A guest post by Caleb McElveen, edited by Deb Villeneuve
The housing market has always been a tough book to read. It can be difficult to determine when it might be the opportune time to buy or sell a home. However, when it comes to selling your home, there are modifications and upgrades you can make to provide a better chance of getting your home off the market at the desired price.
There will always be trends among homebuyers on which they direct their interest. These certain trends can be a deciding factor on making a purchase or moving onto the next home. Let’s take a look at what potential homebuyers are looking for in today’s market:
Energy Efficiency
A vital characteristic of any home is the energy costs. Buyers want to gain an understanding of how much they will spend on energy and utilities throughout the year. Being able to present an energy efficient home will definitely gain interest in your home.
Updating old appliances, your HVAC system and windows can drastically improve the energy usage in your home. These upgrades will help cut energy costs and have your home on the radar.
The housing market trends
Laundry Room
If you think about the rooms we spend a majority of our time, the laundry room would most likely be at the top of the list. This is a major reason why having a separate and spacious laundry room interest potential buyers. A spacious laundry room is indeed close to the top of the most wanted list.
A separate laundry space with sufficient room is a major selling point. Enough room for a washer and dryer, cabinets, storage space and a sink will have any homebuyer intrigued. This might be an area to focus on when making improvements to your home. The ability to store clothing, supplies and more is an upgrade for any home.
Ceiling Fans
Believe it or not, many homes lack ceiling fans. Making this minor adjustment to your home can make a huge difference. Ceiling fans are very important for combating energy costs. Plus, who doesn’t want a ceiling fan on a hot summer day. Not having ceiling fans in major areas of your house can turn many buyers away.
Garage Space and Storage
Why it may not be the most important factor on the checklists, who wouldn’t want a spacious garage with extra storage. It gets enough recognition from homebuyers to make any list.
We all have too many things and not enough space. Having a clean garage with storage areas can help homebuyers imagine their organized space with areas to put lawn equipment, tool and auto supplies. Take the time to clean up the garage and that old storage area. It just might be a key component of selling your home.
Bathroom Linen Closets
Clutter can easily gather throughout our home, but especially in our bathrooms. Linen closets in the bathroom is on the list of “must haves” when selling your home. Buyers want to know that they have enough space throughout their home and linen closets provide important space to keep their home organized.
Exterior Lighting
Your home is meant to provide your family with a feeling of comfort and safety. Exterior lighting can help solidify those feelings. Having an efficient exterior lighting system can help a buyer know that their family is safe.
Flooring
When putting your home on the market one of the first things to asses is your flooring. Old carpet might need to be replaced and Hardwood floors might need to be refinished. Presenting a home with dirty carpet or scuffed floors only show buyers the work and money they will be investing in the home.
Hardwood floors are very popular in the market today. Replacing old carpet with hardwood floors in parts of the house can boost the value of your home as well as the interest from buyers.
Kitchen Appliances
You might be use to kicking the oven to get it to work or turning off the microwave at the right time before it beings smoking, but a home buyer is not. Updating appliances might seem financially steep at first, but it is crucial when selling your home. New and energy efficient appliances are considered a must when putting your home up for sale.
Kitchen Pantry
Cramming cabinets is not ideal for any homeowner. A lack of space for storing food and kitchen utensils is a major turnoff for any homebuyer.
Updating your kitchen pantry can be as simple as adding shelves or clearing out some room. It can be a small weekend project that could tremendously pay off in making a sale.
Long Term Investment
For any homeowner, they must see their home as an investment in which they will see a return one day. Life throws many curves and having to move for a job, school or children happens on a daily basis. No one wants to be in a home that could potentially be difficult to sell after putting time and money into making home improvements throughout the years.
Making minor home improvements, upgrading areas of the home or replacing appliances can offer a buyer comfort that they can invest their family’s time and money into this house.
Just meeting adding or improving some of these features could increase the probability of your home being sold. And then you can move onto the next stress, moving.
