By Barb Schwarz, Stagedhomes.com

Home sellers and REALTORS® have two priorities: sell the property fast and for as much money as possible. Market-sensitive pricing and a well-executed marketing plan to get the most attention in the marketplace are, of course, crucial. Equally important is to make sure a property makes a great first impression. These days, with more than 80 percent going online to begin their home search, it’s imperative that the first impression not only is made when visiting a home, but as important through pictures in Web listing.

Statistics gathered by Stagedhomes.com shows that 94.6 percent of homes staged by an Accredited Staging Professional (ASP®) sell within 33 days, compared to an average of 196 days for homes that are not staged. Homes staged by ASP®s stay on the market 83 percent less time than a home that has not been staged.

Completion of Home Staging: Thursday. Contract: Friday.

Too good to be true? Not at all. Just ask Carmen Wilber of DeLand in East Central, Florida.

Carmen, ASP®, and owner of Style Fusion Home Staging, recently got a call from the owners of a vacant home that had been on the market for two months with plenty of visitors yet no offers. Those who had seen the home, the REALTOR® representing the home shared, couldn’t easily visualize what it would like to live in the home. It was clear the property needed to be staged.

After an initial walk-through of the house, when Carmen described her staging process and the improvements she recommended, she went to work. Read more