Are you thinking about putting your family sized home on the market? Maybe, you’ve already done it and haven’t got the offers you’d hope for. With few exceptions, the Australian property market is pretty tough going right now. Most sellers will find themselves in a buyers market and for the unprepared…and dare I say naive, the whole selling process can be a long and frustrating one. But it doesn’t have to be. Home’s like yours sell every day even if the property market is less than stellar.

I’m a professional home stager/property stylist, and it’s my job to help homeowners like you, to make the most of their home’s most saleable features. On top of that, it’s my job to spend as little money as possible and get a result in a really short time.

So, come with me now, and I’ll show you 20 ways to make your family sized home that much more appealing to the kind of buyer looking to call a place like yours – home.   

One of the first things you should do is consider who your buyer is likely to be. If you’re selling a family sized home, then it’s likely that that’s who you should target. A word of caution: if you’re selling because your place is just too small for family life, then it’s best not to target those same buyers when you sell.

Byt the way, now is the time to come to terms with the cold hard truth that it’s not actually about your family’s needs anymore.

1. Get and keep the place clean and tidy, even if it near kills you. If you do absolutely nothing else, clean will not ever fail you.

2. Make sure your place looks fantastic from the kerb. It needs to be the best (or one of) in your street. This is where your place makes that all important first impression, so don’t let it go to waste less house hunters just drive straight past without even slowing down.

3. Pack away most of the kids toys and sports gear. I know it’s a family home you’ve got there, but leaving the stuff around for buyers to see, just says “not enough” storage to them.

4. Make sure bedrooms look like bedrooms (they’re just too valuable not too). House hunters are notorious for not being able to see a bedroom as a bedroom, if that’s not what it looks like when they lay eyes on it for the first time.  

5. Make the most of your built in storage by keeping them mostly clear and tidy. Families need more storage, not less. I’m talking about built in wardrobes, kitchen cupboards, pantries, linen cupboards. When I bought my current family home, the walk-in linen cupboard was a major selling point for me, believe it or not. To this day I think of it as one of my home’s best and most saleable features.

6. Create a fabulous looking ‘master bedroom’ with the emphasis on a quiet, clutter-free parent retreat. The payer of the mortgage wants…needs, a place to escape to once in a while. So, sell that feature.

7. Kitchen appliances should not only work well, but look good. I remember the time I inspected a family home that didn’t have a working stove or oven. That meant an immediate deduction off the home’s asking price because in a family home, it’s an essential to daily family life

8. De-clutter your kitchen counter tops. Work space is also very valuable. Keep those small appliances to a minimum – no more than two. Even less, if bench top space is at a premium.

9. Clean or replace any dirty or damaged flooring. The most sought after and valuable flooring is timber or laminate. It wears well and is easy to clean. If you’ve got carpet, plain, subdued colours don’t offend the eye.

10. Clear off bathroom vanity tops. Get the make-up, hair brushes and hairdryers put away to allow the buyer a bit of escapism from the throng of daily life.  As a potential buyer, I feel really uncomfortable seeing this stuff in someone’s home. So I don’t hang around.

11. Kids (and some grown-ups) love running their hands over the walls when they go around corners. Address that with a damp cloth and maybe even a coat of paint in the really bad spots. If the kids have drawn on the walls, even if it’s in their bedrooms, fix it up with a new paint job. Steer clear of very bright or very dark paint colours even in the kids rooms if you can.

12. If you’ve got the room, eat in kitchens are very desirable. Even a breakfast bar helps. Just don’t overdo it on the bar stools. If you’ve got the kitchen table and a breakfast bar in the same room, go with one or the other. Not both. It’ll be to tight a squeeze.

13. Make sure all your lights are in perfect working order and that each room has enough task and subtle mood lighting, so each person can do their own thing.

14. Make room for a study or study nook. Lots of people work from home these days and school age kids need a place to do homework.

15. In those rooms where privacy isn’t a concern, allow as much natural light to filter in. Keep your window coverings open. If you’ve got a great garden view (one that’s good to watch over kids at play), consider taking them down.

16. Set up an outdoor entertaining area. A bbq, sitting area and if you can manage it, some kind of shade helps give an ‘outdoor room’ kind of feel.

17. If you’ve got a swimming pool, play on it. At the very least it should be sparkling clean even if it’s not swim season. Pools don’t always add value to property. But if there’s ever a time and place for it to be a positive feature it’s when you want to sell a family home.

18. Have your pets go visiting…someone else for a while. Not everyone’s a dog, cat, rabbit or ferret lover. Some people are allergic to cat hair, or the kids are really nervous around dogs. That means they aren’t likely to want to hang around to complete the full property tour.

19. Tidy up your garage. Garages are prized (and often neglected) in family homes, because they offer a ton more storage space.

20. As proud of your car as you may well be, keeping your driveway clear during inspections or open house. No-one finds that ‘car yard’ look appealing. Keeping it clear makes for far better kerb appeal and increases your yard frontage.