Yahoo Finance published an article in which several real estate agents were interviewed and a list of real estate buyer turnoffs was compiled. After reading the article I wondered about a couple of things.
Firstly, was that the article interviewed agents outside of Colorado… and seemed to imply a real estate Buyer’s Market. I.E. A market in which the Buyer could afford to hold out for something better, aim to discount if it didn’t meet most of their needs and overall, be a bit pickier.
As a Realtor on the Front Range, I can tell you that the market still favors the seller here. The buyers market of 2010 and 2011 faded fast in 2012 and since then it has been a strong sellers market, evidenced by competitive bids, short days on market (for those priced right and showing well) and a lot of well-founded real estate Buyer frustration at the lack of inventory and increased pressure to make quick decisions.
Secondly, while I thought that wallpaper and dated fixtures were a tad off-putting, I thought of a few other things that turn off my real estate Buyers even quicker…
Yahoo Finance Top 10 turnoffs:
1. Dirt
2. Odors
3. Old Fixtures
4. Wallpaper
5. Popcorn Ceilings
6. Too Many Personal Items
7. Snoopy Sellers
8. Misrepresenting Your Home
9. Poor Curb Appeal
10. Clutter
Dallice’s Top 10 Turnoffs:
1. Dirt (Generalized filth… moldy bathrooms, sticky kitchen floors and grimy appliances, pet hair.)
2. Odors (Garbage, boy socks, wet dog, cigarette smoke… and yes, offensively strong air fresheners.)
3. Poor curb appeal (It is assumed if the outside is crappy, the inside will be too.)
4. Deferred maintenance (It says something about the Seller and now we have a trust issue.)
5. Dark rooms (Overgrown foliage outside, closed window coverings, poor interior lighting, dark decor.)
6. Misrepresenting your home (If it’s beside Boulder’s nicest mobile home park, tell us that upfront.)
7. Clutter (There is no upside to clutter. Rooms feel small and look dark.)
8. Snoopy sellers. (Leave my Buyer alone so they can see the property… Or they will run away!)
9. Nasty decor (I include popcorn ceilings, fixtures, flooring, old appliances and poor taste, here.)
10. Shoddy home improvements (Don’t do it yourself unless you know what you are doing!)
Seller’s market or not, there is never a good reason to throw away an opportunity to impress a real estate Buyer and sell your property. As a Realtor and Staging Professional, it absolutely makes me cringe to see Sellers either not getting good advice about what sells – or not taking that advice.
I’ve said it before and I will say it again… You are paying good money and deserve good advice. Follow that good advice and it will pay for itself!