I was listening to a podcast recently about how instant gratification has quietly become the default setting for almost everything we buy.

Hungry? Tap an app and dinner arrives at your door.

Need a phone charger? Amazon has it on your porch tomorrow.

Need a ride? Uber shows up before you’ve finished your coffee.

We’ve become conditioned to expect things quickly, and whether we realize it or not, that mindset has made its way into the real estate market too.

Long before buyers ever call a real estate agent, they’re already being influenced by HGTV, renovation shows, and endless social media feeds filled with magazine-worthy kitchens and spa-like bathrooms. Those homes become the benchmark.

The result?

Many buyers don’t just want a home. They want the finished product.

A home that looks like it belongs in a design magazine. A place where they can unpack on Friday, host a barbecue on Saturday, and never have to learn what colour drywall dust is.

Recently I toured a home that illustrated this perfectly.

It was about 40 years old. The roof had been replaced and a wall-mounted air conditioner had been added, but beyond that, it was largely untouched. Baseboard electric heat. Original finishes. A unique slab-on-grade design with an in-law suite on the lower level and the main living space upstairs.

There was nothing fundamentally wrong with the house.

It simply hadn’t kept up with what today’s buyers expect.

To bring it up to modern standards, I estimated it would require roughly $200,000 in renovations.

That’s where the buyer pool changes dramatically.

Many first-time buyers, Millennials and Gen X families aren’t looking for a two-year renovation project. They want to move in, start living, and enjoy their new home. This is the same approach Boomers make when they are buying down to a smaller home.

Who gets excited about a house like this?

Investors.

People who are willing to do the work because the numbers make sense.

In fact, I recently received an email from an investor looking specifically for homes needing major renovations. Their goal was simple: after renovation costs, carrying costs, and closing expenses, they wanted to earn about a 25% return.

Using this property as an example:

• Purchase Price: $500,000
• Closing Costs: $9,000
• Renovations: $200,000
• Carrying Costs: $10,000

Total investment: $719,000

To achieve their target return, they’d likely need to resell the property for somewhere around $900,000.

Whether it’s an investor or a family planning to renovate and stay for years, both buyers arrive at the same conclusion.

They need to buy the house at a discount.

That’s the lesson many homeowners don’t see coming.

Choosing not to update your home doesn’t simply postpone the expense. It usually means you’ll pay for it later through a lower selling price.

By tackling renovations gradually over the years, you get to enjoy the improvements while you live there, and when it’s time to sell, buyers are often willing to pay for those updates.

There’s another advantage that rarely gets talked about.

Renovated homes attract more buyers.

More buyers usually means more competition.

More competition often means a better selling price.

Homes needing major renovations appeal to a much smaller audience. Fewer buyers generally means fewer offers, more negotiation, and a longer time on the market.

I see the same pattern with rented furnaces and air conditioners.

Years ago, buyers rarely cared.

Today, many ask sellers to buy out those rental contracts before closing. In one recent sale, the cost of ending the rental agreement was roughly one and a half times what it would have cost to simply purchase and install new equipment in the first place.

Convenience matters.

Low operating costs matter.

Move-in ready matters.

There’s an old saying in real estate:

“Every home is in both a price war and a beauty contest.”

If you are planning a sale in the future I can be reached at lindsay@buyselllove.ca or 905-743-5555