The Skilled Labor Shortage #2
What Home Buyers Really Want
They may not know it, but home buyers want renovated properties.
Like many homeowners featured on Love it or List it, homebuyers prefer move-in-ready properties, not projects. This goes especially for millennial homebuyers, who currently make up the majority of potential buyers, with the typical first-time homebuyer being 33 years of age. And after being stuck inside imperfect homes for—wait, how many months has it been?—you can bet that buyers are turned off by homes in need of even minor repairs.
All that’s nice, but how do you ensure your listings will give buyers what they want?
According to the NAR’s 2021 Profile of Home Buyers and Sellers, recent buyers who purchased new homes were looking to avoid renovations and problems, with 36% specifically wary of plumbing and electrical needs. The good news: buyers can have the best of both worlds with homes renovated by Curbio. Don’t worry, we’ll explain.
Home Buyers Don’t Want Projects
Many of today’s buyers are so wary of projects that they’ll actually choose to wait to purchase a home, instead of settling for something outdated. 95% of recent buyers used the internet as their primary search method, with about 50% making use of a desktop computer and the other 50% using their smartphones. At the height of the pandemic, buyers became hesitant to attend in-person showings, causing an influx in the use of online listing platforms. Now, it has become standard practice for buyers to use the online appeal of listings to thoroughly vet homes before deciding which ones they’re willing to venture outside to see.
Renovating homes before they hit the market has never been more critical. An outdated kitchen, dysfunctional bath, or stained and scratched flooring can turn buyers away. With most buyers at home, searching for properties online, it’s essential to pique buyers’ interest by helping your sellers make updates before listing.
Even the most well-maintained homes need some TLC before going on the market to appeal to modern buyers. Curbio handles pre-listing updates of all sizes, from cleaning, decluttering and painting, to full-scale renovations.
Home Buyers Want to Find Good Value
Brand new homes appeal to many modern buyers, but their prices are astronomical, especially with recent labor and material shortages. Many home buyers turn to previously owned homes not only because of low inventory, but also because they can get a much bigger bang for their buck.
So, how can buyers balance their desire for a move-in-ready home with their desire for good value? That’s where Curbio comes in. We work with sellers’ agents to create move-in-ready homes that achieve a higher profit for sellers (and a higher commission for their agents), while also providing excellent value for buyers and satisfying their demand for modern, move-in-ready properties. To top it all off, we provide a one-year warranty for our work. So, both the buyers and your sellers can rest assured that the work completed is quality and covered.
We’re always careful not to over-renovate, to avoid reducing the profit for the seller or driving the price up too high for potential buyers. We have no project minimums or maximums and focus only on smart updates that make sense using materials that match buyers’ tastes.
Outdated properties spend more days on the market and fetch lower sale prices because buyers want homes that won’t turn into headaches. By making smart pre-listing home improvements, you can give buyers what they really want: an updated, modern home that doesn’t come with the steep price tag of a new build. Get started on your sellers’ pre-listing improvements today to provide buyers with the homes they want, while helping your sellers get their homes to closing quickly and for top dollar.
Ready to get started on your pre-listing updates? Have your Realtor® kick off the process by requesting a free estimate.