Many home sellers wonder why their home languishes on the market. They've deep cleaned, freshened paint, priced it right, and staged the dining room table with china. Are you begging your listing agent to: "Sell my home" and thinking about dropping the sales price?

Before you cut your price or pay more seller's costs, reevaluate your home staging.

The average home buyer only spends four minutes previewing a home. You must get them to invest more time to CONNECT emotionally to your home. The more time a buyer spends in a home, the more they think about where their furniture could go.

That's you goal when showing your home--to get buyers to imagine living in your home. People will pay more for a home they fall in love with and want to live in.

To get buyers to imagine their grandmother's clock or cream sofa in your living room, you need to allow plenty of empty space. This is where so many home stagers miss the mark; they think they need to fill a home with furniture.

On the other hand, many real estate investors paint a fixer all white, install boring beige carpeting, and show a stark house with no accessories to spark the imagination.

What you should do is to stage suggestions of happy living in your home.

Home Staging Tips

Of course, you know to deep clean and declutter your home. Beyond these steps, take YOU out of the home. Pack up accessories like family photos and anything that doesn't speak to a buyer. You want the buyer to imagine their possessions in the space.

Remove extra furniture that makes the space feel crowded. This is especially important in warm weather. Fewer furnishings make your rooms feel cooler.

One you've lightened your rooms, take a critical look. You might want a friend to come in and help you evaluate the space. If the home feels sparse instead of "homey," add accessories that will make your potential buyer feel at home. For instance, a game table with a chess set for upscale buyers or a family board game for first-time home buyers.

Adding suggested activities to your home gives buyers something to look at and keeps your buyers in your home longer than four minutes. You just might get them imagining their new home!

Copyright 2006 Jeanette J. Fisher