Last Updated on August 1, 2024
A move-in-ready home is highly desirable and at the top of most buyers’ wish lists. However, if your home is in serious need of TLC, you may be wondering what your options are when it comes time to sell. Should you offer allowances on your home or invest time, energy, and/or money into updating certain spaces before listing? In today’s post, we’ll examine your options, considering the real estate market conditions right now.
Homes on the market today are in one of two buckets
Right now, there are two buckets in terms of homes that are on the market.
In the first bucket, we have homes that are priced right and are in good to great condition. These homes are selling in an average of 10 days.
In the second bucket, there are homes that aren’t priced right and aren’t in great condition, and these homes are sitting for 60-70 days, and are often sold after a price reduction or two.
Are sellers offering concessions for homes that aren’t move-in-ready?
We really aren’t seeing many concessions for cosmetic updates. Our Realtors are advising clients to price homes correctly from the onset, meaning the price should reflect the condition of work needed.
We are seeing concessions being put towards closing costs more than they have been recently but that is usually to cover repairs needed on a home.
Does it make sense to improve my home before I list it?
Our agents get this question a lot and unfortunately, there isn’t a cut-and-dry answer here. Across the board, homes that are in the best shape are getting top dollar, often going for well above the asking price.
However, the type of updates or repairs are different on every home, and the best thing to do is to contact your realtor many months before you plan to list to start a conversation about how to maximize your home’s value.
Our agents offer a home physical, where you’ll be given a rough estimate of your home’s value relative to today’s market as well as recommendations for repairs or upgrades that will give you a return when you do sell.
For example, many homeowners are shocked to find out that a large-scale kitchen or bathroom remodel doesn’t make sense in terms of recouping your money a few years down the road when you go to sell.
Minor improvements in your kitchen or bathroom tend to perform much better than investing a lot of money in those areas. Likewise, exterior improvements are always a good idea and tend to pay for themselves and then some when you sell your home. It’s never a bad idea to replace an old entry or garage door.
Of course, there are always exceptions to the rule in terms of what you should or should not update, and those vary by area and even by neighborhood–which is why you should always reach out to a realtor who specializes in your general area first.
Keep reading: 14 items you shouldn’t renovate before you sell
