As the number of unsold homes on the market rises, prospective home sellers are trying to beat the days-on-market averages. But before they lower expectations along with their selling price, there is a far less costly option to consider — "staging" the home for sale.

Home staging is simply the merchandising of a house to capture the hearts and bids of potential buyers. The objective: making a good first impression.

If the concept seems like just another fee layer guaranteed to inflate selling expenses, think again. A 2003 HomeGain Survey found that home staging paid for itself — and then some — by boosting the final selling price.

According to a 2006 StagedHomes.com survey, homes listed for sale without staging spent an average 4.5 months on the market; homes staged before listing spent less than 1.5 months on the market. The average time for a staged home to reach a ‘sales pending’ status was about a week. And staging boosts the estimated sales price by 3 percent, according to other industry surveys. On average, certified stagers charge $1,900 per listing, Schwarz estimates, although that varies widely depending on region.

While no independent national surveys have been conducted to substantiate these industry claims, anecdotal evidence suggests the ranks of staging adherents are growing.

Pat Vredevoogd Combs, president-elect of the National Association of Realtors and a Grand Rapids, Mich., Realtor, is among those who prefers that her listings be staged; she even pays for clients’ first hour of consultation with a stager. 

Lori Corken, a realtor with RE/MAX in Denver, not only uses stagers for all of her listings, she covers the cost.

The stager makes that leap for the homeowner by figuring out how to showcase the best features of each room, she said.

Staging is more about putting that stuff away, and literally getting it out of the way of prospective Realtors, buyers and appraisers. Ultimately staging is about helping prospective buyers see themselves occupying the space.

When that space involves a vacant home, buyers may need extra help with their vision. Even with rented furniture, a vacant home lacks the energy an occupied home radiates.

Headquartered in Mobile, Ala., Showhomes has been staging homes nationally for 20 years.  But it practices a more extreme form. The company moves one of its home managers — along with the manager's family and possessions — into a vacant home. Then the home manager stays until the listed home is sold and closes.

Professional golfer Jeff Johnson and his wife, Rebecca, were uncertain where they wanted to live when they moved their family to Charlotte, N.C., late last year, so they signed up with Showhomes to be ‘home managers.’  They are already in their fourth home.

Edwina Baniqued