All the home staging in the world won't sell an over-priced home.

“All the home staging in the world won’t sell an over-priced home.”

That’s what Nairn Friemann, a great New York home stager, told us during my first day of home staging training back in 2007. I was reminded of those words today as I went out to preview homes for sale here in Montreal’s West Island and saw a beautiful home that’s just come on the market. The home is gorgeous: not too country and not too modern, a well-renovated kitchen, nice lot, no loud colours to turn off buyers, no disproportionately large furniture eating up entire rooms, stylish accessories, lovely art and lots of light. But it’s over-priced…by quite a bit. And the agent knows it.

The owners of this home have undoubtedly heard from all of their friends that their house is absolutely stunning. And it is. But friends don’t tell you that the windows need replacing, that the garage floor is a wreck, that the roof is at the end of its life, that the low ceiling in the basement will be a problem for many buyers, and that the bathroom hasn’t been updated. (In the case of the bathroom, friends are impressed that you’ve actually managed to do so much with so little!).

But these are things that a real estate agent will consider and point out, especially a buyer’s agent.

Now, I'm both a Montreal home stager and a Montreal West Island real estate broker. So I loudly sing the praises of home staging and what it can do to help homeowners sell their home more quickly and for top dollar.

But what staging won't do is sell an over-priced listing. So sellers, when pricing your home, listen to your agent, not your friends – because all the staging in the world won’t sell an over-priced home.

Property Wire Canada