It’s getting to be a more and more common reaction once a stager finishes transforming a home that our team is bringing to the market: “I don’t think I want to move now. I feel completely different about my house!” In two cases, the transformation really did convince the Sellers that they were only moving because the house felt dated– and it was easier to turn that feeling around then they had planned. And then there’s the rest of the Sellers who almost always admit that they wish they had done the remodeling project earlier- when they actually could have enjoyed it instead of working around what didn’t work or what they disliked.
However, what Sellers learned to work around, doesn’t fly with today’s fussy buyers. Buyers are jaded by the housing shows and shelter magazines where every interior looks, well, picture perfect.
The common tendency to put off the less-than-urgent home renovations just got some scientific provenance. In a recent National Association of Realtors® survey on a wide range of remodeling topics, one element of the study looked at the value-vs-expenditure figures dealt on an emotional level. The NAR’s 2019 Remodeling Impact Report leads off with statistic around master suite renovations and finds that 65% of homeowners “have a greater desire to be home” after the renovation was completed. The same percentage report an increased “sense of enjoyment” when they’re at home. Nearly 70% experience an additional benefit: they “feel a major sense of accomplishment” when they just think about the project.
Kitchen upgrades were nearly 20% more satisfying than the master suite. And “complete kitchen renovations” scored even higher.
The researchers were simply ratifying that all-too-common refrain heard from sellers after the fact. While struggling to wash a too-large pot in a too-small sink or eyeing the well-worn living room carpet, some homeowners might think twice about waiting to undertake those improvements that are bothersome.
