Have you been thinking of selling your house this year?
Have you also been thinking of doing some spruce up work around the house before you list it, to help you maximize your return?
Nothing wrong with that....mostly.
In the past, "up" market, sellers were usually advised to spruce-up their house before putting it on the market to help them net as much as possible on their home. And it also helps when competing against other homes.
However, we're in a market where prices are decreasing. Across the country, the average decline was 11% last year. So for this example, let's also say they're falling 1% per month.
Let's use fictitious Jack & Jill living in their $350,000 house in this example, too.
Jack & Jill are planning a spruce-up on their house before listing. They figure it'll take them one month to do that.
In that one month, the price of their house will decrease about $3,500.
So if their spruce-up efforts only add $3,500 to their selling price, they will have only broken even by doing it. They won't put any additional money in their pocket by doing it. The best they could hope for is that it makes the house look better than their competition and therefore helps it sell faster.
But there are more variables at work here.
Let's say that by waiting the extra month, they're now in the prime listing period of the calendar year (March-June) and now, additional homes have come onto the market in their area. That means more competition for fewer buyers.
It's not an automatic win anymore to hold off on listing to do some sprucing up. Give me a call to discuss your plans and I'll help you work through them.
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