Coldwell Banker Sveum Realty

Home staging is a proven method for preparing your home for sale, and it's particularly effective when you need to sell your home quickly. A study of 2,772 properties by Joy Valentine of Coldwell Banker Realty revealed that staged homes clear off the market twice as fast as non-staged ones... and can fetch up to four times the price!

While the results of home staging are somewhat magical, fortunately for home sellers, the process is not. Former president of the Vancouver Real Estate Board Glenn Temes defines home staging as anything you can do to make your home seem cozier and more livable--in short, anything that helps home buyers picture themselves living there.

"Having a house that has a lot of curb appeal--from the outside and from the inside--is going to help you get top dollar when you go to sell," Temes said in a recent CBC interview.