With stunning mountain views, an endless list of outdoor activities, and all the perks of living in the big city, the coveted lifestyle in the Mile High City is hard to beat. Beyond all the amenities Denver offers its residents, the area's friendly neighborhoods are prized for their walkable streets, tight-knit communities, and gorgeous homes ranging from condos and townhouses to lavish estates. Houses for sale in Hilltop span a broad range of architectural styles, including English Cottage, Tudor, Mediterranean Revival, Mid-Century Modern, modern, and ultra-modern homes. These properties are highly sought after. Yet, the Denver housing market can be competitive and unpredictable. Homes spent an average of 46 days on the market in February and only nine in August.

Selling your home fast is a priority. Undue time spent on the market can influence buyer perception of your property and force you to decrease your asking price. To successfully sell your Hilltop home in record time, you need a competitive listing that effectively showcases the home's attributes and potential to deliver the ideal Denver lifestyle. Home staging is a powerful tool that can help you reach your goals. Staged homes sell 25% faster than their unstaged counterparts and can help to increase the sale price by up to 20%.

Home staging is the process of making your home an environment the buyer can imagine as their own. It requires decluttering, removal of personal items, and decorating in a way that appeals to a wide range of home seekers. In 2023, 81% of buyer's agents said staging a home made it easier for a buyer to visualize the property as a future home.

An unstaged home either contains belongings that reflect the personality and lifestyle of the current residents or is a collection of empty rooms. Neither of these scenarios is ideal for a prospective buyer to make a connection. The first is a reminder that the home belongs to someone else, and the latter makes it difficult to envision each room as a comfortable living space.

Home staging simultaneously creates a blank slate and shares the potential of a home. A home stager understands how to optimize the available space in each room, draw attention to special features, and create a livable space that the buyers will want for themselves. The process essentially reduces harmful elements so positive characteristics can be easily identified. According to the National Association of REALTORS® (NAR), more than a quarter of buyers are willing to overlook property faults if a home is staged.

Everything from wall color to decor and furniture can change the way a buyer sees a home. Uncluttered surfaces, on-trend decor, natural light, and unobstructed space allow buyers to clearly see how they would use the home's space. These are the typical steps in the home staging process. 

 

Clutter obstructs attractive home features and makes rooms appear smaller. By removing all unnecessary items from surfaces in each room, you eliminate distractions that could prevent prospective buyers from recognizing your home's best characteristics. Remove items from each room that aren't used daily.

Once you remove clutter, you might find other issues that devalue your home. Dingy grout, fading paint, and dings and scratches are minor problems that age your home and decrease its value in the eyes of home shoppers. Either deep clean your home or have it professionally cleaned so buyers won't be distracted by minor issues.

 

Most homeowners add personal touches to their decor. It makes the environment feel more intimate and uniquely yours. While there's nothing wrong with personalizing your home, it can change how prospective buyers engage with the space. Photos of your family, toys, books, and other keepsakes remind shoppers that the home they're in belongs to someone else. By packing them up and storing them elsewhere, you create space where potential buyers can imagine putting their own possessions.

 

A professional home stager sees the rooms in your home differently. Staging your home requires you to optimize the space and showcase the function of a room. This step may require removing excess furniture from rooms and rearranging the remaining pieces to maximize each room's potential and improve your home's appeal.

 

While you want your home to appear clean and spacious, you don't want it to feel like a void. Fresh paint and tasteful decor create a model home appeal that buyers engage with. Paint walls in a neutral color that makes the most of natural light. Consider renting or buying artwork to accessorize empty walls throughout the home. Add finishing touches by placing eye-catching decor selectively around each room.

 

Your home's exterior creates a valuable first impression for prospective buyers, making it a crucial part of the staging process. Examine your home to ensure nothing is broken or damaged. Any flaws will be immediately noticeable to home seekers. Consider having your home's exterior pressure washed to remove any mildew or dirt that makes your siding look dingy. For a final touch with a big impact, repainting your entry doors and shutters in a striking hue can add personality and liven up your home's facade.

Your landscape is an integral part of your home's curb appeal. Throughout the time your home is on the market, your yard should be well-maintained and weed-free. You can also make minor adjustments to enhance your existing landscape. Fresh mulch, outdoor decor, and the addition of fresh flowers can spruce up the appearance of your outdoor space and make it more appealing to buyers.

When you want to reduce the number of days your Hilltop home spends on the market, you need a professional real estate agent who recognizes the many facets of a listing agent's job. From performing a comparative market analysis to creating a custom marketing plan and taking steps to prepare your home for sale (like staging), your real estate agent should act as a sales partner and a guide.

Nick Bruce is an experienced REALTOR® with extensive knowledge of the Denver real estate market. He is committed to helping sellers realize the highest return on the sale of their home and reduce the number of days your home spends on the market. Get in touch to learn more about how Nick can help you quickly sell your Hilltop home.