The latest 'home-staging' trend from the US suggests that pets could be the key to selling a home.

There was a time when the smell of newly baked bread or freshly brewed coffee was enough to pique a potential home buyer’s interest.

But as the property market braces itself for another challenging year, sellers have enlisted a new secret weapon – their pets.

This latest addition in home-staging – the art of preparing your home for sale – is called pet placement.

“It wasn’t a conscious decision to include our black labrador in our brochure,” says Antonia Rowe, whose five-bedroom Georgian home near Truro, Cornwall, is on the market for £925,000.

“But Lottie is such a big part of our lives that we didn’t want to move her when the photographs were taken.

“I think she helps buyers to imagine what it is like living in the house.”

Local estate agent Jonathan Cunliffe, who is selling the house, agrees. “A pet can bring life to a property, and help to establish the feel of a home. It can also appeal to the lifestyle ideals of the likely buyer,” he says.