How Lighting and Materials Can Help You Sell Homes Faster.
When you’re selling a home, you know the details matter. Homebuyers don’t make decisions based solely on where the property is and the bottom-line cost; they form an overall impression of the home based on hundreds of factors, whether they’re consciously aware of them or not.
Learning how to recognize and tweak these factors in your favor can help you sell homes faster, so let’s take a look at two specific categories of importance: lighting and materials.
Why Lighting and Materials Are So Important
The word “materials” in this context refers to the type of materials used in the construction or finish of the home, such as brick, linoleum, or hardwood, both in the interior and the exterior of the home. Lighting, of course, refers to the type, direction, and amount of lighting presented during a showing.
Let’s explore how these factors can influence a home buyer’s decision:
- First, the lighting and materials of a home can influence a home buying prospect’s mood. Bright, natural light can improve almost anyone’s mood, and certain types of building materials (especially sleek, modern ones) can also put prospective home buyers in a better mood.
- Lighting, especially, is good at drawing a home buyer’s attention. You can use lighting to accent specific parts of the home, whether it’s to emphasize a compelling feature or distract from something ugly or less desirable.
- Lighting can be easily changed, but building materials are often correlated with the value of a home. Home buyers may strongly prefer more durable, modern-looking materials, and therefore may be willing to pay more for them.
How Agents Can Play These Factors to Their Advantage
So how can real estate agents cater to these benefits, and sell homes faster?
1. Show off lighting and texture in new constructions.
If you’re showing off a new construction, you can use 3D rendering software to show off what the home could look like, complete with accurate textures for each material and customizable lighting to show off the right details. Lighting and texture add depth and realism to your renders, making them instantly more appealing to prospective homebuyers. And giving you more control over your clients’ first impressions.
2. Know your audience.
Work with your clients to understand exactly what they’re looking for, and get a feel for their taste. When you know they’re drawn to hardwood, but hate the idea of dark, enclosed spaces. You can specifically show them houses with hardwood floors and big, open areas, then use natural lighting to make it even more appealing.
3. Allow more natural light in during showings.
Real sunlight is an instant mood-booster, so use it to your advantage as much as possible during showings. Open most (if not all) of the curtains, and place certain pieces of furniture or decorative touches in a position where they’ll be flattered by the sunlight.
4. Install and use lighting strategically.
Of course, sunlight isn’t always cooperative, and even when it is. It may not be able to reach every nook of the home you need it to. You can compensate for this by either utilizing existing sources of artificial light, or installing new ones. Use track lighting to highlight key areas, such as a piece of art above the mantle, or a gorgeous countertop, and draw your prospects’ attention wherever it’s best served.
5. De-emphasize problematic areas.
If your home has trendy building materials, like engineered stone countertops, it’s easy to show them off. The real trouble is finding a way to creatively de-emphasize problematic areas in the home. Using lighting to draw attention to a piece of furniture, rather than a wall; for example, may be enough to pull a home buyer’s attention away from less-than-modern materials.
Utilizing lighting and showing off the right materials are just two ways you can push your homes toward a final sale. You won’t always have control over which materials you have to accent, or how much natural lighting you can allow. But if you get creative and understand the strengths and weaknesses of your offers, you can tip the odds in your favor.
