What a nice house - and beautiful grounds. Your curb appeal is outstanding. Some people might not like the sloping yard, but you've done a wonderful job with the outside. The inside seems very spacious. You might want to post this on the home decorating section of GW, as the posters over there usually have some really constructive suggestions. I've looked through the pictures. I won't make comments that require a lot of money (e.g., updating the kitchen), but a couple of staging issues that occurred to me (others may disagree of course): The house is painted in neutral colors, but perhaps too neutral. The couches and furniture are as neutral as the walls. I think you might do well to insert some color via pillows, curtains, etc. You don't have to have the cocktail and side tables empty. Put some colorful flowers or colorful books out to give texture to the room. The pictures all uniformly hung too high. Over the couch in the living room, for instance, the picture and sconces over the couch are so high that the first thing I saw was the hvac vent near the ceiling rather than the room itself. Pictures and other wall hangings should be part of the furniture groupings, not positioned so they draw attention to the ceiling. Take a look at pictures in the home decorating section of GW and see the height that most people prefer. Are those white chairs on the deck plastic? You seem to have a nice set out there on one side, and then some plastic ones on the other side. I suggest you just toss the white plastic ones. It will make the deck appear more spacious and upgrade it at the same time. Re-arrange the bedroom that has the bed in front of part of the window. The bed is off-center and obscures the light, giving the room a crowded feel and makie it appear smaller than it is. Take a couple of the diningroom chairs out, leaving just four at the table, put them in the basement around the table, and pack the folding chairs away. You should be able to walk around a table or it looks like the buyer's stuff won't fit properly either. Agree with a poster above that the walk in closet needs to have some of the clothes packed away. I really wish you all the best. Maybe you'll get an offer this weekend, and don't have to do anything more anyway ! Hope so. it's a very nice house. This post was edited by hayden2 on Fri, Apr 26, 13 at 8:40

Tricia, I'm not sure I'm the best person to ask, but my impression is that its the same as everywhere else, it depends on the local market. For instance, I live in Southern Ontario (about an hour west of Toronto), where the market is night and day difference from say Manitoba or Saskatchewan. Just an hour east in Toronto, the market is also very different and is still fairly strong. Right here in my city, it seems to be hit or miss... definitely down from 3 years ago when we bought here. A house would hit MLS and before you could schedule a viewing, it would be SOLD. Some other houses in my neighbourhood have been on the market since late last summer, but pricing is really to blame. They didn't seem to notice that in the last 3 years the market has changed, the demand has reduced and the inventory is pretty high, especially this spring. While interviewing realtors to list our house with, all of them commented on how cautious buyers were being and how they wanted to see 20+ property options before narrowing down their choices. In contrast, 3 years ago, we looked at 3 houses, all had one offer on the night we were ready to choose one and make an offer and we had to really compete to be the chosen offer! In our case, we offered $1100 over asking price and with only financing as a condition, even though we were already "approved". Our next purchase will be near Ottawa (600km east) and again their market is different again, especially since we'll be looking in the rural areas of Ottawa. Many of the rural properties have been on the market for some time and a couple new ones have been listed very recently. If they are priced correctly, have a convenient commuting location and are in good condition, they sell pretty quickly, I guess that IS just standard everywhere :) I'm not sure if that answers your question about our market or just raises more! I'm just happy I don't have to scrub like a maniac today and now I can get other things done like make time for a hair cut and get the oil changed in my van! GP

I think a lot of buyers want to find a house right now before interest rates go up, and before the election. Goldman Sachs said earlier this month that a rate increase is on the way. I totally understand about needing to spend as little as possible on the house right now. I think your house is great. Who wouldn't love to have 3 bathrooms and 3 living areas?!!! I am going to disagree with those who said not to put in all 3 pictures of them though. Like someone else said, people really do lack imagination. We only put 2 pictures of our bathrooms in at first and the first thing people said was that they thought the 3rd bathroom must have been just a toilet and sink hanging on the wall. After that, we put in the 3rd photo. People watch too much hgtv and expect a lot from houses. Our mantra when getting our house ready to list was: Make it look like no one lives here. Here are the changes I suggest: 1. Take some new photos. Not the realtor. You. You have the time to do them right. A lot of your realtor's pictures were taken in a hurry and at the wrong time of day for some of the rooms. Even if your camera doesn't take good pictures, take them anyway to show your realtor how to show your house best. Take all your photos in landscape, not portrait mode. They will make the room look bigger and fit MLS better. a. Your family room should be photographed when the sun isn't shining directly into that sliding glass door. If you take a photo when the sun is on the other side of the house, the door will show up and it will look bright and cheerful instead of having a blinding glare. Always have the sun behind you, not shooting into it. You can even stand beside the door (see the red x on the photo below) and the room will look brighter, which will help your fireplace not look so dark. You can also use free software like Gimp to crop and enhance your photos. IMO, your living room looks like it has a low ceiling because so much ceiling is visible. It looks like the camera is being held next to the ceiling. You can crop that out, so the focus is on the room, not the ceiling. Some people probably think it looks like a higher ceiling with more ceiling showing. I agree with the others about family photos too, and unplug the cords under the tv - just for the photo. b. The blue bedroom. You can repaint that bedroom, and if it really is as dark as it appears in the photo, you probably should. However, I bet it will take more than a gallon of paint to cover that blue, more like two gallons. If you decide to paint, check mistints at the big box stores and paint stores. Paint stores are more likely to have neutral colors, and I've found that they are usually cheaper too. They won't tint it for you. What is in the can is what you get. You can lighten some colors with Gimp too. But the carpet looks darker there than any other room in the house, so I'm guessing the blue isn't that dark either; it's just the lighting. But when you retake the photo, try not to shoot directly at the window, and if you must, do it when the sun isn't shining in so brightly. Overcast days are wonderful, but so is early morning, or evening. Also in that room, after you take all the stickers (and maybe the poster) off the walls and stuff off the night table, you can make the bed look more inviting with a couple of tricks. Take the pillows off the bed and straighten the comforter so it is even all around the bed and hopefully it comes all the way to the wall at the head. Take the two pillows off the bed in the yellow bedroom, and put light blue or white pillow cases on them, and prop them at an almost upright angle against the wall. Then prop the two pillows that are there now against them, but not totally covering them. If you don't have pillowcases on them that match the comforter, use the curtains that were on that window to wrap them like a package. Just tuck the loose ends behind the pillows. No one will ever know. Now it looks like there could be a headboard there, and lots of inviting pillows for guests or a child. Put a couple of books under the lamp to give it a little height and turn it on and turn on the ceiling fan light (but not the fan itself) for your next photo. Just for the photo, unplug the cord under the window. When people visit, they won't even notice it, but they will notice in pictures. Pull the blinds up leaving a header of about six inches. From here, the poster looks wrinkled. Maybe iron it, or just take it off. Definitely take it off if it will offend anyone. Look around and see if you have anything interesting to hang over the bed. It doesn't have to be a picture. c. The yellow bedroom. It must be on the opposite side of the house than the blue one. See how the light is softer and you can see the whole window? I hate to put the burden of paint on you, but that yellow is bright. And most people know how hard it is to paint over yellow. No one can of paint in that room either. Is the dresser at an angle? Is there a reason for that? As a buyer I would wonder if there isn't enough room on the wall for it. Here, I would remove all the stickers and probably the smaller snowman poster even if you decide not to repaint. I like the blue in the poster over the bed. I think it helps the yellow. I agree with buying a comforter for this bed too. If you have a Ross store near you, you can find a complete set for under $30. If you are going to repaint, choose the bedding first because it's easier to match paint to fabric rather than find fabric to match paint. And I'd do the same thing here for the photo. Take the pillows off the blue bed and use them to create a mock headboard and give a fluffier look to the bed. I hope you have a different place to stand for the photo though, because that direct shot at the side of the bed isn't as good as from the foot or even from an angle. If that is the only place to get a decent picture, maybe put the bed on the opposite wall and the dresser where the bed is. Take all the toys off the dresser and nightstand. If that is a bookshelf to the right of the door, put some of them there so it looks like a display, not like they are stuffed in there. And speaking of that piece, just for the photo, get it out of the shot. You can move it back afterward. Even if you can take the picture from a different angle, make sure there isn't the corner of something sticking into the shot. Make sure the comforter is even, the blinds are level, and all the lights on when you take your photo. 2. I think your realtor did a good job with the outside photos. Looks like it was about hour on either side of noon and nothing is in deep shadow. I would have her remove the 2nd photo of the front though. It's not a flattering view with so much concrete and no greenery around the front of the house part. Too bad the photo of the back of the house has the trash can in it, but it's still not bad. 3. The green bathroom. I'd have nothing on the toilet tank lid, and remove that tube of lotion from the left side of the sink. Close the door that shows the laundry basket in the mirror. This room is more difficult to photograph because of the dark colors and the bright lights. Do you have any lower wattage bulbs you can put in those lights just for the photo? Also, you need a very bright light behind you when you take the photo. It will help with the brightness of the vanity lights and make the room look brighter. You can put a lamp on a table behind and to the side of you, both sides if possible. And use the brightest bulbs you have in them. 4. The pumpkin bathroom. I'd remove the little stool, the bathmat, the can beside the soap dispenser, the washcloth, toothbrushes, and whatever that is on the little chest next to the plant. Use a lower wattage bulb in the vanity lights for the photo, and take it at a time of day when the sun isn't bright on that side of the house. When we had a showing, I'd grab the bathmat and take it with me. You might have a better place to stow it out of sight for showings. And stick the toothpaste and toothbrushes in a drawer. 5. The master bedroom. I agree with those who said to get a different bedspread and get rid of the chest at the end of the bed. Is the wall behind the bed green? Whatever it is, it doesn't really go with pink. White, off-white, or the color of the lighter wall would be good. See if you can borrow one, and a taller lamp too. I agree with moving the nightstand beside the bed. I can't really tell what is there, but remove anything that wouldn't be there if no one lived there. I also agree with moving the chest so it is on the wall at the foot of the bed if possible. If not there, maybe in the closet, or even the garage. Anywhere but hanging over the edge of a window. When you retake the photo, move the dresser so the corner isn't in view, and try not to get the doorknob in the photo. If you do, just crop it out. 6. I like this second photo of the family room. There is no glare from the sliding glass door and it looks like the lamp is on in the lower right corner, shining on the flowers. The only thing I would remove is the box with the brown sheet on it. 7. In the kitchen, I'd remove the tablecloth and everything from the counters except the paper towels. Make it look like "Wow, look at all that counter space!" 8. The laundry room looks nice. For showings, I'd stick the trash can under the sink. If you choose to rephotograph, I'd stand with my right shoulder against the wall and shoot toward the washer and dryer so that you get them, plus that great sink, and try not to get the brown thing on lower left. 9. The formal living room photo is great. This is where a ceiling photo does look good. 10. The office. Are there two desks, with chairs back to back? Is there room to make them form an L so the space looks bigger? Is that a treadmill to the left? I wouldn't repaint the office. I like the warmth of the pumpkin paint. But I think the wall behind the desk needs something bigger than the bulletin board. You can make a sign cheap and easy with pallet board, or the thin stuff found at the big box stores in bins. Will the basket go in one of those cubbies next to the chair? Take the paper out of the printer, put your file folder organizers in the same place, hide some of that clutter on the right, and bring down that lamp you had on your master bedroom nightstand before you borrowed a bigger one. Then reshoot your photo with a couple of bright lights behind you. Crop out as much of the ceiling as you can. 11. Tan bathroom. Remove the basket of towels from the toilet tank, straighten the hanging towel so the ends are even, and move the soap dispenser so it isn't hanging over the edge of the sink. Clean the top of the mirror. Open the side of the shower doors next to the wall, and get the shampoo bottles off the shower floor, and the turquoise thing from the other side. Remove the bathmat and take another photo standing with your right shoulder against the door frame and I think you can get the shower, toilet, and sink in it. 12. Playroom. Take the bears off the game table, and hide the cords to the tv and game console. Crop out as much ceiling as you can. 13. I like your foyer photo. It makes me wonder why there isn't a photo of the formal dining room though. Sorry this is so long and probably mostly unwanted suggestions. Best of luck selling.

Hopefully, we will be able to play them against each other to get the best possible price. Like gym_falcon said be careful. We had a similar situation where we had several people interested at the same time and our agent let each know there was interest from other parties. 2 of the people dropped out because they didn't want to deal with a bidding war. 1 decided they weren't ready to move. 1 decided they needed something larger. 1 decided our building wasn't prestigious enough for them and moved to the Ritz. The last one dropped out at the time because they couldn't afford more than they were offering which at the time was something like 16 or 17% below asking and we knew we had priced our condo right. After all that interest in about 2 weeks time, we had nothing for about a month. Oh right, one new couple who wanted us to hold a note for them. We weren't interested in that. It was the last one who originally couldn't afford the place who actually wound up buying the place. That person bought it with one of their children co-owning the place. (The child had done very well for themselves) The person wound up buying it for 3.75% less than asking. I agree with homechef. Our condo was in a very desirable building and we had completely gutted and redone the place 6 years prior. It was in top shape, great light, and showed very well with a great layout and great views to the bay. My father used to have a saying regarding the stock market but it really works for just about anything in life. Bulls make money. Bears make money, but pigs never prosper.