To prepare a luxury home for sale, focus on five things: staging, a deep clean, decluttering, and curb appeal. Keep any updates minimal and fresh. These are small investments that make buyers feel something the moment they walk in.
Staging Is More Than Furniture
Staging creates a cohesive picture so buyers can imagine themselves in the home. Even the most creative buyers have a hard time picturing how they would live in a space, and good staging guides their brain to fill in the blanks.
Your personal items can quietly derail that. Even if you have great taste, the goal is to create the right image for a buyer, not for you. And its not just furniture: art, plants, a cozier feel with the right accessories, or using higher end furniture to create a feeling buyers are willing to pay more for are all marketing tools. They help you get the value you’re looking for.
Clean It Like a Luxury Hotel
Buyers want to walk into a space that feels fresh and new even if it’s not. Think similar to the last luxury hotel you walked into... That means:
Professional window cleaning
Repairing or replacing anything damaged or overly worn
Deep cleaning of carpets, drapery, stone flooring
Hiding hoses, tools, utility type items
Curate, Don’t Just Declutter
Remove the clutter and bulk so the eye sees the vision of the home and not your stuff. De-personalizing it by removing religious or personal items can further help guide a buyer’s mind to imagine their own items in the home. When a buyer’s attention lands on the space itself rather than things and personal items, the home feels larger, calmer, and more valuable.
Don’t Skip Curb Appeal
First impressions matter most. Grounds should feel purposeful and curated. Buyers assume how the home has been cared for overtime based on this first impression. When you walk into the property and the front door paint is peeling, the grass is full of weeds and the trees have not been manicured, it leads a buyers mind to believe that the home is not well cared for and therefore worth less (whether it’s the truth or not). This is the first thing buyers see in person, and it sets the tone for everything inside.
Keep Updates Minimal
Please don’t over-remodel! In most cases, the right changes are simple:
Fresh paint in lighter, neutral colors
Updated lighting
Removing unusual finishes that make buyers hesitate
I highly recommend you ask your agent or interior designer for suggestions prior to spending any money on remodeling. Many remodeling choices, although may update a property but may not actually add value. You only want to change items that will increase your return on the cost of the item.
The Bottom Line
A luxury home doesn’t need a dramatic transformation to sell. It needs to feel clean, cohesive, and help guide a buyer’s mind to imagine themselves living in the home. Preparing a property well is how you reap big rewards for a small cost, and an experienced agent can guide you through each step so your home is sold rather than simply “put on the market.”
If you’re thinking about selling in Los Angeles, please email or call me directly.
FAQ
Does staging really matter for luxury homes?
Yes. Buyers at every price point respond emotionally first and logically second. Staging helps a buyer picture their own life in the space and/or helps them view it as a high end property or a low end project.
Should I remodel before selling?
Usually not. Fresh paint, updated lighting, and removing unusual finishes are typically enough but should be looked at on a micro level to make sure it appeals to the most amount of buyers possible.