Thinking of selling your home in current hot NYC real estate market? Here are 10

STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. — As the real estate market in the New York metro area continues to heat up, with a national report at the end of last year predicting that sellers who have owned their home for awhile will likely walk away from a transaction with a healthy amount of cash in 2022, some homeowners may be considering a move.

“2022 will be very competitive as home sales hit a 16-year high and trends like workplace flexibility enable more homebuyer success,” noted an annual housing forecast released in December by Realtor.com.

Sandy Krueger, president and CEO of the Staten Island Board of Realtors, told the Advance/SILive.com at the time that he predicts “a wealth of factors” affecting the local real estate space this year.

“I think 2022 will be a time for real estate professionals to show their worth in helping consumers weigh the options and opportunities in the housing space,” he said, adding that many homeowners have capital sitting in their home, “the value of which has skyrocketed over the last few years.”

So for those who are getting ready to cash in on the current real estate market, data journalism website Stacker researched the best ways for staging a home for sale using information from Fund That Flip, which compiled tips from movers, real estate agents and home improvement experts.

Below are 10 economical ways to stage a home for sale, according to Stacker’s analysis.

1. Use neutral colors. Buyers want to be able to see the homes they tour as their own — they don’t want to picture the home as someone else’s space. As homeowners prep their home to go on the market, they should pick up some neutral paint to cover any accent walls or unusual colors. Light taupes, grays, or off-whites are the optimal colors.

2. Highlight storage space. Most buyers will consider a home’s storage space as part of the decision process. Buyers want enough space to store clothes, shoes, food, holiday decorations and more. Sellers should showcase the closets and drawers by placing folded clothing neatly in baskets or bins, using shoe racks and organizing linen closets.

3. Bake cookies. Buyers want to be able to picture themselves living in a house — they want it to feel like home. And what gives a home more of that warm, inviting feel than a plate of just-baked cookies? The smell of freshly baked cookies or a loaf of warm bread can be extremely enticing to buyers. Baking cookies shortly before a showing — and placing them out on the counter with a note for visitors to help themselves — can set your home apart from the others on the market.

4. Avoid showing too much personal taste. Staging a home with items that cater to a specific personal taste isn’t going to appeal to all buyers, and in some cases, can be a big turnoff. That’s why it’s important to depersonalize a space as much as possible before listing a home. Don’t opt for kitschy decor, flower-covered wallpaper, or personal photos when staging a home.