Will New Appliances Help Your Home Sell Faster?

You’re ready to sell your home and wanted the highest possible offer to come through the doors of your open house. After some time on the market, with low or no offers, you may be wondering what’s wrong with your home and what about it is turning buyers away.

You walk in to your kitchen, and your appliances are still avocado green and your counters varying shades of “harvest gold,” but you don’t want to part with those appliances yet because they’ve added a lot of happiness to your life; and have always been there for you during holiday dinners and entertaining friends. “I mean, they still work after all…” you might be thinking.

It may be time to replace those treasured old appliances, if you intend on wanting to sell your home to the highest bidder and for the highest return on investment.

The cost of appliances may be the reason you may not have replaced them, as they can be expensive, but did you know that most mid-range appliances aren’t all that bad in terms of cost? You can purchase a four-piece kitchen appliance set from GE for about $1,800-4,000 depending on your preferred finish. These four-piece appliance sets usually have a refrigerator, a microwave, a dishwasher, and a stove, but could vary depending on the brand you choose.

Although stainless still is preferably over any other finish, a new set of appliances could dramatically alter the perspective buyer’s opinion on your property and may help those offers roll in. If you’re not convinced, then you may need to adjust the selling price on your home to account for the old appliances likely needing to be replaced soon in the future. A good rule of thumb, even if you aren’t selling your home, is to update and purchase new kitchen appliances every 10-15 years, even for the simple fact of using less energy and lowering your electric bill.

Consider Your Buyer

Things may also be different depending on the type of buyers you intend on attracting. Many first-time home buyers may be more lenient on what they require for their homes, as there is a good chance that they will be changing things around anyway at some point in the future and may not have a huge budget for anything fancy or for immediate appliance replacement. As long as older appliances work, they may be less concerned with having the newest and best appliances.

Professionals, or those with families on the other hand, may be more particular in their needs and will likely need newer, more reliable appliances as they may be getting more use, especially from families. Professionals and families will tend to have higher incomes or two incomes, and are likely older than many of your young first-time home buyers who are simply looking for a starter home to grow into and change as they do over time.

What Your Appliances Could Be Saying to Buyers

As long as your avocado green appliances work, and don’t need any immediate repairs, you may have a niche market of buyers who may appreciate the vintage, retro look of a 70s kitchen, and that’s okay. However, the energy use of those appliances is going to be more demanding than present day, technologically advanced appliances and likely will or already have resulted in higher electric bills which many people are not too keen of.

If your kitchen screams 1970’s Brady Bunch home, your buyers have a right to wonder how old the rest of the appliances, wiring, roof, functions etc. are in the home, and that could mean higher move in costs for them, turning them off completely or at least making them reconsider their offer on your home. This is something to take in to account as you think about selling your home.

A newer, updated kitchens not only looks and feels better for potential buyers, it also helps them relax and not worry about dropping loads of money on a new set of appliances as soon as they move in. Having an overhead cost of replacing appliances right off the bat can immediately result in a lower offer for your home or a hard “no way” to buying it, which is something to keep in mind.

In conclusion, you can do as you wish and what is best for your budget, but it is recommended that you replace the appliances in your home every so often, so you can get more money from selling it and appeal to a wider array of perspective buyers.

Happy selling!

For more information on whether you should buy new appliances or not, check out Home Light here and Apartment Therapy here.