Nancy Lederman

𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘱𝘭𝘢𝘺𝘣𝘰𝘰𝘬 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘴𝘦𝘭𝘭𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘢 𝘩𝘰𝘮𝘦 𝘯𝘦𝘦𝘥𝘴 𝘢 𝘮𝘢𝘬𝘦𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘳, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘰𝘧𝘵𝘦𝘯 𝘴𝘰 𝘥𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘴𝘦𝘴.

Not all renovations are worth the cost for sellers, data suggest. 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐭𝐨𝐩 𝐭𝐡𝐫𝐞𝐞 𝐢𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐢𝐨𝐫 𝐫𝐞𝐦𝐨𝐝𝐞𝐥𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐣𝐞𝐜𝐭𝐬 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐡𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐞𝐬𝐭 𝐫𝐞𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐧 𝐨𝐧 𝐢𝐧𝐯𝐞𝐬𝐭𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐚 𝐡𝐚𝐫𝐝𝐰𝐨𝐨𝐝-𝐟𝐥𝐨𝐨𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐫𝐞𝐟𝐢𝐧𝐢𝐬𝐡, 𝐧𝐞𝐰 𝐰𝐨𝐨𝐝 𝐟𝐥𝐨𝐨𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐚𝐧 𝐢𝐧𝐬𝐮𝐥𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐮𝐩𝐠𝐫𝐚𝐝𝐞, according to a recent National Association of Realtors report.

Some sellers might find that smaller fixes such as a fresh paint job can make a bigger impression on buyers than pricier changes such as a renovated third bathroom, real-estate agents said.

A big remodeling project, such as a new kitchen or deck, might not be worth the investment and delay a seller’s timeline, given supply and labor shortages, said Jessica Lautz, a vice president at NAR. 𝘍𝘰𝘤𝘶𝘴 𝘰𝘯 𝘮𝘰𝘳𝘦 𝘢𝘧𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘥𝘢𝘣𝘭𝘦 𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘫𝘦𝘤𝘵𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘢𝘱𝘱𝘦𝘢𝘭 𝘵𝘰 𝘣𝘶𝘺𝘦𝘳𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘭𝘰𝘰𝘬 𝘣𝘦𝘢𝘶𝘵𝘪𝘧𝘶𝘭 𝘪𝘯 𝘱𝘩𝘰𝘵𝘰𝘴, such as refinishing hardwood floors, she said.

Anything that isn't broken, is costly to replace and isn’t overtly visible, such as a new central air-conditioning system, won’t impress buyers as much as improvements they can see, such as new doors for the kitchen cabinets or customizable closet shelves, she said. Aim to fix anything that an inspection would turn up.

𝐃𝐨𝐧’𝐭 𝐟𝐢𝐱𝐚𝐭𝐞 𝐨𝐧 𝐢𝐭𝐞𝐦𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐝𝐨𝐧’𝐭 𝐦𝐚𝐭𝐭𝐞𝐫... 𝐭𝐨 𝐛𝐞𝐭𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐮𝐧𝐝𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐰𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐛𝐞𝐬𝐭 𝐬𝐭𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐠𝐲 𝐢𝐬, 📲𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐜𝐡 𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐭𝐨 𝐦𝐞 𝐭𝐨 𝐝𝐢𝐬𝐜𝐮𝐬𝐬.

The Repairs That Will Help Sell Your House in a Cooling Market The playbook for selling a home needs a makeover, and often so do the houses.