The area or neighborhood that your West Linn real estate is in will dictate your selling price more than all the updates in the world.
What you put into your home may not be what you can get out. Your remodel project may say you should receive a certain return on investment percentage based on the region you are in but, the bigger barometer of what you may see on your West Linn real estate sale will be your neighborhood. Whatever you do not write a check that your house can’t cash when you try to sell!
When re-modeling or updating a home you must always be aware of your neighborhood or area, the first question should be, what is the median or average price that homes are selling for? Those are the numbers that all the granite, stainless steel or hardwoods in Oregon is not going to change.
An over-improvement is an alteration or improvement that is made to a property where the cost is greater than the market value added to said property.
Lets say an owner of West Linn real estate lives in a neighborhood with single level, 3-bed, 2-bath with an average sq foot of 1900 that sell for $400k on average. Most of the homes on his block and surrounding area are 25 years old, have been maintained but not updated. Now this same owner updated his kitchen with new cabinets, granite, stainless steel appliances, new hardware and fixtures, hardwood floors and updated the bathrooms to the same level. While updating his bath and kitchen, he also decides to add an entire second level complete with new master suite and bonus area. In addition, these updates were done to his specific taste (fill in the blank) that doesn’t, for the lack of a better word, conform to the area much less the neighborhood. The homeowner spends just over $150,000 on the remodel project. While the home now looks like a showpiece, is very lovely and is the nicest home on the block, it is also over-done for the neighborhood.
Just because a homeowner has made $150k in improvements to the home does not mean they will see a percentage of return equal to that particular investment. While these great updates do warrant a slightly higher price than the rest of the neighborhood, $150K would be asking for too much. It will not matter how hard I market the house, the location is going to be a bigger factor than the home owner might think.
There is a chance you take when making home improvements. Just because you put in a certain amount into your home, that does mean that is where it should be priced. If you are planning on selling, you should only do what the neighborhood can withstand.
If you’re a homeowner thinking of doing improvements before putting your home on the market, talk to a real estate agent BEFORE you do start anything. A real estate agent can help you figure out which home improvements will really pay off and which will make you pay? By finding out what homes are going for and which improvements will help you to get the most for your money. A Realtor can help you make the right decision BEFORE you spend a penny; saving you money, time, energy and stress.
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Rich Peralta is a real estate professional in the Portland Metro Area, including Lake Oswego, Tualatin and West Linn Real Estate.
He can be reached at 503.961.2181 or by e-mail at rich.peralta@exprealty.com
Contact him for more information on Portland, Lake Oswego or West Linn Real Estate!
Also posted on Lake Oswego Real Estate.
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[...] are in a tight situation and need to sell and sell quickly, but the market is not letting them get what they “want” for the house. They are either getting low ball offers or no offers at all. They cannot drop the price any [...]
[...] are in a tight situation and need to sell and sell quickly, but the market is not letting them get what they “want” for the house. They are either getting low ball offers or no offers at all. They cannot drop the price any [...]