Expensive products on display when selling home?

[Fluffruff]

We’re soon going to put our property on the market. Talking to one agent last week (their company sells properties of a certain style/vintage) I was surprised when they said they encourage owners to put expensive liquid soaps (ie not bog standard Carex!) and so on on display in the bathrooms etc. And good quality bedding. I was a bit surprised as when we’ve previously bought I didn’t notice stuff like this (but then we were looking at some quite run down houses). Is it important? Like having the stunt pineapple 😀?

It’s better to stage a room so that it looks good rather than average. Some people have no imagination- so you’re suggesting a luxurious, comfortable house to them. That’s what they do with a show house..

Given the current lack of houses for sale in most places and a plethora of buyers I really don't see how this would be necessary.

I've never noticed that kind of thing either. I'm looking at the part I'm buying not the stuff that will leave with the seller.

Yes this makes a difference

psychologically your selling a lifestyle

live in this house and this is the aspirational life you will have (regardless if true or not)

If you are selling a lovely house which you are hoping to get top price for which has tasteful and up to date bathrooms and kitchens i think it is just a case of window dressing to present the house in the best possible way - like throws and cushions in beds. Photos of bedrooms always look much better if the beds are made neatly and bed linen is tasteful.

look at rightmove and houses in your area at similar prices and see how they look. Not everyone is capable of seeing how their furniture will look in your house so you need to show them how nice it can look.

Well I wouldn't bother. I staged an empty house once, and a viewer somehow went off with an ornate candle holder😐

Interesting thanks. I don’t think I’m particularly observant about these things when viewing a house but it does makes sense - the overall impression/picture.

I think if it is a big ticket price (these days over 600-750k?) then I would do this almost like when visiting new build show homes it is very done up. Otherwise no not in today’s market.

There was a poster on here who sold their house recently, I think got more than asking and sold very quickly. It was a gorgeous house, in between a butcher and a bakers I believe. The advise they got on here was to style the house as if it was a really good air b&b. I guess it depends on what price range your house is in.
For what it's worth, when we viewed our house I didn't notice anything like what soaps they used. I could see what the house could become. I know some people can't do that so that's why a lifestyle has to be sold to them when they view.

Pretty sure Aesop soap appears in every listing on the modern house.

lol, I went the other way, we moved from an area which had a surge in beakins and I asked no for sale board to go up and removed anything valuable from sight when the photos were taken & for viewings 🙈

We had stunt bedding and stunt soap when selling our house last year. No idea if it made a difference!

Agree with pp though if the market is still hot in your area and your type of property is in demand, you probably don't need to bother.

We went through a phase of wanting to buy a new build. When visiting show homes, most have very prominently displayed luxury brands - they are trying to sell you an aspirational lifestyle, if you're in to that sort of shit.

It’s the new version of fresh coffee and chocolate cake on the kitchen surfaces.

I ensured it was tidy and free of clutter, beds made nicely, cushions plumped etc. I may have also put a couple of wanky coffee table books out for the photos.

Personally I don't give a shit what it looks like, your stuff isn't going to be there when I move in (I hope!) and I'm looking for a doer-upper, but plenty of people lack imagination.

Most people can see past this stuff, they know it's done for show, but nonetheless first impressions count and can make someone feel more attracted to a property if it gives off a luxurious, uncluttered vibe. But not to the extent that it feels totally impersonal, it's good to have for example books on display and not have the kitchen counters completely bare, so it feels like a home not a hotel or kitchen showroom.

Well…any excuse to buy some poncey overpriced soap. I shall indulge!

Maybe it’s just one bottle which the photographer takes around with them 🤣

I look for space for soap, and I couldn't tell the difference between high quality and low quality bedding just by looking at it.

I can't understand how people have no concept of what a space can become.

Blimey. In my house Carex IS an expensive liquid soap!

The instructions from our property photographer were explicit. It needs to look as much like a smart hotel as you can manage. Put everything away, everything. No toys, family pictures, ornaments, clear every horizontal surface of anything but lamps, definitely no cleaning products, no loo rolls, no towels (unless plain white) or evidence of food preparation. Flowers are allowed/encouraged.

See that would put me off. I like homes with a bit of character not sterile showrooms.

I’ve noticed that on the road I last lived in, the houses were all basically the same. But the ones with a fancy design / well put together furnishings (which would all go on moving out day) could sell for significantly more. Some people really lack imagination.

Blimey. Is it a particularly expensive house/area? I'm currently house hunting and looking in a FTB price bracket for boring reasons and literally nothing I've seen has been staged like that.

Reminds me of selling our last house - a country cottage. I put out all my Emma Bridgwater bits and even splurged on a new EB biscuit tin as I thought that would be the ultimate target market. House got an offer before the first viewing in the end. But I still have the biscuit tin!

People may not notice individual aspirational things but they get an overall impression of the house as "clean" "modern" "cottagey" "classy" which will stay with them. They might not criticise a particular duvet cover or something but if they have the impression the house is a bit mis matched and studenty they might feel it needs a lot of work. In fact the less people care about details, the more they will just go on their overall impression.

Yep.