I’ve discussed decluttering and staging a home in preparation for selling it. Both of these are crucial for selling a home while you still live in it. But what if you’ve already moved out? Some sellers believe their home will sell better if it’s empty. Clutter and home furnishings won’t distract a buyer—the house is a “blank slate” and will easily allow buyers to envision themselves living there, right? It sounds logical but the opposite is true. A vacant house is extremely difficult to sell.

What am I looking at?

As buyers click through house photos online, a vacant house doesn’t offer an identity. A vacant room lacks a focal point and leaves the buyer wondering which room they’re seeing. When walls, the floor, and perhaps a window or two are the only subjects of a photo, there’s no excitement. Under normal market conditions, buyers won’t rush to view that home.

Furniture gives scale

If a house is vacant, it can be difficult for a buyer to judge whether the room sizes are appropriate for their furnishings. It’s easy for buyers to be stymied by the size of a bedroom, for instance. They may have a king-sized bed or a furniture set that seems like it wouldn’t fit in the room. In fact, vacant rooms actually appear smaller than they are. Listed room measurements aren’t helpful to a buyer who has no idea what size their own rooms are (and most don’t). However, if a buyer walks into a bedroom that has a king-sized bed, dresser, and an armoire, they’ll have a better idea of what the room will hold. If a buyer is left scratching their head when it comes to real-world use with their own furnishings, it will distract them and may inadvertently lead them to buy a different house.

A vacant house highlights problems

I’ll start by reiterating that I’m in no-way suggesting that a seller hide important defects in their home. In the state of Minnesota, a seller must disclose any material fact, of which they are aware, that could adversely and significantly impact a buyer’s future use or enjoyment of a property. It’s crucial that sellers understand that there’s no such thing as disclosing too much. When in doubt, disclose it.

What I’m referring to are “wear and tear” items. A vacant house will suddenly shine a spotlight on chipped paint, gouged floorboards, or old carpeting. When the best parts of a room aren’t highlighted, the worst parts of a room are spotlighted. Again, to be clear, if there’s a grape juice stain on your living room carpet, it must be disclosed. Period. But if there aren’t any furnishings whatsoever, the grape juice stain will be the first thing that buyers see. Instead, if they are made aware of the stain and then see how a seller has used furnishings to downplay it, it might be less of a concern.

More common examples would be smudges on the wall, a chipped floor tile, or dull hardwood floors. When there is nothing to convey emotion to buyers, they will see only only the defects in your home that you intended to, but never had time to, address.

I’ve already moved out!

Don’t despair if you’ve already settled into your new digs and left behind a vacant house. A simple call to a professional stager will make the world right again. Most staging companies have (or have access to) a warehouse full of furniture and accessories that are used specifically for this purpose. The photo above is a “before and after” of my listing that was completely vacant and then transformed by staging. Below are additional photos from that house.

Before…