In this housing slump, sellers have increasingly been hiring professional stagers to improve the look and feel of their D.C. condo before putting up that "For Sale" sign.  Stagers are design professionals who organize, decorate, and clean a property to make it more inviting to house-hunters.  Don't confuse Accredited Staging Professionals (ASP) with interior designers.  Staging is much faster and less expensive than interior design, though it often has similar results.

When selling a house, the seller controls the price and the look, and the market determines the rest.  Just as a good real estate agent will help sellers determine the best price for their property, so will ASPs determine the best look.  Stagedhomes.com reports that un-staged U.S. properties stay on the market for an average of 161 days.  In contrast, staged homes stay on the market an average of only 33 days!

"Real estate is all about marketing," says Lyric Turner, ASP and owner of Red House Staging and Interiors in D.C.  (http://www.redhousestaging.com/)  Staging shows buyers the potential of a property; many who walk into a vacant or cluttered space just can't see the possibilities.  Staging neutralizes the space, helping potential buyers envision their own future in the space.  These quick makeovers aren't terribly expensive, and Turner and many other ASPs offer free estimates.  If you are hesitant to put more money into a home you are leaving, consider that a survey by HomeGain.com reports that sellers who utilize staging see an average return on investment of 343 percent.  In fact, many real estate agents are such staunch supporters of staging that they include staging in their selling package, and some agents even work the cost into their contract so that owners don't pay until closing.  It's hard to beat that.