Robyn Seymour - The Essential Marketing Tool for Your Property is Home Staging

Home Staging is defined as the act of "beautifying a home for sale: cleaning, repairing and updating the decor and furnishings of an older residence to create it more attractive when revealed to prospective buyers." according to MSN Encarta dictionary.

The concept dates from 1970s, when a California realtor and decorator noticed that the properties she took the time to «stage» sold faster and for more money than the average. Today, it’s an important marketing/merchandizing tool in the USA (and spreading to Canada from the West) for the realtors and the home owners alike and it’s especially important in a slow market, where you need every advantage over your competition. TV shows, such as Designed to Sell and Flip that House demonstrate that a bit of effort and a small investment can transform a property and make a big difference at sale time!

The logic is strikingly simple: when you decide to sell your used car, wouldn’t you clean, wash and fix it up before reselling it? If you are going for a job interview, would you go wearing a tracksuit, running shoes and with messy hair? Of course you would not if you want that job, anyway. So you should do the same for your house, which is probably your biggest investment and presents an opportunity for a biggest return. Make your property look its best, emphasize its best features and you will attract the most potential buyers.

First impressions count for a lot, especially today, when most buyers preselect the properties they are interested in on Internet. If your photos don’t show your house at its best, you are probably missing out on dozens of potential buyers. The same is true for the visitors – when they come, make them feel, create that first impression which will make them fall for your house. How to do that? There are some simple things which you can do yourself - ask your realtor for suggestions, search the Internet or contact a Home Staging professional. A professional Staging consultant looks at your property with a buyer’s eye and will recommend some easy and inexpensive solutions to enhance its value – such as decluttering, depersonalizing, and reorganizing your furniture and artwork. As a result your house is better than other in the market and it will sell quicker and for more profit.