How to Enhance the Screen Appeal of Your Home?

It is crucial to prepare your house so that it looks its best during open houses and showings. However, the COVID-19 pandemic and current technology have encouraged virtual tours and increased the number of people who purchased after viewing a home online prior to visiting it in person. Now, everything depends on how your home appears in still images and virtual tours online.

In a survey conducted last year, nearly 60% of millennials claimed that simply taking a 3D virtual tour would give them enough confidence to submit an offer on a house. Just 23% of the baby boomer generation said they would be confident enough in making an offer on a house they had only seen online.

Millennials are the first generation of internet natives who also happened to be the current largest group of home buyers. For years to come, housing trends and demand will be driven by the millennials ease with technology. Implying the importance to get your house ready for its close-up on the screen.

How can you enhance the screen appeal of your property to speed up the selling process? Let’s explore a few simple methods to help guarantee serious offers for your property using visual tours.

Cleaning & Fixing

Here is a list of techniques you can use to clean up the area around your home. Wipe down all surfaces, including desks, dressers, and counters, to get rid of dust and stains. Remove any streaks or smudges from the windows and mirrors. Clean the floors with a proper sweep, mop, and vacuum. When caring for appliances, be sure to use the right cleaners. Watch out for broken appliances and cracked surfaces. Look carefully for holes, scuff marks, and cracked floorboards around your home. You might also think about hiring a reputable cleaning service company to perform a full and deep clean.

In the virtual world, some of the previous guidelines for open houses still hold true. Organizing clutter enhances space and furnishing appeal and by proxy screen appeal. Photos will show a room as being more open and inviting when there are fewer items in it. In order to help prospective buyers, perceive your home’s qualities, depersonalizing the areas can encourage potential buyers to imagine themselves living in the featured space. Removing belongings like family portraits, keepsakes, and any other personal objects that indicate “This is my house” will help them envision their own belongings in the space. Your house will appear spotless in pictures and videos without the excess clutter. Additionally, letting in more natural light, your rooms will appear bigger, cozier, and more welcoming.

• Items like toys for children, sports gear, and magazines should be put away. They don’t need to be thrown away; instead, store them in covered storage containers in case you need them in the future.
• Your home will appear larger and more open if you clear off all the little appliances from the counters.
• All of your personal belongings should be hidden. These include reminder sticky notes on your refrigerator, framed files, family photos, and artwork. Buyers need to understand that you’re prepared to sell your house.
• Anything sensitive, such as items that might reveal your political or religious beliefs, should be stored away.

Staging

Enhancing your home’s screen appeal can be done in a number of ways. According to statistics from the National Association of Real Estate Brokers released in January 2021, 82% of realtors believe that staged homes are more appealing and make it easier for buyers to see themselves living in them.

To make your house appear attractive in images or videos, you should arrange it as nicely as you can. Think about how your furniture is placed. Even though the existing arrangement could be suitable for your living environment, moving your furniture around could help you make the most of your open space. In photographs, a design with more open space may appear more inviting.

Curb appeal is still very important whether it be an in person viewing or a virtual tour. The front of your property is still often the first thing potential buyers see, even with online listing images. Be sure to focus on all the tasks that can improve curb appeal, such as landscaping, mowing, painting or even replacing the front door.

If you’ve altered a room to suit your needs, such as turning a bedroom into a family room or a dining room into a home office, you should redecorate so it serves its intended purpose for the online listing.

Include a virtual 3D tour

A virtual tour is a necessity and could really increase the number of views and saves on your listing. According to a study that was done between November 2021 and January 2022, on average, listings featuring a 3D Home tour received 43% more views and were saved by buyers 55% more often than ones without. The main reason behind these statistics is that a virtual tour gives the impression that you are physically going around the home interior. It provides a prospective buyer with a more thorough understanding of how the house appears and feels than plain images can.

Painting Your Walls

When getting ready to sell your house, painting the walls can be very beneficial, however, there are some standard procedures to follow. Carefully examine your walls and make any necessary repairs before using a roller on them. Pay attention to scratches and damaged paint. Carefully sand and smoothen any paint that is flaking or cracked. Grease stains should be removed using soap and water. Eliminate any extra hooks and nails.

Before you pick up a paintbrush, research the best wall colors to encourage a neutral look while remaining inviting. Some tones and colors have the potential to make your house sell faster than others. Your home is meant to be a clean slate for potential buyers in order to encourage their creativity in their potential future living space. The best course of action when choosing color schemes is to avoid making bold statements because they will have their own individual style. Instead, make an effort to concentrate on warm neutral hues like eggshell, light grey, or white.

Additionally, try to paint when the weather is dry. The drying of the paint will be slowed down by humidity and wet days, which will cause delays in taking the necessary photos and video.

Light up Your Home

Make your home visible! Potential buyers can be given the wrong impression if the house is dark and not well lit. Let the light in! All of the interior lightings should be turned on, including lamps, ceiling fixtures, and nightlights. Consistent lighting should be used throughout the entire home. Ensure that all of the lights are on and have the same hue. Also, let the natural light in by opening all the blinds. When recording your virtual tour, take into account the time of day.

Hire a Professional Photographer

When you’re selling your largest investment, mobile phone images won’t do. Find a photographer who focuses on photographing homes for Listing and 3D virtual tours. They are experts at framing and lighting spaces to highlight their qualities.

Seeing as there is a plethora of real estate photographers in Montreal, choose yours carefully. Let them show you previous projects so you can ascertain their skills and the quality to expect.

Make your listing description compelling

Although a picture is worth a thousand words, that is not enough. You may increase the appeal of your home in the description that goes with your listing. Write a creative description of what readers can’t see in the pictures or provide more detail for what they can see. Tell them about your home’s unique amenities, such as a view of downtown, marble floors, or a steam shower. Mention brands of high-end appliances or custom work from well-known contractors.

Your house looks fantastic; now share it

Once you’ve enhanced your home’s screen appeal and made your listing stand out, show it off online to attract attention and interest in addition to that which your realtor is already generating. You can spread the word about your listing among your network by posting it on social media.