Owning a detached, single-family home comes with maintenance costs to keep the place in good shape. The same can be said when preparing the property for sale.
Yes, everything comes with a price – especially in these inflationary times.
That’s why it’s important for homeowners to not only stay on top of routine maintenance but remember to upgrade key components when they are nearing the end of their lifespans. Discerning buyers will know when a home has been left to, well, age gracefully.
A common rule of thumb is to budget at least 1% of the home’s value each year for general maintenance and at least double that for older homes. And for you procrastinators, those cost allocations will be even higher. About three out of four owners make at least one home improvement before selling – a wise decision.
Surveys have shown that buyers tend to focus on the condition of the kitchen – including the age of appliances – and bathrooms (among other factors) to determine whether they wish to make an offer. You can almost see the prospective buyer calculate the costs of updating critical areas of the home.
The average cost to perform a major mid-range kitchen remodel today is $86,938 in the Seattle metro area, according to the 2022 Cost vs. Value Report. That figure is up a little more than 5% in just a year. An upscale kitchen remodel will run you about double the mid-range estimate.
Adding new appliances to the kitchen can cost you money and time. A full suite of new mid-level kitchen hardware can cost about $4800 (or easily more) but finding a matching range/oven, fridge, dishwasher and microwave is another story. Research from early 2022 showed that appliance deliveries are taking 16 weeks or more, according to a majority of home remodelers surveyed by John Burns Real Estate Consulting. And kitchen cabinets are taking at least 12 weeks to deliver.
Most remodelers surveyed noted window deliveries are taking at least 12 weeks to arrive from the factory. The cost to replace 10 double-hung, insulated vinyl windows runs an estimated $21,698 in Seattle metro, according to the Cost vs. Value report.
Looking to change out the tub and tile in a full bathroom? That could run about $31,427 and almost triple that amount for an upscale renovation, according to the same 2022 report. The figures are up about 8% from last year’s estimates.
No project will provide a full return on investment either, but a garage-door replacement comes close (99% ROI). A new door will run about $4130, the report said.
Costs in Seattle are generally higher than national averages. For example, a mid-range kitchen remodel would run a typical U.S. household about $80,809, or 7% less than Seattle area prices.
Thinking of taking on a DIY project? Well, replacing a deck can run about $10,000-$20,000 – depending on materials and square footage. At least the retail price of lumber is cheaper, down about 35% from the 2022 high in March. But costs for paint and stains are running as much as 50% higher since January 2021 because of supply-chain shortages. Steel, gypsum, concrete and the cost to deliver them are all climbing in price, as well.
The good news for sellers is that there are programs available to cover some or all of those costs, repaying the expenditures when the house sells. John L. Scott Real Estate offers MarketReady Plus, a program that provides owners an advance – with no fees or interest – to complete the work and move forward confidently with the property listing. (I can help arrange the easy paperwork!)
When renovations are complete and it’s time to sell, homeowners can expect to pay about 8% of the sales price in the form of closing costs. Those costs cover commissions for the real estate professionals and their brokerages involved in the transaction, excise tax on the sale, and fees to support a range of services conducted by title and escrow companies.
The median price of a King County home is $810,000, as of Aug. 1, 2022. That would mean typical closing costs on a median-priced home in our county are about $65,000. Naturally, figures and specific scenarios from your negotiated contract can vary.
Even though the price of goods and services remains high and often moving higher, so too has the value of homes in our region. A single-family residence in King County has gained a median of 143% in value in the last 10 years based on sales prices (through July 2022), including 130% in Seattle and 177% on the Eastside. These figures would have been even higher when compared with the peak of the pricing market in April of this year.
Homeowners may beef about the cost to maintain and improve the property, but they can look at the value over time to see the net benefits of owning a home.