces and objects in the home, like wall mirrors and stainless steel kitchen appliances, and make sure that they’re spotless. Dirt, dust, grease, mold, and even fingerprints can show up in the photos and make your listing look unappealing.
• Accentuate positive or unique home features – Use home staging and real estate photography to highlight the positives of your home, such as a commercial grade kitchen, a spacious walk-in closet, or a spa-style bathroom.
• Play up your home’s curb appeal – Don’t forget to ask the photographer to capture images of the exterior of your home. Make sure that your home exterior is photographed in the best lighting conditions. Remove any vehicles from the driveway, trim the grass, and clear away dead leaves, trash, and debris.

If you’re selling a home in Wenatchee, WA and the surrounding areas, message Coldwell Banker Lake Chelan Properties here. You can also contact us at 509.682.7777 and Info(at)CBChelan(dotted)com for more information. We’d be happy to help you find the right buyer for your home.