I have quoted lots of real estate facts on this blog, mainly for the purpose of informing home buyers and homesellers. Today though, I’d like to inform and entertain, with five real estate facts that are a little strange, a bit surprising but actually very real:
Not All Renos are Created Equal
When people renovate their homes they usually do so for their own benefit. However, how a renovation will impact the eventual resale value of their home is something they should take into consideration.
There are lots of stats that show that kitchen and bathroom renovations and improvements are consistently the projects most often undertaken, or commissioned, by Canadian homeowners. But contrary to popular opinion, kitchen renovations may not offer a great ROI.
According to the Canadian Home Builders’ Association a top-of-the-line kitchen reno will cost you around $22,000, and you’ll only get about $0.51 back for every $1 you spend. Compare that to a mid-range bathroom remodel, a $3,000 job that returns $1.71 for every dollar spent. Not to say that you should not redo your kitchen if needed, just don’t expect that it will add a huge amount of value at resale time.
Is Seven an Unlucky Number?
Is seven an unlucky number in real estate? Apparently, according to CREA, homes with “777” as their address sell for 2.1 percent less than their estimated value; house numbers that just include 777 (such as 17779 Main St.), sell for 1.8 percent less. Oddly, houses with just 7 as their number sell for 1.8 percent more than the estimated sale price. Strange.
Playing Mind Games with Price
Psychological home pricing works. On average, homes prices with a nine in the thousand digit – ie $450,000 vs. $449,000 – sell anywhere from four days to a full week faster. It’s a version of the 99 cent trick that retailers have been making use of, successfully, for decades.
Bad Words
The words you – or your real estate agent, use when writing your home for sale’s listing information matter too. According to a report from MLS.ca, “unique,” “TLC,” “investment” and “potential” can lower sale prices by as much as 7 percent. However, use words like “luxurious” for mid-tier homes and “captivating” for top-tier homes and you could add 8.2 percent to your home’s value. In addition, longer, more-detailed listings often sell for more as well.
Names Matter Too?
Again, a little more real estate trivia from MLS.ca. According to them, there is a lot oat stake when it comes to your actual address? As in, potentially, a lot of cash. According to the MLS.ca report homes on named streets tend to be 2 percent more valuable nationwide than numbered ones (unless you’re talking about New York City, where it’s a wash). But Main Street homes garner 4 percent less than Canada’s median home value. Street names with Lake or Sunset will sell upwards of 16% higher. Suffixes also matter. “Street,” has the lowest home values of $183,120 nationally while “Way” has the highest home values averaging around $312,000.