Buyers Looking for Move-in Ready Homes Study Says

Many homeowners underestimate the need to upgrade the features of their home before listing, according to a recent study released by Curbio. Forty-three percent of homeowners don’t think they need to make repairs, although buyers would disagree.

Homesellers cite reasons they don’t want to make repairs: 69% don’t want to put up the money for repairs, 61% don’t want to wait for the repairs to be completed and 90% don’t want to spend the time, money and stress on home repairs.

According to the report, 67% of potential buyers say they only consider homes with updated features and layouts and 68% of potential buyers say the “biggest dealbreaker to buying a home is disrepair and wear and tear.” Additionally, the report notes that 77% of potential buyers reported they won’t consider a home that isn’t move-in ready.

While buyers may want upgrades to homes they’re purchasing, in Pennsylvania, limited inventory has sellers at an advantage.

PAR President Al Perry said, “Overall in Pennsylvania, the number of listings available is down more than 50% compared to 2020 and prices are up about 4% compared to last year. This continues to make it a challenging market for buyers. With the tight inventory that we’re seeing in the Philadelphia market, I’m finding that most of the homebuyers are looking at homes that are within their price range and are less concerned about whether renovations need to be done.”

“Even though a buyer may want a home that’s renovated, the challenge in the Pittsburgh market is finding an available home in their price range, so they may be willing to purchase a home that needs some renovation,” said PAR President-elect Preston Moore. “I find that younger buyers really want to have a move-in ready home with renovated kitchens and bathrooms. It may be somewhat of a generational difference and oftentimes with younger, first-time homebuyers, money can be tight and they may not want to undertake costly renovations. As for older buyers, who have already done renovations to their current home, they may be more willing to take on small renovations in a new property.”

Jodi Diego, PAR District 6 vice president, noted, “I’m finding that the homes that are not fixed up and priced properly are still selling quickly with competing offers in the Harrisburg market. My traditional buyers want to purchase a home where it may have had renovations done, however, they look closely at the quality of the renovations. For example, if a homeowner has covered up some issues, the buyers may choose to walk away from that. Overall, I’m seeing for the most part with the interest rates where they are and the buyers’ monthly payment being more, they typically are wanting a home that is pretty much turnkey ready since they often do not have the extra money to do a lot of fixing up.”

The study shows the top five home improvements with the highest return on investment are:

• Kitchen refresh – 377% ROI
• Refinishing hardwood floors – 348% ROI
• Basic listing prep including minor fixes – 297% ROI
• Roof replacement – 288% ROI
• Carpet replacement – 280% ROI

The report noted that selling a home can be stressful and overwhelming for homeowners. The biggest pain points for homeowners who sold in the last five years include: pricing the home accurately (27%), fixing the home up to make more money (25%), going through inspections (22%) and time their home sale with the market (21%).