Selling a Home – Home Improvement Projects

In my continuing series of posts dealing with tips for selling a home, an important decision facing owners of Encinitas homes is whether to undertake any major or cosmetic renovations to improve the value of their property. The first and most important step in making this determination is to get a firm grasp on the current value of your home.

A qualified real estate agent can perform what is commonly referred to as a CMA, or market analysis of your property, putting you in a better position to assess the kinds of improvements which may be appropriate and the anticipated effect on sale price. The market analysis will compare your property in it’s current state to like kind properties and take into account aspects of the comparable properties that are slightly superior as well as inferior to your home. With this valuable information you can be better educated in market conditions in your area and begin the process of prioritizing the various home improvement projects which could bring additional value in preparation for sale.

Industry analysts have bench marked some of the home improvement categories relative to the San Diego area that are projected to return better than 70% of their initial costs. Chief among these are:

  • Kitchen Remodels
  • Bathroom Remodels
  • Converting Attic Space into Bedroom Areas
  • Basement Remodels
  • Less Costly Improvements such as Window and Siding Replacements or the addition of Exterior Decks

It is equally important to keep budgets and priority in mind and your real estate agent can help you examine the choices to determine what is the best option for you. Many sellers are pleasantly surprised that their home’s current value is above the market trend so perhaps more cosmetic solutions are needed.

For example, neutralizing paint schemes and updating flooring or carpeting maybe the only requirements to make a home market-ready. Even the more cosmetic variety of improvements will need to be carefully considered as many potential buyers will prefer to choose flooring to match their specific tastes. A simple and effective way to remedy this is to offer some form of buyer incentive during the marketing of the home to allow a buyer to choose while limiting the amount of the incentive to something you can reasonably afford.

Coldwell Banker Encinitas Realtor Linda Moore’s approach to determining what improvements will add value starts with a comprehensive market analysis of your property followed by a discerning discussion of your options. You can be sure that her years of experience and reputable contacts within the home improvement trades will be the winning combination to maximize the return on your investment!

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