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North Andover, Andover, Methuen, Haverhill and Merrimack Valley MA Real Estate home sale and home buyer representation.
Working together on
your real estate goals.
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Ron Carpenito's
Prime Property Team
powered by:
Keller Williams Realty
168 North Main St
Andover, MA
Mon-Fri 9:30-5:00 EST
Sat-Sun By Appointment
617-797-8710 Mobile
978-269-5425 Office
978-327-5182 Fax
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Real Estate Update December, 2006
Currently in Essex county we are seeing a stabilization of supply coming onto the market. With only 5% more inventory this year as compared to last year one could argue that we are reaching some type of equilibrium between the homes coming on the market and the rate of sales of those homes. The median sale price of homes sold in the past three months compared to that same period a year ago shows only a 3% decline to $379,900 also pointing towards stabilization of price. Condominium sales prices also show a small decline from the same period last year of 2% to $245,000.
When listing a client's home for sale I am often asked if it would be a good idea to remodel or add on to a home to increase its value or bring the home up to selling standards. The answer depends on a few factors. First and foremost is what the current
condition of the overall property is and if there is any deferred maintenance needs. For example; do you own a home that was built more than 20 years ago and never updated or is clearly not maintained? If so, do not expect to sell for full market value without doing some updating. Is your roof at the end of its useful life or the furnace on the way out? Again, you should not expect to sell for full market value. You will need to price your home under market value to account for the updating and maintenance needs. The reason is that buyers tastes constantly change, and the buyers in today's market are not paying full value for 1970's avocado green kitchens even if the home is "move in condition" there is simply too much supply on the market to choose from. Move in condition, by the way is a term that means you can move right in and live there with little repair or cleaning, regardless of the decor.
The second factor depends on the cost of the updating and the amount you can assume to re-coup when selling. The National Association of Realtors performs a yearly study on the average cost and average resale value. For example in New England the average cost of a minor bathroom remodel is $13,248 with a resale value of $11,207 that's an 85% recouping of cost. A minor Kitchen remodel costs on average $18,081 with a resale value of $15,511 for an 86% recouping of costs. The top 3 projects that recoup the highest values at resale time in the Northeast are: Vinyl Siding replacement, Wood Window replacement and Minor Kitchen remodels, recouping 94%, 92% and 86% respectively.
Clearly you will not make money on the remodeling, but by bringing your home up to current selling standards you will improve your chances of selling for full market value. Having said all this, ultimately the real reasons for updating and remodeling should be for your own personal enjoyment years before selling your home. When consulting with a client, unless repairs or updating is obviously needed, I always recommend the simple things like painting, staging, changing fixtures, cleaning and curb appeal items. These are the items that cost little money and some elbow grease, but go a long way towards getting your home sold for a fair price.
Ron Carpenito's Prime Property Team is a full service real estate team serving the Merrimack Valley and New England committed to changing lives one home at a time. Call today to discuss your specific situation and needs.
Data provided by MLS.
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The Entire Keller Williams Andover Office
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