HomeGain.com recently conducted its third nationwide home improvement and home staging Home Sale Maximizer™ survey (previously conducted in 2003 and 2007) to reveal the top 12 low cost*, do-it-yourself (DIY) home improvements for people getting their home ready to sell.
Nearly 1,000 REALTORS® responded to the survey. (See complete survey results)
Referring to the charts below, the top home improvement per region by return on investment (ROI) is:
- Home Staging (West and South)
- Clean and Declutter (East and Mid-West)
Lightening and Brightening is the 2nd most popular home improvement project in all regions that Realtors recommend to home sellers, except for in the Mid-West, where Landscaping takes 2nd place.
By price increase, the top home improvements are:
- West: Updating Kitchen and Home Staging (Tie for $2,500 each average home price increase)
- East: Updating Kitchen (average of $3,500 price increase) followed by Painting Interior Walls and Painting Outside of Home (Tie for $2,500 each in average price increase)
- South and Mid-West: Updating the Kitchen (average of $2,500 price increase)
The top most recommended home improvement Realtors advise their seller clients are:
- West and East: Clean and Declutter (98%)
- South: Clean and Declutter, Lighten and Brighten, Replace or Shampoo Carpets (all tie with 98% recommendations)
- Mid-West: Paint Interior Walls and Replace or Shampoo Carpets (both tie with 99% recommendations)
Complete Regional results are as follows:
How frequently do Realtors in these regions advise home sellers to hire a professional home stager?
- West: 10% of Realtors advise it 100% of the time; 47% advise it up to 30% of the time
- East: 4% of Realtors advise it 100% of the time; 55% advise it up to 30% of the time
- South: 1% of Realtors advise it 100% of the time; 55% advise it up to 30% of the time
- Mid-West: 4% of Realtors advise it 100% of the time; 49% advise it up to 30% of the time
How much faster could a home sell by using a professional home stager, according to Realtors?
- West: 9% of Realtors think the home sells days faster (less than a week); 29% don’t think the home sells faster (majority percentage)
- East: 3% of Realtors think the home sells days faster; 26% think a home sells months faster (majority percentage)
- South: 2% of Realtors think the home sells days faster; 27% don’t think the home sells faster (majority percentage)
- Mid-West: 9% of Realtors think the home sells days faster (less than a week); 29% don’t think the home sells faster (majority percentage)
Average price of a 3bd/2ba home without any staging or home improvement, according to surveyed Realtors:
- West: $260,000
- East: $220,000
- South: $175,000
- Mid-West: $175,000
*The term “low cost” is defined as less than $5,000.
Calculated costs are averages and rounded up.
Regions:
WEST: AK, CO, HI, MT, WA, OR, CA, NV, ID, UT, AZ, NM, WY
MID-WEST: IL, ID, IA, KS, MN, MO, NE, ND, OH, SD, WI, MI, IN
SOUTH: TX, OK, AR, LA, MS, AL, TN, KY, GA, FL, SC, NC, WV, VA
EAST: PA, NY, MD, NJ, NH, CT, DE, MA, ME, VT, RI
Disclaimer:
HomeGain received survey responses from nearly 1,000 real estate agents in each of the U.S. regions. All agents might not necessarily agree on the same pre-sale strategy. See “% of agents recommending” column above. Differences of opinions may vary based on the climate of the market, region of the country or condition of the home in question. The percentage of agents that agree on the positive impact of a particular pre-sale activity is summarized here.
Try the Home Sale Maximizer Tool below:
Get the Home Sale Maximizer widget for your website by clicking here.
Home Sale Maximizer Home Improvement Tool:
If you are preparing to sell your house, Home Sale Maximizer can help identify and prioritize the home improvement projects to focus on to increase the saleability and selling price of your home. Home Sale Maximizer is a free, quick and easy-to-use tool for homeowners, and it’s also a great resource for real estate agents to provide to their home seller clients.
See the HomeGain Home Improvement Survey Press Release
View the top 9 GREEN Home Improvements
I will use this link to show my clients. I think this will help drive my point home with our discussions. Sometimes I wonder why people are so willing to pay me to be their Realtor, yet won’t listen to what I have to say.
November 16th, 2009 at 10:47 am
This is great info, especially in a normal market; but there are so many distressed homes here in Vegas that most or all of those homes are empty…
November 16th, 2009 at 7:53 pm
Fantastic links!! Thanks for posting those. Will be back often to read more updates!
Deirdre G
November 18th, 2009 at 9:08 pm
Furnish and decorate empty homes! Or at least create “vignettes” that will offer visual stimulation and help the home to stand out on the MLS. You’ve got to show to sell.
http://www.stagedhomesofcentralflorida.com
November 23rd, 2009 at 2:29 pm
I am just astonished when I note how few agents in the South suggest home staging. I have worked in both the West and the South and find that buyers in the South tend to be looking for a move in ready home more frequently than do buyers in the West. This suggests to me that home sellers in the South are more likely to realize a benefit to their bottom line by staging than are those we utilize this tactic in the West. With this being the case I think that many agents in the South are not doing the very best job possible for their sellers.
November 29th, 2009 at 10:23 am