No one really likes the process of selling their home. Everything has to be kept spotless for last-minute showings, there is the stress of not knowing what buyers will love or hate and the uncertainty of when the home might sell. Add in a tight timeline and the entire proposition ramps up the average person's blood pressure.

The average time it takes to sell a home is 68 days, but it's impossible to predict if your home will sell in one day or 100 days. There are a number of factors which impact how long a home takes to sell, many of which you have no control over, such as the local market and other inventory on the market. Fortunately, you can control the staging of your home, presenting it in the best light possible and increasing the odds your home sells sooner rather than later.

Before listing your home, do some prep work, since staged homes sell about 23 days faster than those that are not staged. 

1. Remove Clutter

Make your home look bigger and more move-in ready by removing extra furniture and packing away clutter. If possible, rent a storage space and remove as much as possible so pathways are clear and rooms look larger. Stagers recommend removing anything that is extremely personal, such as family photos. The potential buyer needs the ability to picture themselves in the home and your personal items in the mix make that more difficult.

2. Highlight the Best Features

What are the best features of your home from a buyer's viewpoint? You might love the koi pond in your foyer, but buyers might not. However, they might adore the huge double front doors, and a fresh coat of paint brings those doors into focus. Talk to your real estate agent and ask what type of feedback buyer's are giving for your home. Look at the elements which you control and make changes as needed. A fresh coat of paint, trimming the bushes in front of the house and adding a door to separate rooms are inexpensive things you can do that help with the overall staging of your place.

3. Add Virtual Staging

Are you trying to sell an empty home? You might wonder if you need to spend money bringing in furniture and creating a model home atmosphere. Since many people begin their home buying journey online, one option that can cost far less than physical staging in this scenario is virtual staging. Digital furnishings and decor gets added to photos of empty rooms. Instead of browsing photos of empty rooms on real estate websites, the buyer sees a beautifully staged home that looks move-in ready.

4. Use Tape to Lay Out Furniture

For amateur stagers, figuring out the layout of a room is half the battle. Instead of moving furniture multiple times, push it all into another room, measure each piece and use blue painter's tape to outline where the furniture might go. The tape is much lighter to move and you can try multiple arrangements until you find the perfect layout. Keep in mind the flow of traffic within a room and from room to room. As the buyer walks into the room, can they easily move around the furniture to get to closets or to another room in the home?

You can use soft music to set a mood, but don't try to cover up issues such as street noise, because buyers will simply feel you're trying to hide something. If you do choose to play music, go for soft jazz or instrumental type music.

5. Appeal to All Five Senses

For buyers to create an emotional connection with your home, all five of their senses must be engaged. Sight is an obvious connection for buyers and one you focus on as you stage your home, but you'll also want to add in the other sense. For smell, make sure you've neutralized any odors and then bake some cookies in the oven just before a showing. Cookies create a homey smell and the buyer imagines their children coming home from school to freshly baked cookies. Add a fuzzy rug for the sense of touch and make sure all surfaces are clean and grit free in case shoppers run their fingers over the surface.

Taste might not be on your immediate radar for engaging buyers' senses, but offering offering a snack and beverages is often a welcome respite for buyers looking at multiple homes. If they linger in your house and feel comfortable there, you've made a positive impression. 

Try Everything Your Real Estate Agent Suggests

Real estate agents are pros are presenting a home in its best light. If you've ever read a listing, then you know that a house close to a busy street becomes a house "with fast access to main roads." Take the advice of your agent and implement the suggestions they make for selling your home more quickly. As a professional, your agent works with both sellers and buyers and knows what buyers like and what turns them off. If your house isn't moving, call your agent and ask what else you can do to make your home move more quickly.