Great presentation is crucial to the selling process. In our
experience, a well-presented home is far more likely to sell in a shorter
timeframe and for a better price in all market conditions. 

This is because humans are often very visual creatures and
drawn to beautiful presentation, this therefore makes us more likely to develop
an emotional attachment to a property when we can picture ourselves living
there. It gives buyers confidence in the quality of your home and helps guide
their imagination to how it would be living there themselves. 

Putting effort into presentation ensures your property’s
greatest features are highlighted and any negatives minimised. It also tells
buyers that you’re a serious seller, which is very important in today’s
changing market. 

Buyers stay longer at open homes if a property is nicely
presented and in turn has a good ‘vibe’ about it. This is important because in
order for them to truly engage with your property, they need time to imagine
what their life might look like owning it. 

Great presentation also means better photos and this is
crucial because buyers will decide whether to inspect your property based on
how good your home looks in the advertising. 

Hiring a stylist is optional but we’ve seen how their work
can contribute to a better price for our clients. They know so many great techniques
and consider size, scale and colour for every room. If your property has any
negatives that we need to overcome, a stylist can help us with that. Please
understand our styling and presentation recommendations do not represent any
criticism of your personal taste, they are purely based on what will appeal to
your likely buyer demographic. 

15 tips to enhance presentation 

1. Declutter as much as possible. Too much furniture can
make a room feel very small and lots of ornaments can be distracting to buyers. 

2. New paint and carpet can transform a tired property into
a fresh, new-look home. Alternatively, consider steam cleaning the carpets and
washing painted walls with sugar soap to brighten them up. 

3. Go room by room looking for small repairs, such as
cracked tiles, peeling or chipped paint, carpet stains, broken blind chains,
torn flyscreens and windows or sliding doors that stick. 

4. Cleanliness is crucial. Buyers won’t gravitate towards
messy or dirty homes, so scrub every nook and cranny! Pay particular attention
to bathrooms and the kitchen. 

5. Cleaning the windows will make a significant difference,
with more natural light immediately flooding in. 

6. Consider professional styling. This might involve moving
some furniture into storage, hiring some modern pieces and adding rugs and
cushions for colour and cosiness. Your stylist will do all of this for you! 

7. Consider updating old lighting fixtures to immediately
jazz up an uninspiring room. 

8. Consider small modern updates, such as replacing old
handles on doors and kitchen cabinets with sleeker styles; doing the same with
tapware and showerheads; and replacing white power point and switch covers with
stainless steel covers (available at hardware stores). 

9. Mow the lawns, weed the garden beds, prune the bushes,
remove unattractive plants, invest in mulch and add a few evergreen
flowering shrubs to achieve inexpensive ‘wow factor’. 

10. Clear the gutters and consider a house and roof wash. A
high pressure hose can easily remove caked-on dirt and grim from tiles, bricks
and paint. You’ll be amazed at the results! 

11. If your roof eaves are stained, paint them. Stained eaves
can make buyers worry that the roof is leaking. Also consider re-painting the
gutters and fascia boards if they are faded. 

12. Wash outdoor furniture and pressure clean balcony tiles,
pavers and decking. Consider a new coat of timber varnish on decking, which can
be easily applied with a small roller brush. 

13. If you have animals, take them out of the house for
opens. Remove food bowls and kitty litter and deodorise all rooms. Bad smells
can be very off-putting to buyers. 

14. If you have personal framed photos, we encourage to be
selective with those left on display as it is a fine line between creating a
happy, homey ambience for buyers and making it hard for the buyer to imagine
the home being theirs. If in doubt, replace with scenic pictures. 

15. Fresh flowers always look great – place them on the
dining table or kitchen bench as a centrepiece.