Tried-and-True Improvements to Help Sell Your Home Post-Pandemic
How To Stand Out In A Crowded Market: Top Summer Upgrades To Help You Sell
As the pandemic wanes, homeowners who postponed selling their homes last year are slowly starting to come back into the market—and that could mean that we begin to see housing inventory start to climb again as 2021 continues.
If you’re getting ready to list, how can you ensure your home stands out this year? Well, there are some tried-and-true improvements that will always add home value, along with some that are more specific to this post-pandemic era we’re slowly entering.
Here are a few upgrades to consider if you’re selling your home this year.
Refresh your landscaping
In general, any upgrades that improve your curb appeal will give you a positive ROI, especially those that require a relatively small investment.
Things like:
- Mulching flower beds and along walkways
- Repainting your shutters and front door
- Mowing and edging your lawn
- Planting flowering plants
- Adding outdoor lighting
These all are projects that can be done in an afternoon or a weekend, and won’t require shelling out thousands of dollars.
What’s more, making your home appealing on the outside means buyers will not only be more prone to want to look further. It will also create a favorable first impression, making them more likely to appreciate your interiors, too.
Invest in pool maintenance, if you have one
Up until 2020, backyard pools were seen more as a maintenance drag than a positive home feature—but the pandemic has changed that perception markedly.
In fact, according to HomeLight’s Top Agent Insights for Spring 2021 report, the value that inground pools add to a home has risen by 69%.
Why? Buyers who, along with the rest of us, endured a year stuck at home, while public recreation facilities including pools closed. They want their own space to relax, swim, and have fun and they’re willing to pay more in order to get it.
Now, this certainly doesn’t mean it will make financial sense to install an inground pool if you’re planning on selling, as you won’t make back what you put in. But if you do have a pool that’s in need of some maintenance, put in the time and effort. Make sure your water is sparkling clean, enhance any surrounding deck space with plants, lounge chairs, and shade umbrellas, and consider additional amenities like an outdoor kitchen or more seating.
Backyard entertaining upgrades
It should come as no surprise that buyers today are looking for flexible, hospitable outdoor spaces. After all, we’ve all been restricted to outdoor gatherings—and small ones, at that—for more than a year.
Upgrades that make your outdoor space better for entertaining will be popular with almost any buyers. One of the top-valued upgrades, according to the HomeLight report, is also one of the easiest to install: a fire pit.
More than 76% of agents cited a fire pit as the top upgrade their buyers want. If you’re putting one in, make sure to include some comfortable seating like a bench, outdoor couch or loveseat, or Adirondack chairs.
While you’re working on those backyard upgrades, make sure to pay attention to your lighting. Create a warm, inviting atmosphere with string lights, solar lights, tiki torches, or ground lighting.
Buyers in 2021 are making their home purchases informed by the difficulties we’ve all faced in the past year, and that means their priorities are different than they were in 2020 or 2019. Ask your agent about the top upgrades they’re seeing their buyers want, so you can take your home from listed to sold in no time.