Many people think it’s cleaner and simpler to move out of their home before selling it, while others find themselves doing it by default, because they have already found another home.

But selling an empty home should be avoided where possible.

Few empty houses have charm. And few prospective buyers are good at visualizing a house’s charm potential.

Think of it this way, it is so much easier to buy clothing when you see a mannequin or model wearing the item, as opposed to just hanging on the rack. Likewise, empty houses usually take twice as long to sell and almost always sell for less. After all, people don’t buy houses, they buy homes.

In other words, when they walk into a property for sale, while their heads are looking for features and benefits, their hearts are engaged only when the atmosphere makes them feel at home. If their hearts aren’t engaged, the fact that the features of the property add up on paper rarely makes a sale.

People don’t buy houses, they ‘buy’ homes which actually means they buy what’s in the home. They buy the decor, the furniture, the look, so if there’s nothing in the home, there’s nothing to ‘buy’. How many times have you heard people say “What a beautiful room!” The ‘room’ is four walls and a window, what they are referring to is the beautiful things in the room – they just don’t realize it!

Empty houses make it hard for people to decide whether their furniture will work. Without chairs and sofas to indicate the size and scale, how can they make the transition from their current living room to the one they are looking at? If there are, say, two two-seater sofas, buyers can quickly make comparisons with their own living room without resorting to time-consuming measurements when they are simply trying to form their early impressions.

Uncertainty makes people lose interest, especially when the house isn’t sending out lifestyle vibes that engage their emotions. Above all, when the house is empty, prospective buyers tend to focus on negative details. Chips or cracks are obvious when there are no paintings, furniture or window coverings to take buyers’ attention and camouflage imperfections.