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Seller Staging Tips for Appealing to Millennial Buyers
If you are planning on selling your home in the near future then this article about appealing to the largest home buyer market segment…millennials is important must read material for you. Why? Because the market and what’s hot and what’s not has changed dramatically over the past few years. If you want to maximize your home selling price and appeal to the greatest buying pool today then we encourage you to take action today to take advantage of these trends. The first thing a prospective home seller usually starts thinking about is getting their home ready to sell. With that said, you may be asking yourself what kinds of updates should you consider? What improvements should you make, if any? And should you stage your home?
These are all important questions to ask as you make decisions about your home’s condition. Getting top dollar for your home requires that the home really shines when buyers compare it to other homes in your market. This is part of our best in class series of helpful articles and tips that we have written to share with you to help you understand the dynamics of todays buyers and sellers.
The first step in preparing your home for the market is to think like a buyer, not a homeowner.
Millennial Buyers – the largest buyer segment
Who are they? Home Buyer Profiles for 2020:
• The millennial generation is defined as those who are 36 years
old and younger.
• Generation X is 37 to 51
• Younger Boomers are 52 to 61.
• Older Boomers are 62 to 70
• the Silent Generation are aged 71 to 91.
Nick Santoro says, that no matter where you live in the United States, no matter what your profession, background or generation, no doubt you have seen and heard much about the generation called the “millennials.”
Millennials are the people born between 1981 and 1997. It is important to understand certain behavioral patterns shared by most millennials.
Millennials are set to become the largest home buying generation in U.S. history and, more than likely, a millennial may be the next buyer of your home.
Millennial buyers (age 36 years and younger) represent 66% or 2/3 of today’s buyers and were first-time buyers. Over one quarter or 28% of today’s buyers were Gen X buyers (age 37 to 51). So, 92% of today’s buyers were Millennials or Gen X’ers….
Millennials have demonstrated certain characteristics due to the times in which they grew up….namely, the “Great Recession”. Some of these traits are distinctly different than other generations, like their financial outlook. But, surprisingly, many traits are just the same as the rest of us. Check out these trends as reported by NAR:
- This generation has delayed homeownership because of student debt
and underemployment. However, when they do step up to the real estate
market, they tend to bypass the traditional “starter home”
and opt for a larger “forever home”.
- Although they have gravitated towards urban areas when renting,
the majority (74%) opt for a single-family home in the suburbs for
their home purchase.
- Millennials as a demographic value relationships and look for homes
with entertaining spaces, including outdoor spaces. Outdoor rooms
have value, just like the interior of a home.
- This generation of homebuyers values smart home technology, as they
obviously have grown up with more technology at their fingertips than
any other generation.
- Like all of us, storage is an important part of a home to this demographic.
- As far as home styles, this generation of buyers falls into two
diverse camps: If they choose a period home, they want everything
to be authentic. If not an older home, then they want everything to
be modern. Simple as that.
- Millennials consider function over size
At Personal Property Managers, our team has been working with Millennials for several years and is co-owned and managed by millennials.
Millennials Want to be ‘wowed’
We’ve seen it time and time again over the last few years, these young buyers want to be swept off their feet by “how the home lives”. Millennials are internet savvy and fact based buyers. Even if they start their homebuyer journey with facts and figures, lists of features and lifestyle preferences, their final decision is usually the house that makes their hearts skip a beat.
When Millennial buyers are considering a home, at the top of their
minds is how the spaces fit into their “ideal life” which
is based more on pleasure than work that needs to be done. Remember
to think like a buyer to be a successful home seller.
Think like a Buyer when staging your home
While staging certainly fits into any good real estate marketing plan, remember that home staging itself does not sell a home. What good staging does is make the home more appealing to the highest number of potential buyers. Staged homes sell quicker, according to numerous studies. Think about how you can present your home’s spaces in a way that appeals to a home buyer’s lifestyle ideals. Here are our five top tips to accomplish this goal throughout your house:
Living Rooms for Living
Most buyers are looking for space. Space for their stuff, and space to entertain. A living space, no matter what size or configuration, can be a place to entertain. Most of the time, we find that homeowners need to edit their furniture and decor to give a sense of more space in their living rooms. Start by de-cluttering. Clean out everything that you have not used in a while.
When you’re arranging your furniture and decor in your living room, family room or great room, keep your furniture to scale. Remember the “rule of three”. Three pieces of furniture are usually enough. The coffee table grounds a conversation space.
Bring in some plants to bring the outdoors in and liven up the space. And don’t fake it with silk! That was a 90’s trend that will scream “this home is so outdated!”
Bedrooms – comfort and light colors
Comfort is the buzzword for bedrooms. It’s not difficult to stage a bedroom for comfort. Like the living spaces, you’ll want to declutter. While your are decluttering, don’t forget to pack up some personal things. Pack up half of your clothes and your closets will magically appear to have so much space!
Buy an “all-in-one” comforter set to unify the decor. Update your window treatments. If you need to add visual space to a room, mirrors work wonders.
One of the easiest things to do in the bedroom, as well as throughout
your house, is to light it up. Update your lighting if needed. Get
the brightest bulbs your fixtures will handle, and make sure the windows
are clean. When showing your home, open the window treatments and
let the light in.
But your home will need to be clean, because guess what all that light
will show?
Bathroom appeal
With our busy and hectic lives today, we all appreciate a bathroom that has a Spa appeal. No matter what your bathrooms are like, you can easily add spa-like touches. Think of the things you find in a hotel bathroom: soft neutral tones, plush towels, a basket of fancy soaps and lotions, candles, and beautiful containers and dispensers.
Now think about what you don’t find…you don’t find clutter. The bathroom, above all, needs to be clean, clean, clean. When staging your bathroom, be sure to remove your personal things. The lack of your personal things will allow buyers to imagine themselves in the space.
The Kitchen – the center piece of any home
“Kitchens sell homes.” REALTORS say that a lot! That’s because it’s true. The kitchen is the most expensive room in the home. One could say it’s the most important room in the house to stage.
If your kitchen is dated, you’ll need to consider updating. But it doesn’t have to cost a fortune. For most homes, modest updates give a better return on investment than a major kitchen renovation.
If updates aren’t in the budget, you can still stage your kitchen to highlight the best features. First, the kitchen needs to be sparkling clean. Finishes need to shine. Remove the clutter…including the coffee maker and other appliances. You’ll create more counter space for a buyer to imagine their own stuff.
It’s amazing how much the work of cleaning and declutter will do for your kitchen…and it’s free! With the countertops completely bare, you can create a vignette that suggests your kitchen is a great place to cook. Place a large bowl of bright-colored fruit in the center of the table or the island.
Next, arrange table and chairs to enhance your space. Scale is important in the kitchen. Smaller tables make the eat-in area more spacious. Again, let the light in to visually add space.
Curb Appeal that Wins Hearts
Did you know that a buyer knows if they like a home within the first 30 seconds? We can share with you that on several occasions, we have worked with buyers and lined up several homes to preview and then when pulling up to the house the buyer takes one look at an un-kept yard and says, forget it, let’s move on to the next house. All kinds of studies of homebuyers have consistently found that curb appeal matters. All the rules for staging the home inside are applicable for staging the outside.
Declutter, clean, paint and highlight the best features. It’s really that simple. And it usually just takes a little elbow grease.
Clean up the weeds and trim back the overgrowth. Power wash any stains and grime. Paint the door and trim a fresh, welcoming color. Fill in bare spots with colorful, easy care flowers. Use pots if you don’t have space or good soil. Finally, add a fresh covering of mulch to tidy it up.
Making Your Home More Appealing
By thinking like a buyer, we’re confident that home sellers can make their homes more appealing to today’s Millennial buyers.
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