Media release: Homes under $500,000 moving to more balanced conditions

City of Calgary, November 1, 2019 – Sales activity in October improved by nearly 10 per cent compared to last year, driven mostly by improvements for apartment and attached product.

New listings also eased, which helped reduce inventory levels and the oversupply in the market. Despite the move to more balanced conditions, the market remains oversupplied and prices continue to remain below last year’s levels.

“Employment has shifted in the city, with job growth occurring in our non-traditional sectors and often at a different pay scale. This is consistent with the shift to more affordable housing product,” said CREB^® chief economist Ann-Marie Lurie. 

“However, at the higher end of the market the amount of oversupply is rising, as supply cannot shift enough to compensate for the reductions in demand. This is likely causing divergent trends in pricing and preventing prices from stabilizing across the city.” 

This is a market where signs of improvement are not consistent across all product types and price ranges. Improvements in sales are occurring in the lower price ranges across all product types. This is not yet translating into price shifts, as persistently elevated supply levels continue to place downward pressure on prices. 

As of October, citywide unadjusted benchmark prices were $422,900, just below last month’s levels and two per cent lower than last year’s levels. 

HOUSING MARKET FACTS

Detached

• Sales activity this month came in just above last year’s levels, thanks to growth in all districts except the North East and North. However, year-to-date citywide levels remain comparable to last year’s levels and over 19 per cent lower than longer-term trends. 
• New listings continued to ease this month, but at a slower pace than levels recorded over the past eight months.
• Improvements in sales and easing new listings brought down inventory levels by 15 per cent. With 3,391 units in inventory, the months of supply is just under four months. This is a decline compared to last year, but it is still high based on longer-term trends. Months of supply eased across all districts except the North, likely due to the increased pressure coming from the new-home sector. 
• Unadjusted benchmark prices eased over the previous month due to declines in all districts except the South East and East. Overall, prices in October remained nearly two per cent lower than last year’s levels and nearly eight per cent lower than previous highs.

Apartment

• Apartment sales continued to improve this month and new listings eased. This helped reduce inventory levels and brought the months of supply down just under 6 months.  Despite improvements, the market remained firmly in buyers’ territory. 
• Year-to-date improvements in sales were driven by gains in the North, West and South East sectors. 
  Inventory declines have occurred in all districts except the South East.
• Overall, year-to-date prices remained over two per cent lower than last year’s levels and nearly 17 per cent lower than peak pricing. However, there are some signs of stabilization in prices this year, with prices in the North East, South East and East remaining comparable to last year. 

Attached

• The attached market continues to show the largest increase in sales, with year-to-date growth of nearly seven per cent. Improvements occurred across all districts except for the North West and North East. 
• New listings have eased by eight per cent so far this year, causing inventory declines and reductions in the amount of oversupply.
• Like most sectors, this segment remains oversupplied, which is causing price adjustments. As of October, semi-detached and row prices remained two and four per cent lower than last year’s levels, respectively. Prices continue to ease across nearly all districts and remain well below previous highs.

REGIONAL MARKET FACTS

Airdrie

• Apartment, row and semi-detached sales activity improved over the previous year, pushing total year-to-date sales up by three per cent, which is just below longer-term averages.
• New listings have eased to the lowest levels recorded over the past five years, helping reduce inventory and the months of supply to levels lower than the previous year. 
• The improvements are helping reduce downward pressure on prices, but it is not enough to erase previous declines. Overall, year-to-date average benchmark prices remain over three per cent lower than last year’s levels.

Cochrane

• Further gains in October contributed to a three per cent year-to-date increase in sales. An 11 per cent pullback in new listings caused supply to ease and the months of supply to fall. 
• The reductions in the amount of oversupply are not influencing monthly price movements yet.  Like most other municipalities, benchmark prices remain over three per cent lower than last year’s levels and well below previous highs.

Okotoks

• Following a sharp pullback in sales activity last year, sales activity continued to recover this month. This caused year-to-date sales to improve to levels just below what was recorded post recession. 
• New listings continue to ease, helping lower the inventory in the market and bringing the months of supply to just under five months. This is an improvement of nearly six months from last year’s levels. 
• With less oversupply in the market, we are starting to see some easing of the downward pressure on prices. Overall, year-to-date benchmark prices were $410,090. This is four per cent lower than last year’s levels.

CREB Media release: Shifting to stability

City of Calgary, October 1, 2019 – For the third consecutive month, sales activity improved over last year’s figures, and year-over-year new listings and inventories eased. This trend will help support more stability in the housing market.

“Price declines have likely brought some buyers back into the market,” said CREB^® chief economist Ann-Marie Lurie, noting improvements in the market continue to be driven by homes priced below $500,000.

In the condominium apartment market, sales improved by 16 per cent this month. This represents the segment’s best September since 2015.  Year-to-date growth in both the attached and apartment sector were enough to offset the modest decline in the detached sector resulting in year-to-date sales growth of nearly one per cent in the city. 

Despite improving sales and reductions in inventory, the overall market remains oversupplied. This continues to weigh on prices.

“While housing demand is modestly improving, sales activity remains relatively weak,” said Lurie. “The market is moving toward more stable conditions, but this is mostly related to supply adjustments in the city.”    

September inventory levels are still elevated at 6,889 units, but this figure represents a decline of 13 per cent compared to last year. The months of supply in the Calgary market currently sits at five months. These conditions continue to favour the buyer, but not to the same degree seen at this time last year.

September’s citywide unadjusted benchmark price of $424,900 is two per cent lower than last year’s levels.

HOUSING MARKET FACTS

Detached

• Improvements in sales over the past three months were not enough to offset pullbacks that occurred earlier in the year, as year-to-date sales remain nearly one per cent lower than last year’s levels. Despite citywide declines, sales improved in both the North West and South districts, thanks to significant gains in sales of homes priced below $500,000.
• The months of supply remains elevated at over four months, although this is an improvement compared to the same time last year.
• Benchmark prices in September ranged from a year-over-year decline of more than four per cent in the South district to general stability in the North East, North and West districts.

Apartment

• Sales improved by 16 per cent this month, making it the best September recorded in the past three years. Despite recent improvements in sales, year-to-date levels remain stable compared to last year, but well below longer-term trends.
• Condominium apartment sales were varied across the city. Significant growth was reported in the North and South East districts. Both districts have seen significant new-home development which could be influencing resale activity.
• Oversupply continues to weigh on prices in this segment, as unadjusted prices remain 17 per cent below 2014 highs.

Attached

• Sales increases for both semi-detached and row product have improved year-to-date attached sales by more than five per cent compared to last year. It is the only product type that has recorded significant gains year-over-year.
• New listings continue to ease, reducing inventory and the months of supply. 
• Despite some annual reductions in the months of supply, buyers’ market conditions persist and prices continue to ease. Year-to-date benchmark price declines ranged from a high of nearly six per cent in the City Centre to a low of three per cent in the North East.

REGIONAL MARKET FACTS

Airdrie

• Conditions in the resale market continue to show signs of growth. Sales activity improved in September, pushing year-to-date sales up by nearly three per cent. New listings eased, which helped reduce inventory in the market.
• The market remains slightly oversupplied, but the months of supply is edging down from last year’s high levels. This is supporting more stability in monthly price movements. As of September, the unadjusted benchmark price was nearly two per cent lower than last year’s levels.

Cochrane

• Sales in the area continue to improve and year-to-date levels remain the third-highest on record. The area faces fewer challenges with demand than the Calgary market, but elevated inventories continue to weigh on prices.
• Inventories are starting to trend down. If this continues, the market should move into more balanced conditions and, eventually, support some price stability.

Okotoks

• Sales activity continues to recover from the low levels recorded last year. Improving sales and easing new listings are causing year-over-year inventory declines and reducing oversupply in the market.
• The market has been trending into balanced conditions, but prices have been slow to react.  Year-to-date benchmark prices remain just over four per cent lower than last year’s levels.

If you are on a tight budget, like to save money, or just enjoy having some fun, Calgary is the place to be. There are so many free activities both for adults and children. Next time you hear, “Mommm, I’m bored,” or you feel the imminent need to get out of the house, take time to look over this list. Free? Yes, all free!

Mobile adventure playground – A drop-in playground moves to various parks throughout Calgary to offer a different way to play. Onsite play ambassadors are there to inspire play and keep the playground safe. Parents stay with their children and watch their children play.

Skateparks enthusiasts have opportunities for participation through the City’s seven permanent skate parks and skate spots.

Music in the park – Pack a picnic, bring a blanket or lawn chair, sit back, relax and enjoy live music in a beautiful outdoor park setting. Featuring different artists from a variety of musical genres. Check out the website for the 2019 summer line-up.

Pure cycle outdoor – In partnership with Apple Fitness, free pop up outdoor pure cycle fitness classes are offered this summer. Each class is 55 minutes. Reserve a spot online and location at liveandplay.calgary.ca.

Park n’ Play / Stay n’ Play – High quality programs for children aged 3 – 12. These programs offer many different activities including crafts, games and active play in various communities in the city. See additional family activities and events at the bottom of Calgary.ca/free page.

Youth leadership programs – Drop-in and registered youth leadership programs at locations across the city.

Lawn chair theatre – Bring your lawn chair, snacks and watch live entertainment for the whole family. Free, no registration required, and at various locations in the city.

Discover Nose Hill Park – Free registered program will focus on everything Nose Hill Park has to offer. Learn about the history through guided walks, nature education and engaging activities. The program is for children ages 6-12 years old.

Calgary spray parks – Canmore Park, Eau Claire Plaza, Prairie Winds Park, Rotary Park, South Glenmore Park, Valleyview Park.

Calgary wading pools – Bowness park, Eau Clair Plaza, Prairie Winds Park, Riley Park.

You can view details of the activities noted above at calgary.ca/free or call 3-1-1. You can even build and save your own personal program guide.

Glenbow Free First Thursday Nights – Free admission 5pm-9pm.

Calgary Police Museum – 50 hands-on exhibits for adults and families, such as fingerprint experiments, kids on patrol, forensics lab. If you’ve ever wondered what it takes to keep a major city safe, here’s your chance to find out. Free admission with a suggested $5 donation.

New Central Library – Explore this 4 level architecturally stunning library.

Have a picnic with the geese at Prince’s Island Park.

TD Devonian Gardens – Visit the world’s largest indoor botanical garden, complete with 20,000 species of plants, a small pond, a stream, and a school of coy.

The City currently has 22 parks with permanent outdoor fitness equipment. These locations can be found by searching calgary.ca – or Google ‘The City of Calgary – Parks with fitness equipment’.

Festivals (some costs may apply):

Taste of Calgary – August 8-11, 2019 11am – 10pm

Inglewood Night Market – August 9, 2019 5pm-11pm

Marda Gras – August 11, 2019 10 am – 5 pm

Movies at the Meadows – Outdoor drive-in movie @ Spruce Meadows August 15, 2019 7:30pm-11:30pm – $20/carload

GlobalFest – Aug 15-24, 2019 – Simply amazing! Kids under 5 are free. This is unlike any other festival, world-class pyrotechnicians will blow your socks off (not literally).

Chinatown Street Festival – August 17, 2019 11am-7pm

Sunflower Festival – August 24, 2019 11 am-5pm.

Get out there, do something, get moving, enjoy our city. If the best things in life are free, we have a very good thing going here in Calgary.

Note:

CREB Media release: Sales improving and inventory declines for fourth month in a row

City of Calgary, August 1, 2019 – For the fourth consecutive month, inventories in the market declined compared to last year. This is due to the combination of improving sales and a decline in new listings. 

The market continues to favour the buyer, but a continuation in supply reduction compared to sales is needed to support more balanced conditions.

“We are starting to see reductions in supply across the resale, rental and new-home markets,” said CREB^® chief economist Ann-Marie Lurie.

“This adjustment in supply to the lower levels of demand will support more balanced conditions. It is starting to support more stability in prices. If this continues, the housing market should be better positioned for recovery as we move into 2020.”

Year-to-date sales activity remains just below last year’s levels and well below longer-term averages. However, the reduction in inventory has caused the months of supply in July to ease to 4.5 months, a significant improvement from the 5.5 months recorded last year.  

With less oversupply in the market, prices are showing some signs of stability on a monthly basis. This is causing the rate of price decline to ease on a year-over-year basis. Overall, year-to-date benchmark prices remain over four per cent below last year’s levels.

HOUSING MARKET FACTS

Detached

• Sales activity in July was slightly higher than last year’s levels, but it was not enough to offset earlier declines, as year-to-date sales remain just below last year’s levels. Despite overall declines, trends vary significantly by price range. Year-to-date sales for product priced below $500,000 have improved by 11 per cent compared to last year, while sales over $500,000 have declined by nearly 16 per cent. 
• New listings continue to ease for detached product, reducing inventory across most price ranges. This is also starting to result in year-over-year declines in the months of supply for all prices ranges except homes over $1 million. 
• Adjustments in sales and inventories also vary significantly by district. Year-to-date sales have declined across all districts except the North West and South districts. Easing inventories have not occurred across all districts, with year-over-year July inventory gains occurring in both the City Centre and West districts. 
• Buyers’ market conditions persist, with detached benchmark prices at $488,400 in July. This is over three per cent lower than last year’s levels. Price declines range from a high of 5.7 per cent in the South district to a low of 1.4 per cent in the North East district.
  

Apartment

• Despite improvement in July, year-to-date sales for apartment condominiums eased by over four per cent and remain well below longer-term averages.
• Available rental supply and ample selection in the new-home sector have impacted sales in the resale market. However, inventories continue to adjust, reducing the oversupply in this sector. 
• With conditions favouring the buyer, prices continue to edge down. However, year-to-date benchmark price declines are not occurring across all districts, with modest gains occurring in the North East district. 
  

Attached

• The attached sector is the only sector with recorded growth in year-to-date sales, up nearly four per cent. The affordable nature of this product, relative to detached, has likely supported some of these gains. 
• The number of new listings continues to ease. This is causing inventory declines and reductions in oversupply. Like the other sectors, this segment continues to favour the buyer, preventing any significant changes in prices.
• Both row and semi-detached prices remain over three per cent lower than last year’s levels and well below historical highs. Attached price declines have been the highest in the City Centre district at over five per cent.

REGIONAL MARKET FACTS

Airdrie

• For the fifth consecutive month, year-over-year sales improved in Airdrie. Year-to-date sales reached 757 units, over three per cent higher than last year. Improving sales combined with declines in new listings have resulted in less inventory in the market compared to last year. This market is moving toward balanced conditions.
• Oversupply is easing, but July benchmark prices remain over three per cent below last year’s levels. There are steeper price declines occurring in the higher density sectors of the market.
  

Cochrane

• Year-to-date residential sales in Cochrane totalled 376 units, slightly lower then last year’s levels. New listings have been in decline, resulting in the fourth consecutive month with a year-over-year decline in inventory. 
• This has caused the amount of oversupply to ease, supporting more stability in pricing. As of July, the benchmark price in Cochrane is $408,300, over four per cent lower than last year’s levels.
  

Okotoks

• Total residential sales in Okotoks have totalled 321 units so far in 2019. This is similar to last year, but below long-term trends. New listings continue to trend down, supporting inventory declines and easing in the months of supply. 
• As the amount of oversupply in the market eases, prices have been showing signs of improvement compared to the previous month. However, year-to-date benchmark prices remain over four per cent lower than last year’s levels.
  

I grew up in Acadia. That’s not really part of this story, but I’ll make it fit anyway. Our home was a Keith-built home. E.V. (Ellis Vee) Keith was a legendary builder and developer in Calgary. Keith said, “We’ve got housebuilding down now as fine as you can get it without making it complete in the factory,” And most of the prefabricated parts for Keith’s mass-produced houses were made by Keith-owned companies. Below is an advertisement dated October 6, 1960 from the Calgary Herald. Excellent marketing, in my opinion.

https://www.newspapers.com/clip/26251612/acadia_keith_homes/

By 1960, he had built 1200 houses which amounted to about a quarter of all houses in Calgary. He was known to say, “Give them something that they don’t expect.” He did just that. He was responsible for the city’s first golf course community in Willow Park. When he saw manmade lake communities in California, he figured why not build one in Calgary too. So in 1967, E.V. Keith began digging up a massive green space in the city’s southeast to build a lake. Lake Bonavista with its high-end homes became the first manmade lake community in Canada. Enough dirt was moved from this 24-hectare manmade lake to create a 65-foot hill with a waterfall adjacent to the lake. In addition to Lake Bonavista, the 16-hectare Lake Bonaventure was also create, only accessed through the Lake Bonavista neighbourhood.

He pioneered the first architectural controls that builders had to follow in his neighbourhoods, this is still part of the creation of communities today. He was a visionary and would ask his staff: “After all the dust is settled, the community is built and the people are there, what will you say your legacy is?”

I like stories like this because it’s about an ordinary man with a exceptional work ethic, producing quality that still stands the test of time (my 59 year Keith-built home in Acadia is as solid as ever!). Likely most of us will never have the opportunity to take on such bold ground breaking initiatives, but I think the lesson I take away is,  our legacy isn’t just about what we did or what mark we made, but it’s how well we did it and if it added value to the live’s of others.

Over the last few years, a number of my friends have lost their jobs. At one time, in a land far far away they lived with the perception that job security actually existed. It’s a sad reality that a good job, considered once untouchable, can very quickly  become a very low and heartbreaking point in someone’s life. I have become a little immune to all the unemployment statistics that are tossed around and then quickly forgotten before the next news headline. When I hear facts and numbers, I think more about the effect of real people with real lives. We’ve all heard things like, ‘Calgary has the highest unemployment rate in all of Canada; 100,000 have lost their jobs in the oil patch; just last month 17,000 lost full time jobs; unemployment is shared with 192 million people worldwide..’  Do they wonder if they’ll ever work again?  How are they supposed to survive?  Where do they go from there?

Now, before you think this whole blog is a downer (first of all, you don’t know me very well) let me tell you about people that I know. These are people, although initially shocked with the new reality of their life, did something creative about it.  This was effected when they realized their past life offered a daily 2 hour commute; meeting upon endless meeting; the revelation that their 9 square meter cubicle was the reason their medication dosage had been increased;  daily lunch repeating itself more than CNN does; and the removal of original thought with business cliches (to be honest, the pipeline, reaching out, organic growth, core competency, value add, price point…).

So what did these people all do?  They became entrepreneurs and Different Direction Drivers (my new cliche, feel free to use it until it’s overused and then stop immediately, please!!!).   These people have become carpet cleaners, bookkeepers, virtual assistants, marketers, graphic designers, bakers and caterers, landscapers, contractors, photographers, web designers, caregivers, consultants, tutors, real estate agents, mortgage broker, hair stylists, house cleaners, and more.

Really, what they are is survivors. You can never mess with a survivor, they know they can’t be broken. Being hopeful, ingenious, and ultimately successful sometimes comes about because faced with no other choice, they must simply trudge on in a new direction. The other night I watched a movie about a man trying to survive the harsh conditions in the Arctic after his airplane crashed. He was very inventive and disciplined, showing that his will to live was strong. He used every method of survival that he knew about so that he would be rescued.  Hopefulness was evident by his actions, and with little resources or energy he used his strong mind to survive.

The daily news is troubling to say the least.  Sometimes what we experience in life is even worse than the news.  Subtle is not how I would describe life, I’d say it’s more about sudden motion, curves, spins, plummets, ripples, and remarkable highs and saddening lows.  Ultimately the secret to success when unemployment strikes is how we deal with this new and uncomfortable climate so that it effects a positive change in our lives.   We may be one second away from dropping the cliches and starting a new life.  We must also remember that it’s not  statistics that will hurt us, it’s giving up, giving in and not finding our way out of that cubicle.

Media release: Sales activity improves for second consecutive month

City of Calgary, June 3, 2019 – 

Sales growth in May was met with a decline in new listings. This combination eased the pressure on inventory levels, which finished the month at 7,467 units, a decline of 12 per cent compared to last year.

Improving sales relative to inventory levels caused the months of supply to ease to just under four months. While still oversupplied, this is an improvement from the five months of supply recorded last May.

Citywide sales in May totalled 1,921 units, 11 per cent higher than last year’s levels. However, sales remain 10 per cent below longer-term trends. This sales growth was primarily driven by homes priced under $500,000.

“While sales activity remains low based on historical activity for May, the easing prices have brought some people back to market, while also preventing some others from listing their homes,” said CREB^® chief economist Ann-Marie Lurie.

“This has started to push the market towards more balanced conditions. If this trend continues, it could limit some of the downward pressure on prices.”

Citywide benchmark prices totalled $423,100 in May. Prices have shown some signs of improvement month-over-month but remain four per cent lower than 2018 levels. 

HOUSING MARKET FACTS

Detached

• Detached sales in May totalled 1,182 units. This is a 12 per cent increase over last year, but still 13 per cent below long-term averages. The improvement in sales was driven primarily by gains in homes priced under $500,000.
• Sales activity increased across most districts in May. However, year-to-dates sales have only increased in the East, South and North East districts of the city. Citywide sales remain one per cent lower than last year’s levels.
• New listings in May pulled back significantly from previous year’s levels. Combined with an improvement in sales, this resulted in inventories declining from 4,504 units last May to 3,921 units this month. This is the first time since May 2017 that year-over-year inventories declined.
• Easing inventory and improving sales caused months of supply to ease to 3.3 months. This is still elevated compared to historical levels, but represents an improvement compared to levels from the past year. 
• Prices have remained relatively stable over the past few months, with some modest monthly improvements. However, the oversupply scenario has left prices four per cent lower than last year and seven per cent lower than 2014 highs. 

Apartment

• The improvement in monthly sales was not enough to offset previous declines. Year-to-date apartment sales sit at 1,030 units. This is seven per cent lower than last year and 28 per cent lower than longer-term averages. Easing sales were met with fewer new listings, reducing the market inventory. This pushed months of supply to just over five months.
• If the reduction in oversupply continues, it will eventually help limit price declines. However, this market remains oversupplied and prices continue to edge down. 
• May benchmark prices totalled $246,900, 0.6 per cent lower than last month and nearly three per cent lower than last year’s levels. This is resulting in a total price adjustment of over 17 per cent since 2014.

Attached

• Attached sales activity continue to improve in May. Year-to-date sales improved by two per cent, making this the only sector to record a year-to-date improvement. Improvements occurred throughout most districts of the city, apart from the City Centre, North West and West districts. 
• New listings have also pulled back relative to sales. This is causing inventories to ease compared to last year and months of supply to trend down.
• Benchmark prices remain five per cent lower than last year’s levels but have seen some modest gains on a month-to-month basis. Despite some signs of improvement, prices remain 10 per cent lower than 2014 highs.

May 29, 2019

The vast majority of home buyers start their search online.  Newspapers, flyers, door hangers are a thing of the past.  Buyers want to sit with their mobile device on a Monday night at 9 pm (the most likely time, by the way) and scroll through one house after another. HGTV forever changed the way people look at houses.  They turn the falling-apart and beyond-all-hope into something so beautiful you wish HGTV would knock on your door, tell you to book into a hotel for a month, and surprise you with a new reason to live. Often the biggest appeal of a home comes when it is staged. You’ll know a staged home – Stacked colourful books, green apples in bowls, pillows and throws everywhere; three lime green round ornaments; rugs, fresh flowers and fake plants, olive oil and Himalayan Salt shaker, and wine bottles. It’s magical. Once finished with the inside, the team of staging experts go outside and transform the curb and its appeal into an experience only found in the enchanted garden .

Most buyers will look at a listing and the first thing they will do is click through the photos.  If the REALTOR® has done their job, the photos have been professionally done (no toilet seats up, my pet peeve). A virtual tour should always be part of the listing.  The key is making sure the buyer doesn’t see it all from their recliner, there should be an element of wanting to see the property in person. If they see it all, they’ll pick at things they don’t like before even setting foot in the home, if they decide to do even that. If the home is vacant then photos of blank walls, the countertop, the laminate doesn’t really say, I really need to see amazing building materials in that $450,000 box. I’ve worked with staging companies, and they do an excellent job of helping the buyer to imagine how they could live in the space.  The drawback is the cost.  The last house I was involved in with staging was done by an excellent professional staging company. They charged a fee to set up, and then a monthly fee thereafter.  This amounted to well over $5000 during the for sale period (a cost to ponder upon should the home not sell).  Some statistics show that homes sell quicker when they are staged.  Let’s face it, we all want pretty things to look at and we’d prefer to buy pretty. . A new trend is virtual staging (VS).  I really like this, especially with a vacant property.   It’s cheaper than physically staging a home.   I’ve seen prices ranging  from $30-$75 an image, so if there are 20 images to virtually stage, do the math, it’s still expensive.  Recently, I listed a vacant property in East Village, and the VS was amazing.   The $450,000 box came alive, and the professional photos show it.  It looked less sadly alone and more vibrantly executive.

Just one more thing to add, and not because my husband is a painter, okay maybe partly because of that..a fresh coat of paint in any home has one of the best returns on investment (ROI).  It’s not a guarantee but it potentially could increase the value of a home. It’s better to get that paint brush out than to leave odd wall colors or beat up trim for the buyer to complain about, and most likely they will. All the staging in the world will not help a weathered house look better. Just a few cans of paint and you can easily freshen up a house.

To those that are selling their home, set the stage for success and remember “the first impression is the only impression.” (HGTV told me that).