With the market of 2014, there have been several changes over the past few years. In the past several years the market was driven by distressed home sales. With many short sales and foreclosures listed, although buyers were tying up many of the homes, most homeowners at that time were unable to sell their home in a regular or traditional sale.
Below is a graph showing the numbers of trustee or foreclosure sales. The graph doesn't take into account short sales, but the number of short sales would parallel the foreclosures.
As the number of distressed sales decreased in the past few years, the number or traditional sales and flipped homes continues to increase.
As of 10/9/14 22:21 when a buyer starts to view homes decisions are mainly based on the type of upgrades and amenities the flipped home or resale have.
99% of flipped homes will have new carpet. If they had vinyl flooring, it was ripped out and is replaced by tile. Fresh paint is generally a "no brainer" but if a flipper is going to paint the interior, they will generally two-tone it, so it looks more custom!
The general look of the two tone paint is a beige wall, and white baseboards,ceilings and doors. Standard home interior is builder white.
Some flippers will opt to put granite it, buy some will leave the counter tops as is. The last major item to look for is back yard landscaping. All homes were left with dirt when they were built. Some owners spend $500 and have gravel put in the back yard to keep the dust down. Spend another $500 and get some plants and trees! $500 more dollars for a total of $1500 will get you a curbed grass area, watering system, bushes and trees and gravel!
Sorry for the long post... Moral of the story.. Thinking of selling your home now? Some of your competition will have tile, 2 tone paint, granite and back yard landscaping. What do you need to compete?