Many articles about staging have appeared in newspapers, business journals and magazines recently, and the subject also has been featured on ABC’s “Good Morning America” and “20/20” and the “NBC Nightly News.” Now the topic of staging will be the focus of discussion on “Oprah.”

Why all the hoopla? Is the media jumping all over this topic because home sales are softening? The answer is both yes and no.

Home staging is not at all new. Washington realtor Barb Schwarz trademarked “home staging” and “stager” more than 20 years ago. She knew that every real estate agent’s goal is to sell a listing quickly and for the highest price possible and that preparing a home for sale is the name of the game. The housing market had been strong for many years, especially on the West Coast, so the concept of staging simply became a useful selling tool.

A highly successful realtor, Schwarz is now a motivational speaker and has trained more than a million people in the art of staging.

Today’s housing market presents a prime opportunity for real estate agents to develop staging as a marketing tool or to set up a staging business to work with agents to sell homes more quickly and at a higher price. In some areas of the country, especially where property values have appreciated at a great rate in recent years, prices now are leveling off. Houses are lingering on the market longer, often selling at drastically reduced prices, paving the way for the rebirth of staging.

The drastic measure of slashing home prices is not necessary if staging is used as part of the sales strategy from the beginning. Statistics show that a staged home usually sells more quickly and holds its price better than a non-staged home. As a realtor, I know this is true.

I saw the value of earning my accreditation through Barb Schwarz’s program and learned the fine points of home staging. I found that staging is more than simply being creative. I learned that I was not decorating a home for the owner but preparing it to be marketed to prospective buyers.

People must be able to imagine their own possessions in the home, which is staged just for them: de-personalized, de-cluttered and delightfully arranged.

Does staging work? My firsthand experience is that homes I have staged sold more quickly than other homes in the same neighborhood, without slashing the price. The most difficult part of staging is that the home might feel uncomfortable or awkward for the current owners because their personal belongings are no longer around. Sometimes I even change the function of a room.

For example, I might make a dining room into a family room. However, homeowners understand that staging was the right tactic when they receive an acceptable offer.

Staging might not always be necessary, but an astute real estate agent should always offer the seller pointers on how to prepare the home so that it appeals to potential buyers both inside and out. Real estate agents who are also accredited staging professionals provide a double benefit to the seller because they understand the fine points of selling a home.

Staging is not a desperate measure, but it is a viable business strategy. The cost of staging is insignificant compared with the benefits of selling your home quickly and for a figure close to your asking price.

Jane Miller