If 2020 is your year to sell, then you’ll want to read this. Of course, we want you to be as successful as possible in the sale of your home. One way to ensure that is to consider what buyers want and then do your best to meet those standards.
We’ve gathered research to help you see inside the 2020 vision buyers have for their next house (aka your current one). This research is from the Better Homes & Gardens Home Buyer Study, which surveyed 2,000 recent home buyers and 500 real estate professionals.
1. First-time buyers are purchasing with plans to stay.
Millennials (those born between 1981 and 1996) now make up about 37% of the homebuyer population. With the average age of the first-time buyer now at 33, the “starter home” may not be as common as it once was. In fact, 36% of first-time buyers said they saw themselves living in their new home for more than ten years. 42% of millennials surveyed wanted their first home to be their dream home. This specific buyer wants to see themselves building a future in your house. To help your house meet this standard, continue reading below!
2. Buyers are looking for move-in ready homes.
Purchasing a fixer-upper used to be ideal for buyers because they could get a more affordable deal and renovate according to their own style. But times have changed, which could be thanks to the influence of social media sites like Instagram or Pinterest. 52% of buyers value purchasing either a newly built home or one that didn’t require any renovations or repairs before moving in. If your house doesn’t look like a Pinterest board, don’t worry. Even though the 2020 buyer would like to see an updated interior, they really don’t want to see big-ticket repairs like having to replace the roof, get a new heating/cooling system or making structural changes. To get a better return on your house, make sure those big to-dos are handled before doing anything cosmetic.
3. They love a gorgeous kitchen.
With that being said, if you are thinking about updating a room in your home, we highly recommend that it’s the kitchen. In the Better Homes & Gardens study, buyers across the board shared that the kitchen was the room that most motivated them to purchase their home. Real estate agents reported that kitchen features such as big islands, high-end appliances, double ovens and wine refrigerators were all popular upgrades that buyers loved to see in a house.
4. Get your listing online.
Don’t let all of this kitchen talk freak you out. You can still have a very successful home sale, even if your house doesn’t look like it was built a month ago. The key is to get it online in as many places as possible, which your agent can help you with. Today’s buyer is spending more time researching. 63% of all buyers report going online to educate themselves: reading articles, researching builders, signing up for newsletters, checking classified ads, reading blogs, and listening to podcasts. So whether you have a wine fridge or not, make sure your listing has high visibility online.
Here’s to a successful sale of your home in 2020!
