Since the pandemic started, countless homeowners have set aside a space in their property for a home office.

A Los Angeles couple -- a social worker married to a data management doctor -- put such a high priority on having a spacious home office that they converted their sizable master bedroom for this purpose, equipping it with desks, bookshelves, file cabinets and computer monitors. They also transformed a large closet in their living room into an additional space for private video calls.

As seniors, the pair are now building a custom home in Hawaii, where they intend to retire. That move will mean selling their L.A. property to streamline their lifestyles and finances. That’s why they’re now talking to real estate pros about how best to stage their home for sale.

Stacy Berman, who’s sold homes since 2002, doesn’t know the couple in this true story. But she says the owners would absolutely have to return the master bedroom to its original use to maximize their sale.

“Having a designated home office is appealing to buyers. But so is having a large master bedroom with its own private bathroom,” Berman says.

Granted, it’s important to buyers to have sufficient space for a dedicated home office. Still, most purchasers realize that a secondary bedroom can easily serve this purpose.

“Very few people have three or more kids anymore. So they’re happy to use a smaller bedroom as a home office,” Berman says.

Yet no matter the size of a dedicated home office, it must be staged as a clean and uncluttered space that can serve as a calm and efficient sanctuary, whether used for work, hobbies or online shopping.

“You want it to look like a well-organized executive office,” Berman says.

Here are a few pointers for home sellers:

-- Set aside ample time to declutter your home office.

“It’s very time-consuming to go through everything in a home office, so you must make it a priority,” says Laura Leist, author of “Eliminate Chaos: The 10-Step Process to Organize Your Home and Life.”

Despite our increasingly paperless society, Leist, who owns a professional organizing firm, says many sellers still face tremendous problems dealing with the stacks of paper, books and magazines that crowd their home offices.

“People don’t know how to make decisions about paper -- what to keep and what to toss out or put through the shredder,” says Leist, a former president of the National Association of Productivity and Organizing Professionals (napo.net).

Why bother to do a major purge of your home office before putting your place up for sale? Because, as professional organizers note, the untidy look of a typical home office makes a place unappealing to potential buyers.

“People can’t picture themselves living in your house if it’s filled with clutter in any room, let alone the home office,” says Susan Pinsky, a veteran organizer and author of books on the topic.

-- Get serious about sifting through papers.

Many who work from home are troubled with containers brimming with unsorted papers. These include business reports, computer printouts, junk mail, utility bills, credit card statements and clippings from magazines and newspapers.

As it happens, few of the papers people keep prove valuable to them, says Pierrette Ashcroft, who leads a productivity consulting firm called Smart Productivity Solutions.

“More than 80% of the papers people save are never referred to again,” she says.

What’s more, a room chosen to serve as a home office is often not the only area where papers mount up.

“Home offices creep outward. Any horizontal spaces are at risk for clutter. For example, I often see papers stacked up on kitchen counters, a dining room table or a couch in the living room,” Ashcroft says.

As those involved in the purging process soon realize, it can take much more brainpower to sift through papers than other kinds of clutter.

“With papers, it’s one micro decision at a time. ... That’s because the papers might contain valuable items like the deed to your house or your passport,” he says.

One way to make decision-making go faster is to give yourself guidelines on what to save and what to toss.

For instance, small business owners might choose to keep all their receipts for tax-deductible expenses, like office equipment and supplies, but throw out those for clothing and food purchases.

-- Digitize many papers rather than filing them.

Many who work from home struggle to stay organized. But Ashcroft says filing all but the most important papers is usually a waste of time and energy.

She advises those trying to declutter a home office to scan many documents into a computer rather than trying to store them in filing cabinets.

“I’m practically paper-free in my own home office. I use a rapid scanner and can scan up to 200 papers in two minutes,” Ashcroft says.

-- Think through your book collections.

Many professionals, including those who don’t work from home, keep more reference books than they ever use, according to Ashcroft.

“People have an emotional attachment to books,” she says, noting that bulging bookshelves are often found throughout a home, not only in the home office.

Ashcroft advises sellers to remember that many books can now be quickly and easily downloaded onto an e-reader such as the Kindle.

(To contact Ellen James Martin, email her at ellenjamesmartin@gmail.com.)

In the dozen years that Kate Foster-Bankey has been selling homes, she’s seen many properties that have been allowed to deteriorate.

“We see a ton of leaky roofs. If they’re slate or asphalt roofs that have gone through storms, often there are a lot of tiles or shingles missing that haven’t been replaced,” says Foster-Bankey, an agent with the Compass Realty company.

For run-down homes, other common problems include rot on exterior woodwork, along with peeling and chipping paint both on the interior and exterior.

Given the dearth of available properties in many popular neighborhoods, it’s logical to assume that prospective buyers would be willing to accept a fixer-upper. But Foster-Bankey says many purchasers are frightened of taking on the cost and responsibility of any place that needs extensive renovations.

“Fear is a huge driver of this reluctance. Buyers often overestimate the expense of home improvement work. Also, right now, there’s a severe shortage of contractors because so many homeowners -- people sitting on a lot of equity -- are doing home renovation work for their own enjoyment,” she says.

As wannabe sellers of a run-down house, you have two potential presale alternatives. Either you can sink your funds into needed improvements or you can attempt to market the place in “as is” condition.

“If you let your home decline, you’ve got to face the writing on the wall. You could take a beating on concessions when you sell,” says Sid Davis, a Utah real estate broker and author of “A Survival Guide to Selling a Home.”

Why are some sellers with a property in poor condition unwilling to do the work necessary to maximize their profits?

“Some folks are stubborn about spending money on a house that’s functioned OK for them. Besides seniors, it’s not uncommon for people getting a divorce to refuse to lift a finger to get their house ready for sale,” Davis says.

In addition, those confronting serious health issues are understandably more focused on their ailments than on keeping up their property. Moreover, cash-strapped owners of all ages who have to sell for financial reasons often lack the available cash to make a property show-worthy.

Ashley Richardson, a real estate agent affiliated with the Residential Real Estate Council (crs.com), says owners facing foreclosure sometimes become so disheartened they can’t muster the will to improve their home.

“When their finances fall apart, some people just give up hope and their coping skills decline. They default on an emotional level,” Richardson says.

In some cases, she contends that spending a significant sum to prep a house in poor condition for sale is a bad idea, especially for people who must make a quick exit.

“You should limit your spending to high-visibility projects that give you the best return on investment. These include minor upgrades to your front entrance, kitchen and bathrooms,” Richardson says.

Here are a few pointers for sellers:

-- Look to a seasoned listing agent for candid advice.

Are you stressed out by the prospect of overseeing all the work that must be done to get your home ready for sale? If so, you’d be wise to seek a listing agent willing to serve as a project manager, says Eric Tyson, a personal finance expert and co-author of “House Selling for Dummies.”

“For fear of offending you, not all agents will tell you the truth about all the work needed to make your place look good. Yet that’s information you really need in order to make the right decisions,” Tyson says.

As Richardson says, a reputable agent shouldn’t only give you a list of tasks worth doing but also tell you which upgrades wouldn’t warrant the expense.

“For instance, it’s usually not smart to replace high-end cabinets in a run-down house. But you might want your current cabinets repainted,” she says.

As the preliminary step in the agent-selection process, Richardson recommends you interview three candidates. Ask each to analyze your property and tell you which cost-effective steps would make it more saleable.

“Look for an agent willing to give you the real story, no matter how hard it is to hear,” she says.

-- Seek help to hasten your decluttering process.

Sorting through clutter is an especially daunting prospect for seniors or those with health problems.

“People who aren’t in a position to undertake all this work themselves should try to recruit help from friends or family members,” Richardson says.

If no volunteers step forward, she suggests that sellers attempt to hire students or others seeking a temporary, part-time job.

Richardson recommends you give the person you hire a series of well-defined tasks.

“Ask them to pack up the contents of an overloaded bookshelf or a china closet. Once the boxes are packed, tell them to stack them neatly in your garage,” she says.

-- Help buyers envision your property’s potential.

Although many sellers of run-down homes can’t afford to do cost-effective improvements, Richardson says it’s still critical they make their property look at least minimally appealing.

“If (buyers) don’t like what they see on the internet, they’ll never go see your place in person,” she says.

She recommends that the owners of a run-down house give visitors mock-ups and contractors’ estimates for needed improvements.

“The best approach is to do the cosmetic upgrades yourself before the house goes on the market. But if that’s impossible, use any strategy you can to help buyers to at least realize the potential of your diamond in the rough,” Richardson says.

(To contact Ellen James Martin, email her at ellenjamesmartin@gmail.com.)

For much of this summer, homebuilder sentiment was riding high. That’s because so few existing properties are available for sale, causing many buyers to seek out brand new construction instead. As a result, the stock of homebuilding companies temporarily rose in value.

But relentlessly higher rates on home mortgages, now firmly over the 7% mark, have even dampened the outlook for these stocks. As investors are well aware, ever more Americans are being priced out of many desirable homebuying markets. Compounding the problem is that so few homeowners are now willing to sell.

“The supply shortage is making many listings feel hot. This means buyers who are in the market now are duking it out for a very small pool of homes, preventing home values from plunging,” says Chen Zhao, who heads economic research for Redfin, a major realty brokerage.

The explanation behind the dearth of available properties is that many owners with low-rate mortgages are understandably resisting relocation if that means taking on a pricier mortgage to buy their next abode.

“Roughly 9 in 10 homeowners with mortgages have a mortgage rate under 6%. Tons of homeowners scored an incredible deal during the pandemic: a 3% mortgage rate for the remainder of their 30-year loan,” Zhao says.

The happiness felt by many homeowners with low-cost mortgages contrasts sharply with the psychological pain experienced by so many now seeking to buy their first home.

Lawrence Yun, chief economist for the National Association of Realtors (nar.realtor) says that nearly 60% of metro areas posted price gains during the second quarter of 2023.

“Home sales were down due to higher mortgage rates and limited inventory,” Yun says. Still, he notes that there are some metro areas where home prices are now sliding. These include such high-cost cities as San Francisco and Los Angeles.

Would-be homebuyers have other reasons to feel somewhat hopeful, according to Nicole Bachaud, a senior economist for Zillow, a national real estate firm.

“As summer winds down and kids head back to school, home shopping gets put on the back burner. Traditionally, buyers who remain in the market get a bit more bargaining power heading into the fall,” Bachaud says.

Here are a few pointers for buyers:

-- Seek out overpriced properties after price reductions are taken.

In an area where the market is beginning to shift slightly in favor of buyers, it sometimes takes sellers time to adjust their thinking.

“Some sellers have an entitlement mentality and cling to overly high expectations about the value of their property,” says Sid Davis, a Utah real estate broker.

Have you targeted a neighborhood where you have a strong interest in one or more homes that you and your agent believe are priced well over market value? Davis suggests you may wish to wait until the sellers come down on their own before you start bidding.

A significant price drop is often a signal that once-stubborn sellers are ready to bargain in earnest, maybe because they face a deadline of their own.

“Perhaps the sellers have moved out of town to take a new job, and their old property has gone vacant. Then, as soon as they have to start carrying two mortgages, they become much more eager to bargain in earnest,” says Davis, author of “A Survival Guide for Buying a Home.”

The key to a wait-for-a-price-drop strategy is to keep a close eye on a home of interest so you can submit your bid at the opportune moment and not lose the property to another purchaser.

“Make sure you stay in close touch with your buyer’s agent so you’ll know the minute a price drop occurs. It’s also a good idea to set up an alert to notify you by text or email that a price drop is occurring,” Davis says.

-- Don’t waive your right to a home inspection needlessly.

In strong sellers’ markets of past years, would-be buyers who had to contend with rival purchasers often waived their right to a home inspection to increase their appeal to sellers.

But Tom Early, a veteran real estate broker, says inspections are nearly always a vitally important idea --especially for those planning to buy a property that’s over 15 years of age, which could have serious problems.

In most cases, inspectors don’t find serious shortcomings. Still, Early says that many lesser issues that are found can be used to the buyers’ advantage in gaining concessions.

Suppose, for example, that your inspector projects that the roof on the house will likely fail in three to five years. With this information, you might convince the sellers to cover part or all of the cost of a new roof.

-- Avoid insulting the owners of any property you’d like to own.

In areas where rising inventories are giving buyers more power, Davis says some prospective buyers try to take liberties that can backfire.

One common mistake involves any statement you might make that wounds the sellers’ pride in their home. Another misstep involves making a ridiculously below-market bid which so stuns the owners that they may refuse to deal further with you.

“People who make ludicrously low offers are often the victims of their own folly,” Davis says.

(To contact Ellen James Martin, email her at ellenjamesmartin@gmail.com.)