"When getting ready to sell a home, investing a little money into sprucing it up can result in big dividends in the final price tag.

Barbara Corcoran, "Good Morning America's" contributor and founder of the Corcoran Group, said that in general, home staging could increase the final sale price by 5 percent to 20 percent."

“….as homes languish on the market, it seems harder to find a buyer.  One way to make a house stand out is to “stage” it for sale.  Home staging is an interior decorating technique that aims to make a house look inviting to buyers and neutral enough so they can envision living there.”

“Staged to Sell:  A West Coast Marketing Philosophy Is Finally Catching On In The State
…a relatively new concept in the home selling process is starting to catch on here in the Northeast. It is called staging and it’s about preparing your house to sell.  The purpose of staging is a faster sale in a sluggish market and a higher contract price in any market.  According to Kate Hart, an Accredited Staging Professional and certified trainer, staging has been used on the West Coast for more than 30 years, where stagers work in conjunction with Realtors.  She added 90 percent of homes there are staged as a part of the standard home marketing process.

But don’t get confused in thinking that staging is simply decorating – it’s marketing.  The goal of a stager is to view a home through a potential buyer’s eye and enhance that all-important first impression.”

“Staging speeds up sales in a sluggish market, and can bump prices 2% to 10% in a moderate market.  The biggest advantage occurs with luxury homes or in a market with bidding wars over properties, where effective Staging can boost prices by 30% to 50 %.”