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Sounds like the idea is to figure out whether your target market is buyers who want a good deal or those who want a ready-to-go home.
In our neighborhood, appropriately priced homes sell within a days, regardless of condition. The ones that are fixed up sell for about $40K over those that are not fixed up. Recently, neighbors spent $12K fixing their home up. It sold for $40K more than two other homes with similar floor plans that were sold "as is."
You may want to check out the situation with homes in your neighborhood to see what makes the most sense in your situation.
So logically, a lower price beats out the granite counter tops and new cabinets.
But buyers may have decided on those features as table stakes. Also, few buyers have extra cash or time to do those upgrades themselves after they move in. They are financing as much as they can.
I have a friend who flips houses. He buys the repo from the bank that is dumping it below market and then he updates the entire interior: basically everything you can see or touch. All his houses get cheap but new paint, electrical outlets, cabinets, counter tops, and carpet.
All good answers, so I will say something different.
People subconsciously love the smell of new carpet!
Sounds nutty, but watch...place red in places...red dish towels, red
bath towels, red vase, see...red door, red mailbox...it triggers 'something'
We artists know this...
any piece in a show with a little red is always the one that sells first!
(Maybe 'only')
Any of those upgrades might get you an offer faster; but it doesn't mean you'll get your money back for the upgrades you did. How are you priced compared to other listings in your price range?
This. As a matter of fact, most sellers do not get all the money back for the upgrades they do. However, they get something much more valuable: a home sale, when none would be had before. A boring, dated home often languishes for months without a sale, and when someone makes an offer, they can lowball a seller more than what the home is worth, even without any updates. I'm going to disagree with everyone else: upgrades can make or break a sale.
But first, find out if that's really the reason why the home isn't selling. How long has it been on on the market? Are you just being impatient? What feedback are you getting? Have the potential buyers been saying it needs upgrades, or are you just speculating? Before you take the plunge and put a lot of money into it. First, be sure that's the issue. If you believe it is, ask your agent about what upgrades buyers like. Painting and flooring are some of the most important upgrades you can do because it dramatically improves the appearance of the home.
BTW, it's extremely helpful to know the poster's location in the RE forums because real estate, and much of our advice is dependent on where you and your home is. There is even a sticky pinned on the RE forums about this.
If your carpets are permanently stained and the high traffic areas stand out compared to the rest of the carpet, replace it. Sure, there are buyers who will want to change things, but a stained, old, smelly carpet makes the house look poor. A fresh coat of paint helps.
Don't pre-load your offer with any concessions. You are telling the market you vulnerable before anyone has looked at your property. Offering a home warranty, cash back at closing, "carpet and paint" allowance is giving away money. Clean it ruthlessly and price it in line with your market. Wait for the offers (this is the signal of what the buyer cares about), then counter accordingly.
Don't assume any of us are your buyer. We all have different ideas about what we see and our reactions. The tried and true things are pricing, cleanliness (including smells), and clutter-free. Everything else is important to somebody, but it is mostly a guess as to which of those somebodies are looking at your place. You will never please them all.
Generally, it is cheaper to discount than to invest a lot in a house that is just not current fashion. If your house is safe, operational and functional, and clean as a whistle, that a buyer can move in without worrying about imminent pestilence or system failure, you probably shouldn't invest a lot in any upgrades.
Price it like it needs to be upgraded/redecorated.
If it is not safe, operational and functional, and clean as a whistle, you should make it so at reasonable expense.
IOW, if you have laminate counters that are worn out, swelling, etc, replace them, and granite is the top choice in most markets.
If you have torn, stained, worn out carpet, replace it with lower/mid-grade carpet.
If your cabinets are falling apart, price like a renovation is needed.
But, I wouldn't think that a heavy renovation would be wise, unless you are in a gentrifying area that is on fire as a sellers' market.
I agree with Miss Hepburn ... subconscious perceptions go a very long way.
You can't expect to get your money back for anything you do, but if getting your house sold asap is your desire, maybe you'll have to open the wallet -- perhaps that's more "affordable" for your well-being and thus money worth spending. Unless you can lower your price so significantly that buyers who see needed updates don't mind knowing they have work to do, a price reduction might not help -- there are many buyers who just don't want to freshen up "tired" paint and carpet once all their stuff has been moved in. Unfortunately, most buyers don't have the luxury of purchasing and then spending time in their new and empty house doing these things before all their furniture and such arrives.
The smell of fresh paint and new carpet have always made a huge difference for us as sellers. We never got our money back, but we didn't lose any either because our houses never sat forever and a day on the market. Feedback always included "very clean". Paint was neutral (soft white or Kilim beige). Carpets neutral color and medium pile ("long" enough to show vacuum swipes, but pile not too long to appear matted when stepped on (California shag does this)). It was obvious to buyers that the new carpeting was not expensive, but its newness outweighed that tremendously.
As for bathrooms, what we should have done, but didn't, was replace the faucets on the sink and shower (including a new shower head). That would have been cheap to do and would have given the perception that the baths were "updated" even though the vanities were "dated". Feedback for baths: dated.
If there's anything you can do to draw attention away from what you think are negatives about your kitchen, try those. Maybe new knobs and pulls. Maybe remove everything off the counters except for a few staged items. However, you might have to go the granite route or at least new appliances if that's the standard throughout your development. Even if you lower your price enough to cover a buyer's cost for a kitchen makeover, some buyers just don't want to get into such a big project.
I didn't think about the accent color red. Ironically the accent color I've always had in my kitchens has been red.
The perception you want to give buyers is that the house is "new". It's like when you rent a hotel room - you do not want to see, smell, or feel the previous occupant. The subconscious mind of a buyer is that they want to see a bathroom or kitchen that appears (is perceived as) new and unused. New carpet throughout a house looks like and smells like there'd be no cause to worry about walking around barefoot. The look and smell of fresh paint eliminates the sense of a former occupant. These perceptions of new and unused stay in the buyer's head as he/she tours your house.
I sold is a very cold, competitive market, so I made updates to the kitchen, but updates that looked good together, and would appeal to the most buyers in the area (check out your competition that sold quick!). Not all updates appeal to all buyers. I know I would be miserable with a fully updated kitchen that had chocolate brown cabinets AND dark granite AND dark flooring. I was in such a house that had a kitchen like that, and although it was brand new, and had top grade finishes, it was so dark, the kitchen looked small and uninviting. Some people just don't know how to update properly.
That being said, if you do want to do updates, do the least expensive updates that will give you the most bang for the buck. Painting in very neutral modern colors of course is such an update, and staging your home properly can do wonders, as well as cleaning it like crazy (walls, baseboards included) and declutter like mad. Also DON'T COOK while the house is being shown. I know that's hard, but cooking smells really scare buyers away. I would make sure the house smelled as fresh and clean as possible and for heaven's sake DON'T use those plug in air fresheners, or burn scented candles. They're horrible and make people think you're hiding a worse smell.
I didn't think about the accent color red. Ironically the accent color I've always had in my kitchens has been red.
I did a ton of research on staging before I sold my home, and you should only use red where you want to draw attention to something. So for example, say you have beautiful hardwood floors, use an area rug with some red in it to draw attention to it. I would never paint an accent wall of a home for sale with red, but use red accents, such as decorative pillows, rugs, or in a painting. I used real red flowers on my countertop to draw attention to the polished granite, etc. . .
I really recommend that the OP does a lot of research on staging a home. You cannot underestimate the power of staging, it seriously helps and does wonders. Declutter, depersonalize, get rid of oversized furniture, or too much furniture in a room, clean everything, remove everything off of counters, and hide them, even small kitchen appliances, neutral and modern paint (not everyone loves beige these days, and greige's are very popular), and do updates that your competition used to sell a home quickly, but make sure they're worthwhile updates. Kitchens are super important, and I would focus on the kitchen, so maybe new granite and a nice backsplash would really help it stand out even if you don't replace anything else. It depends on the comps.
Oh and most importantly, get a damn good realtor that understands how to stage, and uses a professional photographer!!!
I would paint the cabinets White and put new cabinet hardware on them; get new countertops (quartz not granite) and upgrade the appliances I would leave the rest of the house alone. Also I wouldn't do a backsplash since that's a pretty personal decision -- unless you already have a tile backsplash....then I'd replace it with white subway tiles.
Most buyers want move in ready. They can get floors changed out quickly and take their time with bathrooms, but kitchens are the big losers or sellers.
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