To keep from hurting your feelings and losing the listing, some agents may say that they leave those suggestions to their stager.

WSJ: Are Sellers' Appraisals and Inspections Overkill?--WSJ House Talk

As she was leaving, the stager told me I should put a bowl of green apples on the kitchen table for the open house.

WSJ: How Much Staging Is Too Much?--WSJ House Talk

I've gone along with the suggestions of the stager my real-estate agent chose because she was kind, tactful and well-respected and because my agent graciously offered to pick up the cost.

WSJ: How Much Staging Is Too Much?--WSJ House Talk

Now, however, the pressure to pare down and primp is relentless while interviewing agents, I've even had some say they wouldn't work with me unless I agreed to work with their stager.

WSJ: How Much Staging Is Too Much?--WSJ House Talk

The stager didn't bring in any props or furniture, but removed many things and moved around the rest to improve the flow of certain rooms and create vignettes for reading and conversation.

WSJ: How Much Staging Is Too Much?--WSJ House Talk

Yet, when the new season kicks off at the Millennium Stadium against old rivals Wigan on Saturday night, the talk will still inevitably revolve to a large extent around their most famous old stager.

BBC: St Helens season preview 2011

Nearly every real-estate agent uses a stager, or claims to be one and if you question the need, you're likely to be told that staged houses sell 73% faster than those that aren't (a statistic from the Real Estate Staging Association).

WSJ: How Much Staging Is Too Much?--WSJ House Talk