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Do Pink Countertops Really Stop Buyers from Buying?

By
Real Estate Agent with Home Smart Realty Group

My sister Kathy and I have a new listing in a beautiful town called Monument here in Colorado.  Kathy always says this is what she pictured as what Colorado "looked like" when our dad was transferred and we moved here in 1983.  The setting for this home is just breathtaking.  If you'd like to see the listing and the photos they're available at our website www.sampronsisters.com.  Click on the new Monument listing and you're there!

The homeowners love their home and they've lived there for more than a decade.  They would stay if they could but commuting more than one hour each way for work, significantly longer when it snows, is just too much.  So they've decided to move.  They've even gotten their home ready for the new owner by installing new carpet and  gorgeous teak floors.  The only thing they're still on the fence about is whether or not to replace the pink and blue countertops the original owner installed.  "They've been fine for us." 

So potential buyers and seasoned real estate agents, do pink countertops make you pause?  Or are you savvy enough to know that there are more important factors when making a decision to buy a home?

 

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Highlands Ranch Colorado Realtors Carrie and Kathy SampronTeam Sampron
Carrie & Kathy Sampron
Team Sampron of Home Smart Realty Group
carrie@sampronsisters.com
(303) 931-3629

Visit our website www.realestaterebatedenver.com

Buying or selling a home in the Denver Metro Area? You can search Highlands Ranch and Metro Denver homes for sale with no registration required at RebateRealEstateDenver.com. Remember when selling with Team Sampron you pay a Super Low Listing Fee and when buying you receive a 1% Buyer Rebate at Closing.

Learn more about Highlands Ranch Colorado Realtors Carrie Sampron and Kathy Sampron

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Information and content in this blog is original to Carrie & Kathy Sampron

Comments (14)

Kathy Opatka
RE/MAX CROSSROADS - Ocean City, MD
Serving Ocean City, MD, & The Delaware Beaches

Girls,

Off the fence on this one!!!!!.........NEW COUNTER TOPS!!!!

Kathy Opatka Re/Max OCEAN CITY, MARYLAND

Feb 11, 2009 06:58 AM
Paul McDuell
Realty Benefit - Rancho Santa Margarita, CA

I'm disapointed, I went to your website, found the Monument listing, but no photo of the pink countertop - boohoo...

I would say it depends. How is the house priced in relation to comperable homes in the area?

Are there tons of bank owned properties in horrible condition in your market?

What I am getting at is, what is the competition? If there are a lot of homes, in the same area, for about the same price, in the same or better condition - you might want to consider changing it out.

Hey, some people LIKE pink countertops, most I would guess do not. Some people can look beyond the countertops, some cannot. So, if you change them you increase the number of potential buyers, but you also lose a little profit.

So, there you go, no closer to your answer than before I replied!

Good luck..

Paul

Feb 11, 2009 07:03 AM
Brian Opperud
Hot Realty Leads - Phoenix, AZ

I would say that you're money ahead to change them out.  If money is that big of a factor I would adjust the asking price to cover the installation.  First impressions are so important!  You will definately improve the curb-appeal.

Feb 11, 2009 07:13 AM
Robert Rauf
CMG Home Loans - Toms River, NJ

I think a few dollars will go a long way here.. A potential buyer automatically thinks huge dollars to replace, while we all know that it is a fairly cheap fix...  I bet the seller would double their investment in new tops if they are "rich and neutral"

Feb 11, 2009 07:24 AM
Raine Nordby
Colorado Springs, CO

Carrie and Kathy

Neutral, neutral, neutral. I have to agree with Kathy O.

It's a good life!

~Raine

Feb 11, 2009 07:30 AM
Cindy Jones
Integrity Real Estate Group - Woodbridge, VA
Pentagon, Fort Belvoir & Quantico Real Estate News

Replace the countertop.  It will be cheaper than the objections and the lower price that a buyer will want to pay.

Feb 11, 2009 07:32 AM
Vickie McCartney
Maverick Realty - Owensboro, KY
Broker, Real Estate Agent Owensboro KY

Carrie and Kathy~ Yes, pink counter tops will make a buyer pause.  As cheap as they are to replace, it should be done.  Most buyers do NOT have "vision" or the desire to spend money and then have to spend more money on top of it.  Now, if the listing is priced well below the competition, you might be ok.  But, WHY take the risk? 

Feb 11, 2009 07:34 AM
Kristi DeFazio
RE/MAX Advantage - Colorado Springs, CO
Colorado Springs Rea lEstate 719-459-5468

Yes, I would say change them with something neutral even if it is cheap. Kitchens sell houses- so you don't want any pause or them looking at  project. Good luck!

Feb 11, 2009 07:40 AM
Lee & Carol Barbour, REALTORS
Murphy and Hayesville, NC; Hiawassee, Blairsville, Blue Ridge GA - Murphy, NC
Mountain Living Team in Murphy NC and North GA

Hi Carrie & Kathy. I've always wanted to visit Colorado. unless your property is in the Art Deco district down in South Florida, I'd try to get your buyers to replace the pink with a neutral. Let us know if the pink stays or goes.

Feb 11, 2009 09:57 AM
Elizabeth Bolton
RE/MAX Destiny Real Estate Cambridge, MA - Cambridge, MA
Cambridge MA Realtor

Hi there, Well I guess it depends. I have never forgotten a listing from a few years back.  I never found out the story but it was a total time capsule - a 1900s house that had been renovated in the late 1940s or early 1950s and seemingly never lived in on the main floor. It was like stepping into the pages of a 1950s issue of Better Homes and Gardens.

Best yet - the kitchen was 100% pink - all appliances, all accessories,  and yes - pink boomerang patterned linoleum countertops - and even a table with a matching top.  It was absolutely awesome and I've never forgotten it.  I've assumed - and hoped - that the buyers bought it because of the kitchen.

All that aside, it doesn't sound from your description that you're talking vintage charm here so in this case I would probably opt for changing them as everybody else has suggested.

Liz  

Feb 11, 2009 10:37 AM
Corey & Erika Kahler
The Cascade Team - Kirkland, WA

In this marker, buyers have the upper-hand!  They have so many great options to choose from that Homes have to stand out from the crowd.  Pink countertops are the wrong way to do this.

In order to sell quickly and for the best possible price, they need to appeal the largest possible audience.  This means neutral, contemporary colors.  Buyers want a clean, up-to-date, move-in-ready home.  Not only that, but kitchens really do sell homes!  They have to be attractive!

Pink countertops may appeal to a few people, but how long do they want to wait for that buyer?

Feb 11, 2009 10:56 AM
Dan and Amy Schuman
Howard Hanna Real Estate Services - Solon, OH
Luxury Home Specialists

Pictures of pink counters will turn people off when they see them on line and keep them from wanting to see the home. Buyers have no vision, change the counters!

Feb 11, 2009 11:57 AM
Darla Nixon
Latter & Blum INC REALTORS - Vieux Carre, LA
Helping you reach your real estate goals

When the majority of buyers see Pink, they see work, work, work, money, money, money.  Do everyone a favor and have them replaced ASAP.  The small investment of replacing the countertops will triple in return to your seller when they do not have to pay 3 or more mortgage pymts, utility bills, taxes, etc because the buyer was afraid of the work and money when he saw Pink!

Feb 11, 2009 07:43 PM
Todd Clark - Retired
eXp Realty LLC - Tigard, OR
Principle Broker Oregon

Remember the Orange countertops from the 70s? I saw one house sit 5 months without an offer, then they changed the countertops and it sold within a week. Countertops, what that the difference?

 

Apr 22, 2009 06:34 AM