How to Stage Every Room Like a Showplace for Your Listing Photoshoot
Use this room-by-room guide on how to stage a house for photos to get your house primped, primed, and ready for its close-up.
A picture is worth a thousand words, or in the world of real estate, thousands of dollars.
“The quality of your listing photos can increase the number of showings you get,” explains Dalton Carroll, a top-selling agent in Arlington, Texas from the Lionheart Real Estate Group. “You have a better chance of getting your best offer from a pool of 20 excited buyers, versus 5 buyers who are just hoping your house will work for them.”
Buyers are attracted to high-quality photos, which makes them more likely to want to see your house in person even if other listing details (such as the size, location, or number of bedrooms) aren’t a perfect match. In fact, 41% of buyers report that photos are the most valuable content on a website — making them an integral part of the home purchasing process.
However, there’s only so much a pro photographer can do to make your home look good if you haven’t taken time to stage your home before the photo shoot. That’s where you, as a homeowner, need to take the initiative to do the prep work. We’ve put together this room-by-room guide to help you get every space of the house ready for its close-up.
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Pre-staging prep to help your home shine in listing photos
In our survey of top-selling agents, 38% said sellers should take staging as an additional step to sell their homes amid persistent high rates.
So, first things first, you need to scrub down your house until its every nook and cranny is as clean as possible — from those spiderwebs in your ceiling corners to the dust bunnies clinging on your baseboards.
Next, declutter every surface in every room, including toiletries in the bathroom, and throw pillows on your couch or bed.
“The most important step to staging your house for listing photos is decluttering,” says Carroll. “Find staging examples that make sense for your home — like simplifying every room.”
Don’t assume you can just tuck your stuff away when the photographer arrives. It’ll take longer than you think, which means you’ll be paying a pro by the hour to wait while you straighten up.
While you’re at it, take time to depersonalize your home, too. While you don’t need to remove every single family photo, keep those personal images to a minimum. Hide any private information, too, like bills and bank statements.
Once you’ve transformed your cozy home back into a blank slate, it’s time to transform each room into a photo-worthy showplace.
