If your home isn’t “Movie Star” glamorous, this might be a critically better time to sell than you realize.

Ask a Buyer what they want and I never seem to get these answers…..

✅ I want the master bedroom upstairs to get my Stairmaster exercise

✅ A wood frame home as I hate concrete

✅ Choppy floor plans with little light

✅ A tiny kitchen with wonderful formica

✅ Popcorn ceiling or bust

✅ Heavy Mediterranean in style

✅ Wallpaper. A little peeling is ok

✅ No Pool! I like concrete

✅ No hurricane shutters

✅ An old roof. I like nostalgia!

✅ A view of a wall bordering on I95 or the Turnpike. The soothing sounds of trucks help me fall asleep

✅ I don’t like condos and HOA’s that allow pets!

via GIPHY

Not on your wish list?  Don’t worry as I haven’t had that request yet either.

So, if your home is not a Beauty Queen you might want to consider considering selling.  This is probably a more critical opportunity to take advantage of than you my realize.

1. Sellers who don’t have the perfect set of the ingredients above know that their home or condo will take longer to sell as “homely homes” sit on the market longer. Its not common to see problem homes take over 180 days to sell.

2. Another thing happens with homes that don’t have the most desirable ingredients is that they deprecate much more in an average market or Buyers market. Meaning when the market slips back to normalcy, homes without the perfect ingredients will go down at a much farther rate.  In an extreme market like in 2008, good looking homes went down maybe 10-15% but the toughest homes tumbled up to 50%. That’s because the Buyer could find what they want and didn’t have to settle.

And if you are looking to cash out and get the best price possible and timing is important, a hurried sale will result in more depreciation.

Jeff Lichtenstein is owner and broker of Echo Fine Properties, a luxury real estate brokerage selling real estate in Jupiter  and homes in Palm Beach Gardens, Florida. He has 20 years of real estate experience, has closed over a 1,000 transactions, and manages over 50 agents in a non-traditional model of real estate that mimics a traditional business model.  Some publications he has been quoted in.

Feel free to ask him a question directly at jeff@EchoFineProperties.com.