What Buyers Want
I’ve talked before about how staging helps homes sell faster.
In addition to those key concepts,
there are a few current design trends that the majority of home buyers are looking for. Knowing and incorporating these trends will help your home sell quicker than competing homes on the market.
- Hardwood floors
A popular recommendation, hardwood floors do appeal to the majority of buyers. Forbes listed Hardwoods as #4 on their list of buyer wants (link). But I’ll take it one step further and say hardwood stairs are a more recent concept that is growing in popularity. Carpet is still accepted as the flooring of choice for upstairs, however installing hardwoods on the stairs provides a seamless look from the main floor.
With rentals, the idea of hardwood is gaining momentum as well. While not necessarily requiring real hardwood, renters tend to prefer a hardwood look-a-like to carpet. I predict this trend is here to stay for a while due to the clean look of hardwood and laminate and the advantage of avoiding allergies that often come with carpets.
- Granite
It’s not a secret that buyers tend to ask for granite countertops. However, there are many more options out there besides granite. Quartz and Corian are other popular, and accepted, options. The idea is that a seamless look is given, and builder-grade counters are avoided.
Natural Light
One of the main ideas behind hardwood floors is to make the space appear more open, clean, and inviting. The best way to achieve all three of those factors without any cost is to open up the room to natural light.
Walk through any given new construction model and you’ll notice the lack of window treatments. This is because the key to opening up a space is to let the light in. If you are still living in the home while it’s for sale, consider sheer window panels or blinds that can be pulled back when you have showings.
Looking for more real estate tips? I specialize in finding great Realtors across the country. If you're in Charlotte, NC, I'd love to help. If not, let me find you a great Realtor in your area!
