After location, location, location, presentation is the big advice from estate agents to vendors. While we are well versed in the importance of all the clichés about first impressions and curb appeal, are vendors really going to splash out on new furniture for their home just before they move out?
While the experts vary a little on this issue, the overriding theme is caution.
Furniture is very important and great attention must be paid to the style of the house when buying, says Simon Ensor of Sherry FitzGerald. There is no doubt that a properly furnished house with attention paid to layout will appeal to buyers, he says.
But don't overdo it, he warns. One or two well placed items can set the scene much better than an over-furnished house.
Be very careful about spending lots of money on furniture and décor - it's such a personal issue, warns Felicity Fox.
Often it's not a case of buying new furniture, but rather getting rid of some of the excess furniture in your house, says Clodagh Murphy of Gunnes.
"A good sense of space" is what all home sellers should aspire to and estate agents often suggest removing excess furniture from the house for the sales campaign.
Uneven rugs, armchairs that block doors and unnecessary cabinets can seriously compromise the sense of space in your house. Then, if you feel that the furniture you have is "not up to scratch", start looking around.
Nice pieces of furniture are never bought in one go, says Murphy, who advises vendors to beg, borrow or steal good pieces of furniture for the sales campaign. Alternatively, you could get the home stagers in, she says, but she isn't convinced that it works all the time. "It can be quite expensive to get stagers in and it is not economical in all instances. It's a wonderful idea but it does not guarantee results."
Home staging involves getting experts in to de-clutter, depersonalise and, crucially, provide clients with furniture and accessories for the duration of a sales campaign to enhance the presentation of the property. Such services can really come in handy in the case of houses with no furniture.
Some operators, such as Flanagans of Buncrana (based in Mount Merrion, Co Dublin) offer a full turnkey package involving gardening, painting and flower-changing.
Aimed at top-end houses that are not looking their best, Peter Flanagan claims that staging can add 5-10 per cent on to the value of a house.
In the case of an executors sale, the advice is to tidy it up, take out any old furniture that is "jumping out" and leave in the antiques, says Ronan O'Hara of Hamilton Osborne King.
While he advises against major furniture overhauls in most homes, O'Hara believes that finishing touches, such as investing in good bed linen and nice cushions for the livingroom, are worth while.
That said, there is no shortage of stories from estate agents of the wonder makeover house, which was gutted, striped, extended and refurbished.
If you are undertaking major restructuring work in your house, there is little doubt that new furniture, in keeping with the style of the new extension, is a must. All the better if you are planning on selling in a couple of years and get to enjoy the revamp for a while yourself.
The trend towards open-plan extensions lends itself to super-sleek modern furniture, says Barry Rochford from Living.
People are willing to spend substantial amounts of money furnishing new rooms in their home.
"They are accessing equity from re-mortgaging their house, putting a lot of money into refurbishing and are justifying it with the belief that it adds value to their home."
Rochford has found that his clients are no longer adding on conservatories but are adding music rooms, extending their kitchens into open-plan living areas and installing zen-dens.
They are willing to invest a lot of money into seating - slouch couches, lounge-type seats, modular seating units that wrap around the room and bar stools to transform the kitchen island into an eating bar.
Tables are getting smaller and the focus is on extending or folding tables that don't take up too much space.
