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The Most Important Room to Showcase When Selling a House
By Kerry Oman | November 1, 2011
Selling a Springville home is a very subjective experience. The selling price of your neighbor’s house down the block isn’t going to be the same as yours, and a house Blackhawk Realty sold last week won’t necessarily be an indication of how long yours can be expected to remain on the Utah real estate market. It all depends on your home, the buyers currently out there looking, and the marketing efforts put forward to make your house as appealing as possible.
That’s why so many homeowners rely on the staging process to help sell their homes. A fresh coat of paint, a few new windows, and some landscaping, and your home could easily bring in thousands of dollars more. But if you only have the time or money to focus on one area of the home (outside of the always necessary curb appeal), let it be the kitchen.
Why The Kitchen is So Important
You might have an incredible movie theater room or a formal dining area with all the original 150-year-old woodwork, but if your home doesn’t have a warm and welcoming kitchen, you might have a hard sell ahead of you. In the past, families have always used the living room space or even a family room as the center of the home, where guests and friends gather to spend time together. However, the past decade has seen a resurgence of the kitchen as the hearth and home. From kitchen-family areas that open up to one another to eat-in kitchens with plenty of space to entertain and cook at the same time, this is the one area that everyone looks at first.
Kitchens are also notoriously expensive to update. New cupboards typically cost tens of thousands of dollars; the same is true for a new countertop or a suite of matching appliances. Tiled floors, intricate woodwork, and enough space to spread out and really enjoy your cooking time all add to the cost, as well. If buyers in the Springville real estate market see a house for sale that is great in all respects other than the kitchen, they aren’t going to focus on the good points… all they’re going to see is the pile of dollars and cents awaiting behind the refrigerator.
How to Stage a Kitchen
If you don’t have the money needed to give your whole kitchen an overhaul, there are things you can do to increase the room’s appeal.
- Cleanliness is the cheapest and most effective way to make your kitchen appealing. This means polish on the metalwork, baseboards scrubbed free of all marks, cleaning those scary corners behind the fridge, and eliminating the clutter. Bring in a cleaning service if you have to.
- Organization is key. From your spice rack and the coffee cups in the cupboard to the dish sponges in your sink, make sure everything is neat, straightened, and in an appealing place. The trick is to make the kitchen look like it’s never been used — even if you did use it just this morning.
- Eliminate the appliances on the shelf (things like coffeemakers and toasters). Put only the bare essentials out… usually a bowl of colorful fruit, a bottle of wine, and maybe some cookbooks. A few plants can also add a homelike appeal.
- Make the space usable. If there is room for a small table and chairs, or for stools at the island, put them in there, even if that’s not how you used the space. Creating a “separate” space for eating gives the illusion that the kitchen is larger and more accommodating than it may actually be. But be wary of oversized furniture, as that will only cause crowding.
The Utah real estate market is improving, and any steps you can take to increase your home’s value and appeal will help the sale go smoother and faster. Your kitchen might not be the center of your own home, but giving it the potential to be open and accommodating will go a long way in helping to sell your house for a minimum investment on your part.
Topics: Springville Real Estate, Utah County Real Estate | No Comments »