How Smart Staging Sold Our £400K Home: A Mid-Range Property Marketing Victory

Think staging is just for high value homes and new builds? Think again.
Here I chat to one of my 2024 clients who saw amazing results when they decided to stage their previously lived in home.

Property Details

Location: Cambourne, Cambridgeshire

Property: Average 3 bedroom family home on a large housing estate

Asking Price: £375,000.00

Situation: The owners had bought their next home, leaving this property vacant. This was an uncomfortable situation for them, therefor they wanted to sell the property quickly for a high asking price.

The Result: The property sold within 2 weeks for over the asking price, read on to find out more…

Hi Dorothee,

Thank you for taking the time to talk to me today, I’d like to get your view on why you decided to stage your home and the benefits it brought you.

Q: Not many homeowners in the UK stage before they sell – why did you decided to stage your property?

A: Because we needed a quick sale, we had already bought our next house and this was an uncomfortable situation for us. Speed was the main motivator - we wanted to sell quickly for as much as we could, and we wanted the house to look as attractive as it could.

Q: What made you think that staging was the right way to achieve your quick sale at a good price?

A: There are constantly lots of new houses being built in our area, that are very shiny and pretty. Our house has been well cared for but it is not a new house, we felt we had to make it as nice as possible.

Q: Were you apprehensive about staging?

A: We were absolutely terrified!

We were terrified about making the wrong decision, that the house would not sell or that we would have to stage the property for a long time and the cost would mount up.

Q: Somewhere along the line, you decided that it was the right thing to do and you went ahead with staging your property. I must have put your mind at ease?

A: I was reassured when we met at the property that you were not going to go crazy. You seemed to have grasped very quickly the fears that we had with the budget. You were very reassuring and were confident that with a minimum spend you would be able to make it look very good.

Q: You hadn't staged before so this was a completely new experience for you. Thinking about the service I provided was it an easy process?

A: It was so easy. I gave you the key and then came back in the evening and it was pretty. The furniture company you use were very professional and efficient. I was concerned they would come in with mucky shoes going all over the carpet, but they did an extremely good job, they were very efficient and very professional. They left the place totally pristine on the way in and the way out.

 Q: When the property went on the market how did it go?

A: It went online on a Thursday or Friday, by the Monday they had had lot’s of enquiries, so many that after taking one or two appointments they decided to do an open house. By the end of the open house day they already had offers and had decided to go to best and final offers situation.

 Q: You had a lot of offers, did you find you had a selection of good quality offers to choose from?

A: We had about 8 offers, three of them were very serious. We had serval offers from people who were chain free and were offering a good price. Having that many offers at once we could choose the one that seemed like the safest for us, how fast the sale would go through was as important as the price.

Q: So you had a choice, and you were able to choose the offer that suited you the best.

A: We had a very serious offer and we had a few more people in line who are interested and who would probably still be interested if that first sale fell through.

Q: I think it's safe to say that you felt that staging the property was definitely worth it?

A: We would absolutely do it again. It made a difference because the house was all dolled up, it was pretty, it was clean, it was bright. I think it gave buyers that ‘I want it feeling’ when they viewed it. In a market where you've got a lot of Houses for sale in the same range I think it definitely makes it stand out. It did achieve our aim to look and feel like a new build without the price tag of a new build.

Q: Did you feel the staging appealed to the right audience?

A: Yes it was impersonal enough that it could appeal to a broad audience and I think you did that beautifully.

Q: Do you think the staging attracted buyers to come and view the property and enhanced the viewing experience?

A: I think so because the pictures on Rightmove looked beautiful. It definitely achieved the eye-catching role through the pictures online and when you see the house.

Q: Would you say the cost of the staging offered value for money?

A: Yes we recouped the costs of the staging by selling it quickly and having multiple offers allowing us to go for a higher one.

Q: If there were other people in your situation, would you advise them to stage?

A: Yes during the process it was something I discussed a lot with friends who were astounded by how fast the house sold. There was a whole range of new builds on the market for a lot more than what we were asking. And there were lots of houses like ours, but ours looked like the expensive ones without being expensive.

Q: It's worth mentioning. That not only did you stage you also had the walls repainted and the property cleaned throughout.

A: Yes it was pristine, we gave ourselves as much of a chance as we could. I knew buying a house that had just been redecorated is of real value.

Thank you Dorothee for taking the time to talk to me today, it’s been a pleasure working with you and I am so pleased staging your property had such a great result.

Have a previously lived-in home or rental property to sell? Let us help you make it shine. With thoughtful staging, your property can attract the right buyers and achieve its full potential in the market. Get in touch to learn how we can help.