As with any professional home stager you talk to, they'll agree this is a common response to consultations recommending certain improvements. It's a natural reaction, especially to people who are from a generation that bought and sold houses for years. This of course, happening before several factors came into play to change the approach to selling real estate in the 21st century.
First being lifestyles. Life is just so darn busy! Work, housework, kids, kids' busy lives, family. And if they're in the sandwich generation where they have both kids and parents to care for, they're stressed to the max. Who has time for home improvements? If you have a product to sell and you don't want to wait for that special buyer who wants a project, then you have to find out what appeals to your target market and give it to them. I know, you're busy too, you relate to this description.
This second factor explains why potential buyers' busy lifestyle trumps yours to motivate you to make your property move-in ready. The economy. According to a recent article I read in the Huffington Post, higher prices and an increase in mortgage rates have made home affordability more of a problem for the average Canadian family. It also goes on to say it does not expect the Bank of Canada to start hiking rates until sometime in 2015. What does this mean? It's cheaper for buyers to purchase a property move-in ready than to make home improvements on credit. Or they do it the smart way to wait and save for it, taking money out of their monthly cash flow. Realistically, when's the last time you knew someone 40 under wait for anything? Right. Another point is that they'll have a better monitor of affordability long term if they have it built into the purchase price.
Third, and it's a biggy, the internet. It changed where the first impression is made - online. The vast majority of buyers turn to their computers when searching for their next home. It's what they have time for. Photos sell the interest to arrange an on site viewing around their busy schedules. They have to be awesome!
If you want to maximize your chance to sell in today's buyers' market, you need to upstage your competition and to do that you need to prepare, prepare, prepare. Then list. Don't wait until your property has become stigmatized.
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