When it comes to listing homes for sale, you may already understand how important good impressions are to potential buyers. In recent years, the manner of spiffing your home up to showcase its best features was given a name: staging. Read on to learn more about setting the stage to ensure that your home is putting on its best face for buyers:

What Buyers Want to See

The proliferation of so-called "nesting" programming on television, like HGTV, DIY Network and more, means that very few people are unaware of how important is it to make your home shine for buyers. These buyers see the same shows and expect clean, spacious, and tastefully decorated homes to visit when they are searching for new place to live. It's no longer enough to just tidy up and vacuum; you may now need to take a few extra steps to ensure your home shows well.

Hire a Professional

The cost of hiring a professional staging expert can vary depending on where you live, but estimates are usually available before you commit to a service. In most cases, you can decide just how much help you need. Basic help might include a home visit and consultation with a customized report with tips on using what you have to its best advantage. For those willing to take it a step further, you may need to remove all of your furniture and have it replaced with some temporary furnishings and accessories.

Do It Yourself Staging Strategies

In many cases, you don't have the option of moving out or spending a lot of money on staging, but there is a lot you can do with what you already have available in your home. In fact, staging can be about what is not visible as much as it is about what is seen.

1. Clear clutter: Too many accessories and personal belongings can make your rooms look small, which is never a good thing. You'll need to pack up eventually, so put all those souvenirs, knick-knacks, photographs, books, figurines, and more in boxes and take them to storage. Keep only a few of your best accessories on display. Less is more when it comes to allowing buyers to visualize themselves in your home.

2. Rearrange: You might want to move what's left of your furnishings around a bit to open up traffic patterns and to lend the spotlight to any room features. For example, don't hide a large window by putting a couch in front of it, move the couch and add some fresh sheers to the windows instead. Many homes are saddled with tiny secondary bedrooms, so move the dresser out of the room and use it in your living room or dining room instead (remove the mirror, of course)

3. Fresh Paint: Refresh tired rooms with new, neutral toned paint. You want buyers to see the room, not the bright blue paint.

To get more tips on staging your home yourself, talk to your real estate agent. They can fill you in on what buyers in your location like to see.