Three easy ways to help you increase the sale price of your home

We know that first impressions count and that if a home makes a good impression first, it is unlikely the potential buyer will change their mind. 

What buyers tend to do is spend the rest of the inspection, validating their first impression and looking for faults.

Lawns mowed, edges and hedges trimmed, mulch refreshed, fencing (if any) in good condition and clean entry to your doorway is a given starting point  and if you are thinking of selling your property, you most likely already have this covered. 

While you can add a little theatre at the front door with a nice new welcome door mat and a pot plant, if you live in a unit;  Your garden can create a big impact if you live in a house. Garden designs make an entrance to a home inviting and at the very least, should be well taken care of. If your home lacks street appeal, there are several options, varying on budget and time.

Depending on the size and requirements, improving your front yard and gardens could be a DIY project or you may have to bring in the professionals.   

If the work required is basic (fencing/paving/gardens), our recommendation is a trip to Bunnings, Flower Power, Mitre 10 or a local nursery in your area. Often, they will have qualified horticulturists who can offer you free design advice online and visiting their website will help you find many sources of ideas and tips. 

Instagram and Pinterest from brands such as Better Homes and Gardens & Home Beautiful also offer free inspiration and checklists by experts to help you plan.  We’ve seen amazing transformations from as little as a few hundred dollars.  

However, if it’s major work, the best option is to get several local Landscapers in to quote. Experienced professionals can be sourced several ways and include:

Another suggestion that you can consider during Covid lockdowns would be a cosmetic transformation including wall and floor improvements. 

To determine if you should paint, this is best achieved with an impartial and unbiased evaluation. While your home has been your castle designed with your style in mind, potential buyers might want spaces that they can immediately imagine themselves living in. Spaces that are inviting, light and that leave them content and wanting to stay a while.

We recommend to stick with one neutral colour throughout your home.  The market is full of buyers who want a home they can see themselves living in, move into with their current furniture, a fresh neutral space that appeals to a wider audience with a warm cohesive flow throughout the entire home.

The same goes for carpet.  If your carpet is looking beaten up, stained, matted and frayed, it’s time to replace it as potential buyers will notice this.  While wear on tear on floor coverings such as timber is less likely to show, the wear on carpet is in the areas that have the highest traffic, and therefore where buyers will see it immediately.

According to Andrew Cook, who has been laying carpets for over twenty years, carpet on average lasts around five to ten years.  If your carpet is older than this, it most likely will need replacing. You don’t need to go to the high end of the market for carpet or flooring, but don’t go too cheap either. Cheap carpet often has cheap underlay (padding underneath) and you feel it under your feet when you walk on it.  Plus, it wears in a year.    Our recommendation is to go somewhere in the middle. The result will be a product that looks great, feels soft to walk on and new carpet will always add value’.

There are national retail chains that specialise in flooring installation. They include Harvey Norman, Carpet Call and Carpet Court and they can provide free measure and quotes on several options. While carpet costs vary you could expect to pay an average of $40 – $50 / m2, including installation.  Check out their websites for advice and inspiration.

Styling and Staging your home in preparation for sale during lock down doesn’t need to be expensive or take up a lot of time and could be another option to stay busy. 

Again, you can decide to hire a professional or do it yourself according to your budget.

A professional stylist will identify the largest target audience of buyers you’re most likely to capture and then offer expertise and advice on how you can showcase the best features, while downplaying any objections potential buyers may have.  

The home stylist also prepares your home by staging hired furniture and accessories or working with your current existing furniture.

A stylist will take care of everything, from decluttering your home, organising all furniture storage and hiring, installation as well as packing and returning.

The result is a cohesive modern styled home that inspirationally appeals to most potential buyers inspecting, maximising the sale price and profit of your home.

Costs vary, depending on the size and requirements of your home, however it is minimal in comparison to the additional profit you can achieve.  Jenny Conroy, Senior Stylist at Coco Republic quotes that ‘styling brings a 10 to 15% return on what’s been paid. A property will get both a higher price and sell more quickly. 

Costs can vary from around $3,000 for an average home to $7,000 for a much larger home. 

Property owners who have used the service of a stylist report the investment of staging far outweighs the substantial additional profit a homeowner makes in final sale price.