Huh. New to me I guess. Still, doesn't change my opinion.
I agree about it being a silly thing to do, but it's not new at all. It may be a regional thing, I don't know (certainly I haven't run into it here in the Washington area).
Now, "staging" houses, that does work. People can't look at their own houses objectively; they don't see the clutter and they don't smell the smells. An objective eye is necessary - and so is getting rid of a lot of crap. :)