Feng Shui Checklist for Selling a House
5 minute read for Realtors and Home Sellers
Listing photo for realtor, Jen Bowman, Windermere Real Estate/North, Inc
Realtors know how important it is to make a home appealing to as wide an audience as possible. What you might not know is that many Chinese-American buyers prefer houses that incorporate Feng Shui principles—86% of them according to a 2015 survey.
You can see where this is going: to reach even more potential buyers, you should consider including Feng Shui on your selling readiness checklist. Especially here in the PNW with our sizable Asian community, just a few changes can make a big impact in widening that audience and getting more offers.
Feng Shui is the ancient practice of designing your physical surroundings to be in harmony with the spiritual. With that long history comes a wealth of information. Don’t worry—you don’t have to become an expert in Feng Shui in order to offer some practical advice to your clients.
We’re here to help with our handy checklist that makes incorporating some basic Feng Shui ideas easy. To keep things manageable, we’ve chosen the lucky number eight to narrow down our tips. Here’s what you and your clients should do to appeal to Feng Shui enthusiasts:
1. Focus on Curb Appeal
Good Feng Shui starts with the exterior of your house. Clear out dead plants. Buy a new welcome mat. Clean out your gutters. These are things you would advise clients to do anyway!
To take your Feng Shui even higher, imagine energy flowing into the house through the front door. You don’t want anything to block that path like overgrown plants, a hazardous walkway, or a dreary front stoop full of empty flower pots. Keep things tidy and cheerful.
2. Create a Welcoming Entryway
As potential buyers enter the home, they should feel welcomed. Remember that energy flowing into the house? Don’t let it escape. That means no mirrors facing the front door and doing your best to keep bathrooms and the back door out of sight from the entryway. When looking into the house from the entryway, try to make the focal point diagonal to the front door.
Add a small table to the entryway where you can place business cards (in a neat holder, not splayed on the tabletop) and treats for guests. Candy has long been a favorite gift for Chinese holidays and weddings, and something like premium chocolate will demonstrate generosity to potential buyers.
3. Clear Space Inside
Make it easy for buyers to flow through the house. Get rid of overcrowded furniture and clutter on counters and walls. Avoid facing couches or chairs directly toward doorways.
Think about each room’s purpose and remove anything that doesn’t fit. Your client may have had to turn the primary bedroom into a makeshift home office this past year, but a printer next to the bed will keep buyers from being able to imagine it as a peaceful place for them to relax.
4. Hang Mirrors
This is an old trick for making spaces feel bigger, but with Feng Shui, a mirror amplifies the energy of what it reflects. Hang mirrors where they will reflect something beautiful. Avoid reflecting exterior doors or anything buyers would rather not see twice like a water heater closet.
5. Clean Windows
You’ll find cleaning on any decent house-selling checklist. For Feng Shui, it’s particularly important to keep dust and clutter at bay in order to let the energy flow through the home. Pay particular attention to keeping windows clean. Ever heard of the phrase “eyes are the window to the soul?” Well, windows are the eyes of your home’s soul. Scrub the inside and out, and let in as much natural light as possible.
6. Pack Away Personal Items
This is another common piece of advice that also works well with Feng Shui principles. In order to make a house ready for a new owner, the current owner must indicate a willingness to move. The home should feel eager for a buyer.
Personal photos should be packed away. Box up those travel souvenirs. Clear out the overstuffed bookshelves. Show the buyer that the house is ready for them.
7. Bring in Plants
An important principle of Feng Shui is balance. Adding plants to indoor spaces helps achieve this in several ways. We won’t delve into the specifics about elements and mimicking the natural world, because it’s a lot to take in. Simply put, adding potted plants or fresh flowers is good for Feng Shui and pleasing to buyers of all backgrounds.
As an added bonus, fresh flowers will smell wonderful, which brings us to our final tip...
8. Add Natural Fragrance
All buyers will appreciate a pleasant smell as they walk into the home. Keep it natural, though. A wall plugin will smell fake and off-putting to many buyers. Try a non-toxic, naturally scented candle or fresh flowers, as suggested above. Avoid using smelly cleaners right before buyers arrive.
These simple tips will go a long way to increase good Feng Shui and make a house ready for a wider pool of potential buyers—and as a bonus, they’ll also prepare a home for professional photographers like us. You can help your clients create a tidy, pleasant, good-flowing home that will sell fast.
For more help readying a house for photos, check out our Home Preparation Guide.