In Terri Cullen’s piece, The McMansion Effect, she delves into the idea of homeowners opting to renovate rather than relocate and how home values rise and fall based on trends of the neighborhood.
It’s an interesting piece, though her numbers for the New Jersey suburbs are hardly applicable to us here in Louisville.
I think the key paragraph is this one.
That said, people who are shopping for homes in a certain neighborhood expect certain amenities in those homes, says Kermit Baker, director of the remodeling futures program at Harvard University’s Joint Center for Housing Studies. “If you’re not keeping up with other homes in the neighborhood, you may have home buyers walk away from it,” he says. “There’s a limited number of folks who want to buy assuming they’re going to have to do a significant remodeling project.”
Today’s buyers don’t want to be welcomed into their new home knowing that there’s a remodeling project looming overhead. Our lives are already busy enough as is.
