Recent Home Buyer and Seller Study

Home improve­ment projects play a cru­cial role in both prepar­ing a home for sale and cus­tomiz­ing a new­ly pur­chased prop­er­ty. Sell­ers often invest in upgrades to boost their home’s mar­ket appeal, focus­ing on ren­o­va­tions that max­i­mize val­ue and attract buy­ers. From cos­met­ic enhance­ments like fresh paint and land­scap­ing to larg­er updates such as kitchen and bath­room remod­els, these projects can sig­nif­i­cant­ly impact a home’s sell­ing price and time on the market.

On the buyer’s side, home improve­ments are often nec­es­sary to align a new prop­er­ty with their needs and pref­er­ences. Some buy­ers plan ren­o­va­tions before mov­ing in, while oth­ers tack­le projects over time, address­ing func­tion­al upgrades, aes­thet­ic changes, or unex­pect­ed repairs.

This study exam­ines the types of improve­ments home­own­ers make before sell­ing and after buy­ing, explor­ing spend­ing trends, project pri­or­i­ties, and the role of con­trac­tors in the process.

The research objec­tives of this study are:

• Mar­ket Dynam­ics and Home­own­er Pri­or­i­ties: Exam­ine the key fac­tors influ­enc­ing home buy­ing and sell­ing decisions.
• Home Con­di­tions and Ren­o­va­tion Impact: Assess the dis­crep­an­cies between intend­ed and actu­al home con­di­tions at pur­chase and their effect on ren­o­va­tion activities.
• Home Improve­ment Trends: Iden­ti­fy trends in pre-sale and post-pur­chase home improve­ment activ­i­ties, includ­ing project types, spend­ing lev­els, and con­trac­tor involvement.
• Tim­ing and Moti­va­tions: Eval­u­ate the tim­ing, moti­va­tions, and expec­ta­tions for home improve­ments and their influ­ence on the home sale process.
• House­hold Roles and Influ­ences: Ana­lyze the roles and influ­ences of house­hold mem­bers in home improve­ment deci­sions, iden­ti­fy­ing exter­nal resources and key motivators.