by Keith Rockmael
SAN FRANCISCO, March 19, 2006

When it comes to staging a home, the beauty lies not only in the art but in the numbers. For those who haven’t seen a home-staging TV show or sold a house recently, staging can transform a home from ugly duckling to swan.

Many people are under the misconception that staging is a pricey option for rich homeowners. Not true: Staging is about the creativity, not the money. What some people don’t realize when they sell their house "as is" or don’t stage is that it can actually cost them money.

Because the air seems to be seeping out of the real estate bubble, staging should be on the minds of more home sellers. In the real estate game, time is as important as money.

(Creatively Transforming A House Often Translates Into More Money continued…)

CONTRARY TO BELIEFS, COSTS ARE LOW AND NEED IS HIGH

Poll also finds 75% of Canadians classify their home décor as current and 45% call themselves pack rats

TORONTO, March 10, 2005 – With the busy spring housing market right around the corner, Canadians are contemplating home improvements to help entice potential buyers. According to a poll released today by Royal LePage Real Estate Services, the attitudes of Canadians towards appropriate house sale preparation costs and the currency of their home’s décor differs from industry experts.

(ROYAL LEPAGE Poll finds house staging a Pre-Sale MUST for Canadians continued…)

from Scripps Howard News Service

As the real-estate industry has become increasingly sophisticated, the business of spiffing up homes for sale has become its own occupation.

According to published reports, people in several areas of the country have gone into the business of "staging" homes, arranging them artfully for maximal visual and emotional appeal to buyers. Staging as a business is new enough that such operations often do not know of one another, reports the Minneapolis Star-Tribune.

( Decorating Homes To Sell continued…)

By Vivian Marino
Published: August 22, 2004

DR. DIRK SOSTMAN and his wife, Maria Preka, had expected their two-bedroom Upper East Side co-op to be snapped up quickly after listing it last spring. And why not? They had heard myriad stories of bidding wars and sky-high prices throughout the region.

To garner top dollar, ”we did everything that everyone told us to do,” said Dr. Sostman, a radiologist. ”We got the windows washed, we got rid of clutter.” But the apartment, with an initial asking price of just under $2 million, languished. ”I showed it 55 times in two weeks and I didn’t have any offers,” said the couple’s broker, Jackie Vincent of the Corcoran Group.

(ASSETS; A Little Style Works. Just Not Yours. continued…)