How to maximise your property’s sale price

The ever-rising sums of money involved in selling or letting property is leading a larger number of home owners to call on the services of an established and reputable estate agent in a bid to maximise the property’s value.

While your choice of the right agent is likely to make all the difference in successfully selling or letting your home or commercial premises, there is still room for some important contribution to the process on your own part.

One of the critical aspects of preparing your home for that potential sale is popularly known as “staging” – a process of making the very best of your home and showing it off to its best advantage.

Here are some of the suggestions made by East London estate agent Peach Properties, which specialises in marketing homes in trendy Shoreditch and its surrounding areas.

  • Staging may prove the considerably more satisfying alternative to reducing the asking price on a property you want to sell;
  • Staging is all about improving the immediate, physical appearance of your home to create a good overall impression of its style and character;
  • Style is an extremely personal judgement and question of taste, however, so an important part of your approach is to accept that elements of your home’s décor might not be to everyone’s tastes and your ability to envisage the more general appeal is likely to count for a lot;
  • You may need to depersonalise your home by removing all those photographs and family mementos that mean a lot to you but leave outsiders completely unmoved;
  • Staging your home to maximise its sales potential may take more time, flair and creativity than you imagine. Makeover programs on the television might make it all seem much simpler than the reality;
  • One aspect that requires no or very little creativity on your part is ensuring that unnecessary clutter has been removed from your home and that it is completely clean and tidy. First impressions of an untidy, cluttered home in need of a good spring clean may put off many potential buyers;
  • A clear definition of your living space might also be important. You may know how you have been using the space in each room for, but it is now more important that potential buyers latch onto that identity too;
  • Wallpaper may be the kiss of death, with many viewers throwing up their hands in horror at your choice. Consider stripping it all down and painting the wall in a neutral shade. But on no account just paint over existing wallpaper, since that tactic looks cheap and tacky;
  • Remember that you are also trying to sell the lifestyle, so little touches such as freshly made coffee when you have viewings can help prospective buyers imagine themselves living in your home.

Staging may be a relatively unfamiliar term when it comes to property marketing in the UK, but it is not just being used by house sellers. With landlords now raking in £4bn a year from their buy-to-let properties, according to a recent report, letting agents are also jumping on the staging bandwagon in a bid to maximise a property’s value. Getting it right may make all the difference in concluding the sale or letting of your property – at the price you are expecting.