Want to sell quickly and for top dollar? Stage before you list.

Your property is one of the biggest investments in your life.  When you sell, you want to get the best price you can for it and generally as quickly as you can.  So why skimp on preparation?

Home staging can be an important part of the real estate sales process, because making a good first impression is important.  Buyers will only take 5 minutes to walk through your home if they're not interested, and they have already formed an initial opinion within the first 20 seconds they are inside.

Getting a professional home stager's advice is very useful, because you may think your home looks great when it is not as effective as it could be.  Interior decorating is about personalizing a space and making it your own, and most of us approach our living space from this perspective.  Home staging, on the other hand, is about removing personalization and appealing to the widest audience possible, creating a more neutral space and making it easier for buyers to imagine themselves living there.

You might question the value of hiring a professional home stager.  If you absolutely do not want to hire a home stager, then most real estate agents - myself included - can work with you on some basic home preparation.  However, consider the cost of a home staging consultation versus one typical price reduction on the listing.  Price reductions are usually in the thousands of dollars.

There's no guarantee of course, but properly staged properties do tend to sell more quickly and for top market value.  It is an investment well worth considering.