4900 Westfield Dr / Case Study
THE HOUSE
A 1953, 4 bedroom, 3 bath, 2388 sf home located in the Highland Village neighborhood.
THE PLAN
The home had been through a couple remodels and an addition over the years but was feeling a bit dated. We agreed to take a little extra time and make some key improvements around the house that would provide the best ROI, not only in price but also in reducing our time on the market. The Austin real estate market was slowing due to rising interest rates and we were heading into the slow fall/winter months, making it critical that we lock in a buyer before everyone settled in for the holidays. Not getting any traction early could mean rolling over to the new year and collecting a bunch of days on market along the way. The updates would provide us with a nice competitive advantage over other listings in the neighborhood.
THE TO-DO LIST
Replace the original floors. Normally I’m a huge fan of keeping the original wood floors. However, these were in poor condition and at some point a strange curve was cut into the living room floor to accommodate a carpeted section. New wide plank white oak floors would be installed.
Replace all the carpets. Always a good idea to replace the carpets. Carpets reatian odors (think cats, dogs) and even though you can’t smell it, I guarantee the buyers can.
Paint the interior. This provides some of the best ROI and a nice clean and crisp look to boot! Don’t overthink it, just paint it all the same color. In our case, we went with a simple off-white and it looked great.
Replace the hardware. Nothing can date a home more than the hardware. Doorknobs, cabinet pulls, etc … Replacing these items is fairly inexpensive and can add a contemporary touch to the home. For Westfield, the staircase handrail was updated and all the doorknobs were also replaced with black doorknobs.
Replace light fixtures and ceiling fans. Additional items that can date a home. Replacing the light fixtures is an easy (and fairly inexpensive) way to update a home. For Westfield, many of the light fixtures and ceiling fans were replaced.
Landscape for curb appeal. The first thing a buyer sees is the yard. If it looks unkempt and overgrown, the buyer will automatically assume the inside of the home will look the same. First impression shot. Spending a few dollars to clean up the yard (and keep it maintained throughout the listing) is always well worth it. Make that first impression a good one!
Stage the home. Staging helps to define living spaces and also adds warmth. Since the home was vacant we decided that we definitely wanted to stage the home. We also felt that it was needed to make the updates shine. We brought in a staging partner that nailed the vibe of this 50’s home. The end product was perfect.
THE RESULTS
12 Private Showings
3 Open Houses / 53 Attendees
Offer received after 8 days on the market (60 days was the average at that time)
99% of Sales Price to List Price (92% was the average at that time)
(Concessions in lieu of repairs were made to the buyer.)
51 total days from the list date to the close date.
“We had a great experience listing our house with Jason. Jason took a very thoughtful and data driven approach to determining a list price. He didn’t just throw the house on MLS but did a good deal of outbound to generate interest in our open houses. Once we had an offer, he provided great, experienced advice on a number of things that came up with the buyer, and we were closed before we knew it. I couldn’t recommend Jason more strongly. He’s a true professional and you’ll understand this from the moment you start working with him.”