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Sarasota housing Market: What Buyers look for in a Home |
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Saturday, 07 October 2006 |
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A new poll conducted by Maritz Research for Royal LePage reveals that the odor of a home has a huge impact on emptors’ decisions of buying a home. The idea of “staging” a home to make it look alluring to buyers has become popular during the last decade, as manifested by the proliferation of numerous home staging companies offering advice about how to make the house more attractive to buyers. The poll says that while appearance and cleanliness are significant, 53 per cent of buyers said strong odors such as those that emanate from pets, cigarette smells, and kitchen rubbish had a stronger impact on their impression of a home than overall tidiness and cleanliness, strong wall colors, or an outdated façade and landscaping.
The way you live in your home is not the way to sell your home. Oftentimes, homeowners who smoke or who have pets are so habituated to the odors that they do not notice how repulsive these are to other people, especially buyers. The way to get around this trouble is for sellers to solicit a second opinion, perhaps from their neighbor or from a pre-inspection professional, in order to determine how prospective emptors may see their home. The Royal LePage poll also revealed that renovations can ameliorate the value of a home, especially in the Sarasota housing market today with such a rising inventory. But not all renovations are created equal. Style and décor are especially important with large renovations, as these features will be relatively more expensive for a buyer to change. Thus, they can be a considerable factor in buying decisions. The poll also indicate that men were more concerned than women about the décor, with 41 percent of them saying that they would be willing to pay a bounty for an updated décor, as compared to only 30 percent of women saying they would. On the whole, more than a third of prospective emptors said they would pay more for a home with an updated décor. The poll also shows that 79 percent of buyers said they would be willing to pay more for a home with a renovated kitchen. But when asked if they would still pay a premium if the kitchen was renovated in a style that was not to their taste, less than 50 percent of those who originally said they would pay the bounty were still likely to do so. Earl Juanico Sarasota Real Estate |
Nevada Real Estate 