It’s no secret that spring is prime time for home sales. But should sellers consider home spruce-ups specific to the season?
While few can argue that appropriate staging is critical to home-selling success, springtime offers opportunities for those extra measures that make listings stand out.
The National Association of Realtors recommends focusing on improvements to landscaping, kitchens and master baths, tips seconded by Lisa Barton, broker associate of Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices at Ponte Vedra Beach.
“Our activity level increases in February and goes strong all the way through mid-July,” said Barton. “What I emphasize to my sellers is the first impression is the only impression you get, so curb appeal is critical. We work with a professional stager and her approach is you have about 8 seconds to get a buyer’s attention.”
In those few seconds, potential buyers size up the home based on the appearance of the landscaping and even the color of the front door. In older homes, plants may need to be replaced to present a better-maintained appearance.
“A family that has been in their home for 20 years, those bushes around the house are 20 years old and they have a limited life expectancy,” said Barton. “They have been trimmed and cropped for 20 years. They may be leafy on the edges but bare inside. When you step back and look at the house, the landscaping needs to be addressed. Putting money into that curb appeal to make it look lush and not so worn out and tired can make a big difference.”
That curb appeal includes exterior cleaning of all surfaces including windows, guttering and walls. Investing $200 in pressure washing can make a significant difference in the home’s appearance, Barton said.
With a focus on the Ponte Vedra Beach area, Barton said many of her clients are original or longtime owners who might have considered selling their homes just before the downturn.
As home values have nearly or fully recovered, she said many of those homeowners — who often are now empty nesters — are preparing their homes for market. The interiors can be dated in terms of colors and surfaces, and while seasonal appeal in decor is important to capture the attention of potential buyers, traditional remodeling techniques are tried-and-true.
For sellers who have limited time or budgets for home staging, Barton recommends addressing the priorities.
“Once you get past the front door, we start in the kitchen,” she said. “So much real estate is done via the internet now, people are looking online and the first place a buyer goes when they are looking are pictures of the kitchen. The kitchen has to be scrubbed clean with the counters as clear as possible.
“We have had several of our sellers with high-quality cabinets, but they are a color that is out of favor now. Those quality cabinets can be painted. It refreshes the kitchen and instead of spending significantly on new cabinets, they can spend $4,000 or $5,000 and have them looking new.”
The next most important room, Barton said, is the master bathroom. Many homeowners have remodeled secondary bathrooms over the years, but neglected the one in the master bedroom.
“It’s just the opposite of what you should do,” said Barton. “If you are going to put in a granite or even a quartz countertop, you can check on remnants from a big job and find a beautiful piece that is smaller and less costly but makes a major impact. And by changing out old faucets and fixtures, you can refresh a bathroom without spending a huge amount of money.”
Beyond those significant room refreshers, Barton said paint and carpet are inexpensive ways to make a big impression. And certain color palettes, said Barton, can mean more money.
“Homes that are being painted with grays — between light gray and medium — tend to sell for more money,” she said. “It’s a color that’s easy on the eyes, it goes with everything so people in their mind’s eye envisioning furniture in a room see those soft, neutral colors and that makes it easier for them to imagine themselves in those spaces. A fresh coat of paint makes a house smell better and look better, especially in those first couple of rooms.”
The all-white kitchen is also beginning to give way to more color. While white cabinets and other surfaces remain popular, Barton said she is seeing more homes, especially model homes, with cabinets of muted grays and blues. Contrasting the colors of the wall cabinets and an island is also trending.
“Even though I know white is on the way out, there are still a lot of buyers looking at that,” said Barton. “Cream-colored cabinets are still popular. Granite is no longer in vogue. People are opting for other types of solid surfaces, and they are lighter in color. If somebody has the money, changing the dark granite counters that were so popular in the early 2000s to a lighter-color synthetic quartz gives the kitchen a big refresh.”
Lightening, brightening and cleaning up; adding pops of brighter springlike colors inside and out; painting the front door and addressing landscaping are generally simple projects, but Barton said some sellers resist making improvements to market their homes.
With design trends that are dominant in model homes prospective buyers also visit, those reticent sellers are at a disadvantage.
“They may have renovated when they moved in 20 years ago, so it’s time again. Everything is 15 years old or 20 years old and it’s not keeping up the current trends,” said Barton.
“There is so much new construction out there a lot of our buyers are spending time in model homes that are tricked out,” she said.
“That’s a challenge because many of these sellers don’t want to do the work and don’t see the value,” she said.
“When we are competing with Nocatee, many clients coming from out of state don’t necessarily appreciate being three blocks from the beach when Nocatee is only 4 miles from the beach. I have found the older communities were losing out to new ones, even if the location isn’t as great.”