As competition for buyers has increased the past few years, no longer can sellers say, "I'll let the buyers pick out the new carpet" or "they'll probably want to paint a different color than I would pick." Choosing that approach is the "kiss of death" in this market and will almost guarantee that your property will not sell, unless you discount the price drastically to compensate for it.
With that said, it's no surprise that the newly released 2011 Homegain Home Improvement Survey reports the top 5 home improvements based on Return On Investment to be:
- Cleaning and de-cluttering (586% ROI)
- Lightening and brightening (313% ROI)
- Home staging (299% ROI)
- Landscaping (258% ROI)
- Repairing electrical or plumbing (181% ROI)
As you can see, most of these can be done by the home owner themselves and are relatively inexpensive. Let's take a look at each of these and dig deeper into the benefit home sellers will realize:
Cleaning and de-cluttering is an obvious 1st choice. Like when buying a car, most buyers want that "new car" smell and feel, and home buyers are no different. Much like when you clean out your car's back seat, trunk and glovebox, along with washing and even waxing the car before you'd put the for sale sign on it, you must do the same with your home. In addition to the the "new car" smell and feel, buyers are looking for more space and conveniences, so objectively look at each room in a "buyer's eyes" and de-clutter, scrub and dust everything.
Lightening and brightening adds to that new car smell and feel of the home, as well as, giving a more spacious and cheery feeling. To lighten and brighten a room, pull the shades back, turn on the lights, maybe put a higher wattage bulb in the lights, and look at paint colors and consider a fresh coat of paint.
Home staging has become critical in this competative market, whether during showing or even in photos to be used with on-line marketing and brochures. A picture is worth a thousand words and it sets the tone of the buyers impression of the property. When staging, you want to consider the flow of the room, whether it feels open functional or cramped and inefficient. Depersonalize by taking down some of the family photos, posters, and the stuff hiding the refrigerator, to name a few. What you're trying to do, is make your property show and feel like a model home.
Landscaping plays a intergal part in setting that 1st impression for the buyer and should not be overlooked. The old saying is; "you can't sell it if you can't see it," so you may need to start by trimming trees and shrubs back. Then look at freshening your bark chips or landscape rock and pulling all weeds. If adding and plants or shrubs, consider adding those with some added color to help make things pop. Outdoor spaces have become increasingly popular, so consider enhancing or adding decks, patios or gazebos.
Of the 5, repairing electrical of plumbing issues is the one that may require professional help the most, but don't shy away from it. Like you, most buyers don't have the ability to perform those types of repairs, and it's human nature to percieve those repairs to be much more involved and expensive than they really are and therefore have a bigger negative impact on your saleability than neccessary.
Expectations are high in this buyer's market and with a little investment of time and money, you can set yourself apart from the crowd and have success, where others have not. Consult with a professional Realtor or home stager to make the most of your return on investment.