Realtors
Boost Your Home’s Value in a Buyer’s Market
By Rita Redman, HSR Certified Professional Home Stager & Interior Redesigner | Restyled by Rita, LLC
When I walk into a home before a listing, I can usually tell within minutes whether it will sit or sell.
It has nothing to do with the size of the house or the neighborhood. It comes down to whether buyers can picture themselves living there from the moment they see the first photo. In late 2025, the typical home spent 63 days on the market.
For well-prepared homes, that number looks very different.
What Is a Buyer’s Market?
A buyer’s market means supply has outpaced demand — more homes available than buyers actively purchasing.
That shift gives buyers negotiating power. They take their time, weigh their options, and submit offers below the asking price because the inventory supports it.
For sellers, competition is the reality. Your home is being compared against every other listing in your price range, and buyers will move on quickly if something feels unfinished, dated, or hard to picture themselves in.
Why Presentation Beats Price Cuts
Before adjusting your asking price, look at what preparation actually does.
The National Association of Realtors® 2025 Profile of Home Staging found that nearly 30% of sellers’ agents reported staging led to a 1%–10% increase in the dollar value offered by buyers. Nearly half — 49% — observed that staged homes spent less time on the market than comparable unstaged listings.
On a home priced at the national median of $419,300, a 1%–10% bump translates to $4,193–$41,930 more at closing.
I’ve seen this play out in homes across the Columbus area. When a space is staged well, buyers don’t just see a house, they see the life they want to live in it. That emotional connection is what drives offers.
What’s Worth Doing Before You List
1. Curb Appeal First — Always
Buyers form their first impression before they step through the door.
Zonda’s 2025 Cost vs. Value Report confirmed, for the second year running, that exterior improvements consistently deliver more resale value than interior remodels.
The three highest-ROI projects in 2025:
- Garage door replacement — 268% ROI
- Steel entry door replacement — 216% ROI
- Manufactured stone veneer — 208% ROI
A fresh front door, clean landscaping, and updated exterior paint do more for a sale than most renovations ever will.
2. Stage the Rooms That Actually Sell the House
Not every room needs to be staged. Knowing where to focus is part of the job.
According to NAR’s 2025 staging report, the living room is the most important room to stage (cited by 37% of buyers’ agents), followed by the primary bedroom (34%) and kitchen (23%).
At Restyled by Rita, I work with what you already own wherever possible — rearranging furniture, editing accessories, and creating the kind of warmth and flow that photographs well and feels right the moment buyers walk in.
The Real Estate Staging Association found staged homes sold approximately 72% faster than unstaged ones. That’s not a small difference in a slow market.
3. Repaint in Clean Neutrals
Fresh paint is one of the cheapest, highest-impact updates before a sale.
Warm whites, soft greiges, and light neutrals make rooms feel larger, brighter, and move-in ready. They also photograph significantly better, which matters when most buyers are filtering listings on their phones before scheduling a single showing.
Bold or very personal color choices make buyers mentally calculate repainting costs before they even make an offer.
4. Minor Kitchen Updates Over Full Remodels
A minor midrange kitchen remodel was the only interior project to exceed 100% ROI in the 2025 Cost vs. Value Report, returning approximately 113% of its cost.
That translates to cabinet refacing, updated hardware, fresh countertops, and a new appliance or two. Not a gut renovation.
A major upscale kitchen overhaul, by contrast, returned only about 38% of its cost. A homeowner who spends $85,000 recoups around $32,000 at resale.
Buyers want a kitchen that feels current and functional. What they won’t pay a premium for is someone else’s custom taste.
5. Small Smart Home Touches
A video doorbell, smart thermostat, and updated smoke detectors cost a few hundred dollars combined.
They signal to buyers that the home is current, well-maintained, and move-in ready. It’s a small detail, but in a market where buyers are comparing multiple homes, small details add up.
What to Skip
Some updates feel like smart investments but don’t come back at the closing table.
A new roof is treated by buyers and appraisers as a maintenance item, not an upgrade. Factor it into your pricing conversation with your agent rather than expecting it to lift your sale price.
Pools are a harder sell than most homeowners expect. Zillow’s data shows homes with pools sell for only about 1.5% more than comparable homes without one, while installation runs $60,000 to $90,000 in most markets. Families with young children often see the liability before they see the amenity, and many buyers factor ongoing maintenance costs into their offer before they even make one.
Highly personal design choices tend to shrink the buyer pool. Statement tile, bold wall finishes, and niche selections may photograph beautifully, but they ask buyers to look past someone else’s taste.
Appraisers work from comparable sales, not personal preference, and housing markets consistently reward broad appeal over individual expression. When selling, the goal is a space that feels like it could belong to anyone walking through the door.
Spend Where It Counts
The sellers who fare best in a buyer’s market aren’t the ones who spent the most.
They’re the ones who prepared strategically — clean presentation, strong curb appeal, and a home that reads as move-in ready from the first photo to the final walkthrough.
That’s exactly the work we do at Restyled by Rita.
Ready to prepare your home for sale? Contact Rita for a staging consultation.
About the Author
Rita Redman is an HSR Certified Professional Home Stager and Interior Redesigner and the founder of Restyled by Rita, LLC — serving Blacklick, Columbus, Gahanna, New Albany, Westerville, and the surrounding Central Ohio area. Rita specializes in helping homeowners and real estate agents prepare properties for sale through strategic staging, redesign, and expert presentation. With over 2,500 square feet of staging inventory, she brings the resources and the eye to make any home show at its best.