Naked. It was the first thought that crossed my mind. The floors, windows and walls were naked down to the skirts of the windows missing. Mozart played in the background and glaring white carpeting lay at my feet. I took my shoes off. There was nothing homey about the house, just white wash. And I knew the buyer visiting the home would think the same. The house had all the charm of a brand new sanitarium. The only way I could think of to redeem the home and reverse the white sterility were the words, 'Home staging.'

And what I mean by 'staging a home' is NOT having a rental company come by and deposit a truck load of furniture and set it about in a Hodge podge manner. That is not staging!

Staging a house means going beyond efforts to just make it look tidy.

Just as stagehands set the stage for a production, you can do the same for a home. It can be made to look cozy, colorful and inviting, with a personalized look to make it stand out from the rest of the other houses on the market. If you have ever visited a new home development and walked through the models you've seen what staging a home to sell ought to be. You walk through a model and as you look around you hear yourself say, 'Wow, this is some place!'

You leave with a positive impression created by properly placed furniture, color coordinated accessories, beautiful rich linens and table settings, everything there evoking a feeling that the model home is cozy and inviting. Easily you pictured yourself living in that comfortable space, putting your own personal belongings in the home, lighting those candles on the dinner table, having friends visit in the homey setting...


And that's exactly what potential buyers want when they visit the house you're selling. They want that same instant coziness and comfort in the home they'll choose. Most people are visual oriented and cannot mentally remodel a home that needs TLC in their head, nor to be honest, do they want to have to spend thousands of dollars renovating. So, as a result, what the potential buyers see is usually what they want..

The good news is that to stage a home to sell you don't have to spend thousands of dollars to do this remodeling. It will be the little things you do that will make the magic happen. The accessories, the colorful chintz fabric on the tables, the fresh bouquet of flowers in a vase, the scented candles on the fireplace mantel, and the manner in which the furniture is set around an area rug, that is where the difference will be made.

Do you begin to understand that we will not be spending oodles of time and money redoing a home in this process? There won't be any need. In these chapters will be discussed how to stage a home to sell without needing a professional designer. By using the simple staging to sell methods in this book you'll learn how to makeover any house you're selling yourself.

Thinking about selling go to FREE Home Staging.

You can't go anywhere without hearing people talk about "the real estate bubble." Such talk drives me to distraction, and I'll tell you why. It's because there is no real estate bubble. Bubbles are for bathtubs.

Despite a thousand articles in Sunday newspaper real estate sections, the bubble is a myth. The real estate markets in many areas are going through a normal correction cycle. I'm going to tell you how to recognize the signs of a correction in your market, how you can avoid getting sucked into "bubble trouble" and how you can even benefit from the current environment.

This is the best time to buy.
Start her to find your dream home.

Santa Clara County, CA.
------------------------------

Single Family under
$1M
Average List Price $742,016
Median List Price $724,950
Average Days on Market 42.


Single Family over
$1M
Average List Price $2,132,496
Median List Price $1,588,000
Average Days on Market 60.


Condo/Townhome under
$600K
Average List Price $463,143
Median List Price $460,000
Average Days on Market 42.


Condo/Townhome over
$600K
Average List Price $733,679
Median List Price $684,950
Average Days on Market 40.

http://www.SanJose-California-realestate.com

The Real Estate market is showing some life with several new sales. The average sales price is holding.San Jose Real Estate A home that is staged is getting a faster sale. 52% faster than a home that's not staged. FREE Home Staging.

Based largely on a cooling housing market and falling oil prices, the Federal Reserve on September 20 left the benchmark overnight lending rate between banks at 5.25%, exactly where it has been since June 29, when the Fed halted a two-year stretch of 17 consecutive rate hikes. U.S. housing starts in August fell 6% from July to an annual pace of 1.67 million units, the slowest rate since April 2003, the Commerce Department reported September 19. Economists had forecast a decline to 1.75 million units. Starts are down 19.8% from August 2005. Oil prices fell below $61 a barrel on September 22, from an intraday peak of $78.40 on July 14. Many analysts said receding fears about this year's Atlantic hurricane season and ample worldwide supplies could keep downward pressure on crude futures. The Labor Department reported September 19 that wholesale prices rose a scant 0.1% in August, another sign that inflationary pressures were easing. Core inflation, which excludes energy and food prices, behaved even better, falling 0.4% after a 0.3% drop in July. The back-to-back declines in core inflation were the first in more than three years. The Conference Board's Index of Leading Economic Indicators slipped 0.2% in August, following a similar 0.2% dip in July. The decline matched analysts' expectations. The index, which measures 10 key sectors of the economy, predicts economic activity three to six months into the future. The number of U.S. workers filing unemployment claims increased by 7,000 to 318,000, slightly higher than analysts expected, the Labor Department reported September 21. This week look for updates on existing home sales on September 25. Compliments of American Home Mortgage Investment Corp.