Home Staging is the art of decorating a home to sell quickly and for top dollar.

It may be as simple as rearranging what you already have or as complex as bringing in new furniture, accessories or art.

Once completed, it provides sellers with a property that shows to its full potential and generates more successful showings.

People shop with logic but they buy with emotion. If your home looks fantastic and the buyer can immediately imagine living there, they are more likely to make an offer.

In a slow real estate market, this is critical because you need to do something to motivate a buyer to make an offer. If the buyer is afraid someone else might buy their "dream home" they will take action. Otherwise, they'll feel no pressure to buy because there are lots of properties on the market and prices are dropping in a slow market.

In a hot real estate market, home staging helps because if enough buyers are bidding on your home, the selling price goes up way past your asking price. Most buyers can't look past unattractive or disorganized rooms or figure out how their furniture might look in an empty room.

According to HGTV, the #1 mistake home buyers can make is NOT staging their home before putting it on the market.

The International Association of Home Staging Professionals claims that 95% of staged homes sell in an average of 11 days or less and sell for 17% more.

And non-staged homes are on the market for an average of 90 days before they are sold.

Successful businessman often say: you have to spend money to make money.

Same with the sale of your property. There are things you can do that do not cost anything.

You can use what you already have. Often the main staging tasks needed are to de-clutter, pare back on furniture and accessories and re-position existing furniture, accessories and art for better balance and flow.

However, we recommend that a home stager is brought in for at least a home staging consultation.

For a small investment, the home stager will provide you with professional advice on what exactly needs to be done to get your home in show-ready condition.

An investment in staging can cost from as little as a few hundred dollars for a consultation to several thousand dollars for staging services, furniture, and accessory rentals or purchases as well as minor repairs.

The fees also depend upon the size and condition of the home, how much work the owner is willing to do themselves and the price point of the home.

On average, the cost of staging ranges from .5% to 1.5% of the property's asking price.

Alternatively, the average first price reduction is 7 percent of the asking price and 75 percent of the sellers who do one price reduction eventually do a second.

There really is nothing a homeowner should do to prepare for a consultation.

Unlike most people, professional home stagers can see past a person's clutter and furnishings.

Trying to get organized or clean up will waste the homeowner's time and only cause stress.

If a half-day or full day of staging services is going to follow a consultation, we may request that recommendations we made in the consultation such as de-cluttering, painting and repairs be done before we come in to rearrange furniture or add accessories.

Only 10% of buyers can visualize the potential of a home.

Vacant homes sit on the market even longer than poorly furnished homes.

Vacant homes can appear cold, sterile and boxy. That's why builders always furnish model homes

And with no frame of reference in the form of furniture and accessories, the buyer has no idea if their furniture will fit (empty rooms actually appear smaller than furnished rooms), or what the purpose of the room is (an office or extra bedroom?).

Buyers also tend to focus on the little defects because there's nothing else to look at. And not to be overlooked is the perception by buyers of a vacant home: empty houses = desperate sellers.

They've already moved out and now have two mortgages to pay, so they must be willing to settle for less.

At RBR DESIGNS, we will spend time evaluating what furniture and accessories are needed to fit the style of the home and the market it's in.

We will find just the right furniture and accessories to rent or purchase to appeal to the target buyer.

We'll be there to arrange it all properly when the furniture and accessories are delivered, and we're there when the home is successfully sold and everything needs to be moved out.

Only 10% of buyers can visualize the potential of a home.

Most buyers and renters cannot look past a cluttered or unappealing room.

And while most of them start out looking for a home based upon logical criteria, for example, 4 bedrooms, family room with a fireplace, they end up purchasing or renting based upon an emotional connection they feel when they're in the home.

When a house feels like home, they will re-prioritize their list.

They may be willing to give up the fireplace because staging has transformed the property into a dream and they can envision themselves living there.

Though it may be true and your property looks great, but regardless your great decorating skills, every home that's for sale can benefit from the objective eye of a professional home stager who's main objective is to attract the most buyers.

Homeowners are so used to their home's flaws they don't see them anymore.

Also, you cannot view your own home through a buyer's eyes.

Once your home is on the market, it’s a product that needs to be positioned and it’s not about your taste anymore.

If you wait to stage if it doesn't sell, it then becomes a stale listing.

You’ll be offered less than the listing price because potential buyers know it's been on the market for a while.

Also, you end up missing out on any interested buyers who first saw your house and decided it wasn't for them.

It is better to capture them right away when the home looks its best.

While a total kitchen and/or bathroom remodel may be unnecessary prior to selling, the reasons you want to at least do some updates like painting, new carpeting, floor refinishing and changing out lighting and plumbing fixtures is to :

• first, eliminate the turn-off that buyers will have once they step into the space
• improve the space enough so that buyers feel they can move in and wait awhile prior to doing their own updates

And things as simple as repairs need to be done so that buyers don't make a mental checklist and offer a lower selling price.

The softer the market, the more you must differentiate the property from others crowding the market.

Wouldn't it be great to get a bidding war going because your property looks so much better than everyone elses?

Remember, staging is an investment not an expense.

It can increase profit in two ways - by increasing value and by reducing expenses (mortgage, taxes, utilities) by decreasing the time the home is on the market.

Yes, in a hot market just about every house or apartment will sell or rent, but the question is when and at what price.

Even if it did sell or rent quickly and at a good price, it doesn't mean it was sold or rented at its fullest potential.

Imagine having multiple bids on a home instead of the couple you might get without staging.

Home staging is the art and the skill of making a house or apartment attractive to potential buyers or renters by portraying a lifestyle that they aspire to, so that it sells or rents quickly and for top dollar.

With interior decorating, you are designing to the tastes, preferences, and lifestyle of the people living in the home.

Unlike interior decorating, home staging is about decor that is not taste-specific, yet appeals to the profile of the target buyer.

It is the art of creating emotional connection points throughout the house so that when a buyer or renter steps into the house they feel as if they were home. Home staging emphasizes the best features of a property while improving or downplaying the less marketable features.