Do Little Fixes Boost Home Sales?

Porch, a real estate website that tracks home-improvement projects, says that during the six months prior to a home sale, almost 50 percent of all home-improvement projects involve handyman services. Its study of 675,000 projects submitted by various real estate professionals and compared to listings and sales data from its partner, Realtor.com, shows that handymen were generally recruited to tackle minor repairs by sellers in the Northeast and Midwest in the six-month period prior to the sale. Meanwhile, sellers in the West often hired general contractors to undertake larger improvements; and sellers in the South were most likely to perform electrical upgrades and repairs. When it comes to home improvement projects undertaken by new the new owners in the six months after a property sale, most involved replacing water heaters, updating the plumbing, and repairing sewers. According to Sotheby’s International Realty agent TJ Paradise, sellers in his market of West Hollywood, Calif., generally shell out up to $4,000 to prepare their homes for sale; but some $20,000 in projects are undertaken by new buyers afterward. Thus, experts say sellers should concentrate on smaller repair projects and upgrades, which are more likely to get the home sold. | Read More