Buyers Developing Aversion to Renovating
When the market was booming, buyers were willing to take on renovations in order to get a better deal. These days, however, fixer-uppers are demanding steeper discounts to their move-in-ready brethren, if they’re even selling at all. “Buyers don’t want to do any renovations right now,” Halstead’s Amelia Gewirtz told The Real Deal. “I have…
When the market was booming, buyers were willing to take on renovations in order to get a better deal. These days, however, fixer-uppers are demanding steeper discounts to their move-in-ready brethren, if they’re even selling at all. “Buyers don’t want to do any renovations right now,” Halstead’s Amelia Gewirtz told The Real Deal. “I have people saying, ‘I don’t even want to have to paint.'”
IDisagree. I agree. Exactly, not renovating, wanting to live without having a hand in one’s space, not wanting to do this kind of work is not shallow…and I mentioned that lest anyone accuse me of being too rah-rah for renovations and lack perspective. I know renovating can be a nightmare…trust me…
Renovating is not everyone’s cup of tea…and obviously, many more people think it is, get involved in a renovation, and realize it’s really not what they expected (plus, you can pop a vessel dealing with contractors, I know, I know…)
Anyway think of Shiva. Destruction/Creation.
…it’s life…
Someday you’ll look back and realize it’s all a confused mess and you won’t care maybe. It doesn’t really matter I guess.
********
Yes, most probably, fewer people will be able to afford the rather ridulous gold-plated renovations and spoiled luxury apartment “residences” in which hallways are labeled “Gallery” and everyone has to have two bathrooms per person to consider oneself civilized. Yes, I Agree. It has been a kind of gilded age where the robber barons have used $100 bills to light their cigars and the poor stand in line for hours and when they get to the front are told they don’t qualify or the funds have run out.
In many ways, t’was better in the 60’s and 70’s…at least we felt there was so much potential…now we’re all jaded. Oh, well.
BrooklynGreene, you talk about having “the right personality for doing, making, changing, adjusting” but then also admit to having a lack of perspective. maybe i misunderstood your post, but something seems very wrong with the forces you imply are motivating you.
i understand renovating in a quality, sustainable and personal way when renovations truly are needed, but it grosses me out to think of spending gobs of money renovating just to put your own personal stamp on something or because of some bizarre idea that not doing so makes you “bad” or “shallow” or means that you live “in a hotel.” as this crisis gets worse, you’ll see fewer and fewer people able to afford vanity renovations, and, i’d hope, some of the people who can still afford it will be embarrassed to do it.
Well, look Tiptop, you’ll have something to tell the kids or the grandkids!
In the midst of year 4 of our renovation the SO and I would agree (not much else we agree on) that we would never take on another renovation again. I’m not talking about a couple of rooms or a kitchen, but a full scale renovation including all plumbing and electricity. This kind of thing takes years off your life and the $$$ you might’ve saved with the DP ends up being spent on construction labor and all new fixtures and appliances anyway.
Well, this has been a lively and enjoyable discussion for once.
I am in agreement with the renovators, Townhouse Lady and company. (BRG when are you renovating a floor our our house into the Bubble Bath Spa you’ve promised?!)
We’ve been talking about doing some work and feel it may start to be a better time as contractors estimate/bid more realistically. There will be more competition AND, more importantly availability! (…or am I dreaming…?)
During the rah-rah years, we had run-ins (run-outs?) with a whole string of contractors (well, three) who came in, said “love you and the job and will start soon” and then came back weeks (and weeks…) later saying,”Um, sorry, I’ve got this other job that I kind of have to take. Here are the keys, drawings. Sorry, but call my friend so-and-so who is great. He’s good at this kind of work!”
So we called the friend and so on and so on. If we had had a huge renovation promising a contractor enough to put his kids through college, maybe we wouldn’t have been shrugged off…I’m not sure. But the last years were crazy. We had the money in hand and were ready to go but there was apparently so much work for these guys, the scale of the work we needed done was just not that interesting to them.
Well, hallelujah!
Yes, I feel it is better to buy a house that needs renovation and pay for the property appropriately…that is, if you have the stomach for renovations. That’s what it boils down to. We have friends in Manhattan who would never dream of doing this! But it is very rewarding for those of us with the right personality for doing, making, changing, adjusting.
I think I would croak if all I had to choose would be which decorator to use. Might as well live in a hotel…which, yes, does appeal to some people…and that doesn’t make them bad, or shallow or whatever I’m trying to say. It’s just not me and I would bet, would not appeal to a lot of the people who choose to move into old (I’m talking old) houses and read Brownstoner…
And, I have to agree with the general wariness of the other readers regarding the kind of quality of “what’s behind the wallsâ€.
Plus, the taste of renovations! Ugh. There’s no place like home (okay, that IS a shallow, materialistically-minded twist on the adage), but have had had to smile, gush and basically fib to friends about how lovely their kitchen and bathroom renovations are.
Ah…life…
I think for the most part we’re awfully privileged on this forum and should be a little more humble. I’m blushing suddenly realizing my own lack of perspective of the suffering out there.
Ringo, hysterical.
I wonder how long would you have to stand there to have it knocked down to 50%! … a new deal indeed.
Well brokers were use to making easy money for quit some time. Now they have to work for it. It is easy being a parasite and living off other peoples sweat.
I think people don’t want to renovate now because they don’t want the “double” exposure to the market. Meaning, in the olden days of 2007, some people would close on the new place with a bridge loan and rehab for 6 months while staying in the old place. That was back in the day when you could count on selling your old place. Now, nobody wants to be long over a weekend let alone left holding a mortgage on two homes. Do they even give bridge loans these days?
The whole “they don’t want to paint” thing sound like typical moronic broker bull.
As an aside, I went to two open houses last weekend and the broker at each kept slamming the seller — “they don’t get the new reality”, “they don’t realize that nobody wants these Home Depot kitchens!” on and on. Clearly, brokers are sick of sitting at the same open house weekend after weekend. At one wreck that was asking about a million (huge place), when talking over renovation costs with my better half, the broker actually interrupted me to say, “let’s say you got this place for 750.. to put in a new kitchen would be…” He was taking 25% off before we even talked about a bid!
“With a renovated house there are just as many unknowns as with a fixer up.”
your basic point is sound but you are stretching it too far. compare:
house a — estate condition, boarded windows, water damage, clearly needs 100% gut reno.
house b — gutted 3 years ago, sellers lived here ever since, looks beautiful, quality fixtures/mechanicals, inspector says everything checks out
do you really believe buying house b involves “just as many unknowns” as renovating house a?