Pre-listing Remodeling in Luxury Real Estate: Yay or Nay?
07/09/2019
For luxury homebuyers, the desire to purchase a home requiring renovations is becoming a thing of the past. Today’s affluent real estate shoppers are looking for turnkey, move-in ready properties with all of the amenities and none of the extra work.
And it looks like that’s not changing any time soon. According to a forecast from Persistence Market Research, the move-in ready luxury home market is expected to hit $920 billion by the end of 2025. That’s up from $550 billion just two years ago.
As an agent serving these ever-evolving high-end clients, it begs the question: should your affluent sellers remodel before listing their properties? Would it make their homes more marketable? More valuable? More appealing?
Here are the pros and cons The Institute for Luxury Home Marketing recommends you consider before advising sellers to implement renovations.
Advantages of renovating before listing:
- It typically enables a faster sales time.
- It makes for better listing photos.
- It can improve the marketability of a property.
- It allows you to maximize your asking price — and justify it.
- It gives your sellers more leverage in negotiations.
Disadvantages of renovating before listing:
- It could delay the listing and marketing of the property.
- The renovations may be a nuisance to the homeowner.
- It might require significant up-front cash.
- The renovations might pose a safety hazard.
- It may be difficult to choose the right projects, contractors, and vendors.