Selling your home? Realtors pick nine green improvements to help close the deal
A new poll of nearly 1,000 Realtors offers a glimpse at the top “green” improvements recommended by real estate professionals to help move a sale property off the market.
The upgrades are all fairly inexpensive and include:
* planting native greenery
* replacing air filters
* staging the home with recycled or reusable props
* weather-stripping doors and windows
* installing programmable thermostats
* installing low-flow showerheads
* using turn-off power strips
* replacing standard lighting with CFL or LED bulbs
* choosing low-VOC paint
And while three of those nine options get back at least twice as much in sale price gains as they cost, none have a bigger return on investment (ROI) than the top five traditional upgrades suggested by realty practitioners in a November survey. Cleaning and de-cluttering a home before it goes on the market, for instance, will cost the owner less than $200 to complete but bumps up the property’s sale price by almost $1,700 – for a staggering ROI of 872 percent.
Other high-ROI traditional improvements recommended by the real estate community include home staging, lightening/brightening, landscaping and plumbing repairs.
Although they do not offer a great ROI, HomeGain says eco-improvements are becoming more popular; and with their energy savings and low cost of investment, they probably should be considered by all homeowners – not just those preparing their unit for sale.
Source: USA Today (01/14/10)
Nine Steps to Make Your Home More Green
What Others Are Saying
Lisa Barton, on 01/14/2010, said:
Now if I could just remember to bring my reusable bags to the grocery store!
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