There are countless ways to prepare your home for sale—renovations, repairs, staging, landscaping—the list goes on.
But in reality only a small number of these actually increase your home’s value. In fact, it’s surprisingly easy to overdo it and spend money on upgrades that deliver little (or even negative) return on investment.
In this article, we break down what truly matters. Using insights from top Montreal realtors and real market data, you’ll learn exactly how to prepare your home for sale, so that you can focus on the changes that will attract a line up of buyers and ultimately maximize your final sale price.
Immovision
Want to Maximize Your Sale Price? Start Here.
The best realtors in Montreal will tell you what adds value for your specific property, and in your local market, so that you can sell faster, and for more.
Declutter, depersonalize and deep clean
When you start to prepare your home for sale, the most fundamental things to do are to declutter, depersonalize and deep clean. These steps will make your home more appealing to buyers, and are proven to increase your sale price by 3–5% on their own.
Declutter
According to Chantal Lamirande, you should remove approximately 30–40% of your home’s items before staging. This means taking items, boxing them up, and either placing them into storage, leaving them at a friends until you have sold your home. You may also consider selling items, especially if you are downsizing for retirement.
The reason for decluttering is that it will make your home feel larger if prospective buyers are able to easily move through the property. The reason that you must declutter is that it will make your home feel larger, if prospective buyers are able to easily move through the property.
No one wants to feel confined, and when buyers see clean, open areas, they naturally believe there’s more than enough room for their own belongings. Even if the actual square footage hasn’t changed.
Depersonalize
All realtors will tell you that you need to depersonalize your home before listing if for sale. This is because you want prospective buyers to feel like the space could be theirs.
All realtors will tell you that you need to depersonalize your home before listing it for sale. This is because you want prospective buyers to feel like the space could be theirs. Neutralizing the home helps create an emotional connection, allowing buyers to picture their own life, style, and belongings in the space rather than feeling like they’re walking through someone else’s home.
In practice, this means taking down photographs, awards, children’s photos and paintings, religious symbols and anything that strongly reflects your personal identity or beliefs. These things can distract buyers, or prevent them from imagining themselves living in the home.
Note
The best realtors strategically add neutral, aspirational elements throughout your home. Details like classic books or travel art that can help buyers imagine a higher quality lifestyle. This can make your property more desirable, since buyers are ultimately drawn to spaces that reflect the life they aspire to.
Deep clean
It’s critical that prospective buyers feel your home has been well maintained over the years. One of the most effective ways to communicate this is through a thorough, top-to-bottom deep clean.
This means going beyond basic tidying. Clean all surfaces, including cupboard doors, baseboards, doorframes, windows, and window ledges. In bathrooms, make sure showers and walls are free of soap scum, water marks, and any buildup from regular use. Pay close attention to details like caulking around windows and bathrooms; if it’s dirty or moldy, it should be removed and replaced.
You should also make sure your cupboards are clean and well organized. In bedrooms, this means neatly folding clothes and avoiding overcrowding. If you have a lot of clothes, you should box some up or move them to other cupboards to create a better sense of space. Shoes should be neatly arranged, not piled up.
In the kitchen cupboards, you should remove any residue from jars, sticky ring marks, or oil buildup from cooking so that every surface feels clean and well maintained. Small details like this signal to buyers that the home has been properly cared for.
Note
For an advanced tip, you can use clear protective liners inside your cupboards. These sit beneath jars and containers, helping prevent marks and wear. They not only cover minor scuffs but also reinforce the impression that the space has been meticulously maintained.
Hire a home staging company
Home staging is a real-estate marketing strategy that involves preparing your home to appeal to the widest range of buyers. It’s important because it will help your online listing stand out, attract more buyers and help those buyers emotionally connect with the space. Staging therefore increases demand for your home, which can lead to faster sales and higher offers.
There are three types of home staging: physical home staging, virtual staging, DIY home staging. Each of these have a different cost and ROI.
Physical home staging
The highest cost, but often the highest return, comes from hiring a professional staging company. This involves bringing in curated furniture, decor, and layout design to showcase your home at its full potential.
In Montreal, this will typically cost between $2,000 – $8,000 per month. The amount will vary by home size, the amount of rental furniture you need and days on market. However, physical home staging can also increase your homes sale price by between 1-5%. On a property worth $750,000, a 5% price increase is $37,500. It is therefore clear that for high value homes, physical home staging is essential to maximize the amount of money you get for your home since, the high ROI evidently justifies the cost.
Virtual home staging
The next option is virtual home staging. This involves hiring a designer to digitally add furniture and décor to your listing photos, helping buyers understand the layout and visualize the potential of the space.
While virtual staging doesn’t create the same in-person impact as physical staging, it can significantly improve how your home stands out online. Strong first impressions in listing photos can lead to more clicks, more showings, and ultimately more interest in your property.
From a cost perspective, virtual staging is highly efficient. Most services range from roughly $20–$70 per image, with a typical listing costing between $200–$350 depending on the number of rooms staged. In Montreal, some providers may charge higher per room, but it still remains a fraction of the cost of physical staging, which can run into the thousands.
Because of this low upfront cost, the return on investment can be extremely high. Even modest improvements in perceived value or buyer interest can translate into significant returns, often delivering ROI in the hundreds to thousands of percent. However, the key limitation is that the experience doesn’t carry through to in-person visits, where buyers are still viewing an un-staged space.
Overall, virtual staging is a strong, cost-effective option, particularly for lower to mid-range properties, vacant homes, or sellers looking to maximize impact online without a large upfront investment.
DIY home staging
DIY home staging is the most budget-friendly way to prepare your home for sale. Whether you use your own furniture or keep your home empty, this approach minimizes upfront costs. However, it can also yield a lower return on investment compared to professional staging.
In this scenario, you should first get familiar with current trends that buyer’s are looking for. To do this, you can use platforms such as Pintrest, or Houzz, to get a good sense of what type of furniture, textures, colors, layouts, and lighting are currently in fashion. You can also visit local furniture stores such as Structube, MUST Société, or EQ3 Montréal, and draw on inspiration from their show rooms.
You may also be able to get some ideas on layout from the listing photos from when you first purchased the home. These can be useful if the previous seller hired a professional staging company. You can review them, mainly for the layout. However, remember that the style must be kept upto date with what buyer’s are looking for.
For instance, according to Montreal realtor Reda Wahaba, “Right now, hardwood floors are very much in fashion.” If you’re selling, it can therefore make sense to remove carpet and replace it with area rugs to maintain warmth and style.
As Reda explains, “not only will buyers discount a home’s value if they see outdated flooring, but they invariably overestimate the cost of reflooring. This means that it can be better to get this done before listing.”
Note
Many top listing brokers will actually cover the cost of staging as part of their service. However, this typically comes with a higher commission, as they are taking on more risk and directly investing in your property’s sale price.
These details are usually outlined in your listing agreement, so it’s important to review the terms carefully.
That said, an agent who is willing to invest upfront like this is typically highly aligned with your goal of maximizing the final sale price since they only benefit if you do.
👉 If you want to explore this option, you can use Immovision Agent Finder to identify brokers who offer staging as part of their service.
Deodourize and odourize your home
Deodorizing your home is one of the most critical steps when preparing to sell. Smell is powerful, if a buyer notices a bad odour, it creates an immediate negative impression, makes the home feel poorly maintained, or ventilated, and distracts them from the home visit.
Many homeowners don’t realize their home has a smell because they’ve become used to it. However, if you smoke indoors, have pets, cook frequently (especially strong-smelling foods), or have carpets, fabric furniture, or poor ventilation, then there’s a high likelihood that odours are present even if you don’t notice them.
The first step to addressing this problem is to remove odours at the source. One of the simplest and most cost-effective ways to do this is to use baking soda. This is because it naturally absorbs odours and is safe to use on most surfaces. Simply sprinkle baking soda on carpets, sofas, mattresses, and other fabric surfaces. You can also apply it to areas that trap smells (like the insides of trash cans, closets, or food shelves). Then let it sit for 15–30 minutes before vacuuming, or wiping it off. For stronger odours, activated charcoal can be even more effective, especially in enclosed spaces.
A common mistake sellers make is trying to mask odours with air fresheners or strong scents. This can backfire since if a seller has sprayed a liberal amount of artificial fragrance it can signal to buyer’s that something is being hidden. This creates doubt about underlying issues, and if it will be possible to easily remove a bad smell once the buyer has moved in. It is better to use odourless air fresheners, open windows, or even bake fresh bread to create a nice smelling home.
In fact, if buyers suspect a persistent odour problem, it can reduce perceived value, or even raise concerns that must be disclosed. In fact, if there is a bad smell that you cannot get rid of, it must be legally disclosed in your seller’s declaration.
Complete repairs
Visible damage is a major red flag for buyers. Even small issues can create the impression that the home hasn’t been properly maintained, and that bigger, hidden problems may exist.
Some of big repairs must be legally disclosed in the seller’s declaration. This includes major electrical, heating, plumbing, or foundation issues. In these cases, you have two options. Either declare the problem, and get it repaired before listing or, be prepared to reduce your price to account for repair costs during negotiations or home appraisal.
Many sellers also choose to do a pre-listing inspection, especially for known risks like pyrite in the foundation. Buyers will often request this information anyway, so having it upfront can prevent delays or deals falling apart late in the process.
Minor issues may not require disclosure, but they still have a significant impact on buyer perception. This includes things like broken cupboard doors, missing doorstops, burnt-out lightbulbs, and scuff marks on the walls. Individually, these may seem insignificant however, taken together, they can signal a lack of overall maintenance.
The last thing you want is for buyers to assume there are multiple small repairs they’ll need to handle after moving in. This perception can quickly add up in their minds, and buyers will almost always overestimate the cost and effort required to fix these issues. As a result, they may submit lower offers to compensate. Astute buyer’s agents will also notice these details and use them as leverage to negotiate a price reduction.
Complete high ROI renovations
Not all renovations are worth doing before selling. In fact, the highest-return upgrades are often the simplest. In Canada, minor kitchen renovations can return 75–100% of their cost, while bathroom updates typically return 50–80%. Meanwhile, simple improvements like fresh paint can deliver strong returns while helping your home show better to buyers.
Energy-efficiency upgrades are another high-ROI category. Improvements like windows, doors, insulation, and heat pumps can return 70–90% of their cost, while also making your home more attractive to buyers concerned about long-term expenses. In Quebec, this is even more compelling due to programs like Rénoclimat and federal incentives like the CMHC Eco Plus Program, and the CMHC Eco Improvement Program, which can significantly reduce your upfront investment.
Finally, to avoid losing money, you should focus on quality and documentation. Use durable, high quality materials, and neutral finishes, and keep all receipts and invoices. Not only does this build buyer confidence, but it may also help reduce the GST/QST that you may need to pay on any taxable gain when you sell. It is also best to hire contractors with an RBQ license, since technically these contractors are more likely to do the job properly.
Note
It is important not to over-renovate. High-end or overly customized upgrades often fail to deliver a full return on investment, especially if they exceed what buyers expect in your price range, and in your location. The goal is not to build your “dream home,” but to make your property feel move-in ready and aligned with market expectations.
Before starting any renovations, consult your realtor to identify the upgrades that will deliver the highest ROI for your specific situation.
Repaint
A lot of homes in Montreal, especially those built or renovated in the late 1990s and early 2000s, feature interiors painted in warm tones like yellows, beiges, and even deep reds. At the time, these colors were popular because they made spaces feel “cozy”. But today’s buyers see them as very dated colors.
In 2026, one of the highest ROI improvements you can make before listing your home is repainting your interior in a neutral, modern color palette. It’s costs roughly $500 – $800 per room, and it can completely transform how your home is perceived, both online and in person, with an approximate ROI of 107%.
Top choices that consistently perform well include Dunn-Edwards Swiss Coffee, Dunn-Edwards Whisper, and Benjamin Moore White Dove. These soft, light shades of white create a clean, airy look that maximizes light and photograph beautifully.
In today’s market, where most buyers first encounter your home online, your listing photos need to stand out instantly. Bright, neutral walls reflect natural light, make spaces feel larger, and help give the impression of a modern interior deisgn compared to the bold or dated color choices from the 90s.
Curb appeal
Curb appeal is the first impression that sells your home before buyers even step inside. According to the National Association of Realtors, strong curb appeal can add up to 7–10% to the value of your home. And the good news is, you don’t need to break the bank on extensive landscaping to make a meaningful impact.
According to Montreal realtor Holly Manderson, there are several simple, affordable upgrades that can dramatically boost your home’s exterior, such as painting your front door with a modern color, updating outdoor lighting, adding outdoor seating, seasonal plants or flowers, and ensuring walkways are clean.
Holly says, “just by getting your lawn mown, trimming hedges, and doing a basic exterior refresh, which can cost as little as $1,000, you can completely change how buyers feel when they arrive. These small investments can create a huge emotional impact when it’s time to sell.”
Frequently asked questions
If your home is already well maintained, you may only need 1–2 weeks to declutter, deep clean, and make minor updates like repainting or small repairs. However, if you’re planning staging, renovations, or more extensive improvements, the process can take 4–6 weeks or longer.
The key is not just speed, it’s doing the right preparation in the right order. For example, painting should happen before staging, and repairs should be completed before photography.
According to Montreal real estate professionals, the best approach is to create a clear plan early.
Homes that are properly prepared before listing tend to sell faster and attract stronger offers, while rushing to market without preparation can lead to longer time on market and price reductions.
Final remarks
Preparing your home for sale is not about doing everything, it’s about doing the right things.
The difference between a home that sits on the market and one that attracts multiple offers often comes down to a handful of strategic decisions: how it’s presented, how it’s priced, and how well it aligns with what buyers are looking for today.
The challenge is that these decisions are highly market-specific. What works in one neighbourhood, or in a particular price range, may not work in another.
That’s why the most successful sellers don’t guess.
They work with experienced realtors who understand exactly which improvements will increase your home’s value, and which ones won’t.
A great realtor won’t just list your home. They’ll help you:
- Prioritize the highest ROI upgrades
- Avoid unnecessary expenses
- Position your home to generate maximum demand
👉 If you want to maximize your sale price, the next step is simple: find a top-performing realtor who knows your market.
Use Immovision Agent Finder to get matched with trusted Montreal realtors who can help you sell faster, and for more money.
