I have to question your agent's judgement about showing an empty house, and about her inability to give you an answer regarding the kitchen.

Leave the Corian. The kitchen is in good shape, and the choice of granite is a personal one. Leave it to the buyer.

The oil-rubbed bronze hardware looks nice. You may think about somewhat more up-to-date light fixtures.

I would also change out the kitchen set for something smaller and less 80's, and suggest that you set the table and put put some fresh flowers on it. Same goes for the dining room table...your potential buyer needs to envision their extended family enjoying Thanksgiving dinner around the dining table. You may also put a fruit bowl on the island.

The only reason I'd say to do granite & splash is you can pull the black appliances color into the rest of the kitchen, right now they don't fit. However, new owner may want something else altogether. Sit tight a bit longer, consider the cost difference if you need to drop the price. 30 days isn't that long in this market. If you really need out, price drop will get you there faster. We were on the market 60 days & ended up changing realtors & dropping the price to get the job done.

I have some experience in selling and staging real estate. Your kitchen is very nice and I would not spend the cash on installing granite. Your money would be better spent on having the home professional staged. Nicely staged homes sell for more and faster. I would NOT advertise "allowance for new granite counters" as it would point out that you are aware the counters are dated and are enticing a lowball offer. The most important thing is to price the house correctly the first time as lowering the price appears there must be something "wrong" with the house or was priced way too high. Anyway, if you MUST lower the price due to comparable sales, if you get a low offer because "the kitchen needs updated", as a sellers agent, I would say the price was already lowered to account for that. Good idea replacing the brass items! Yes, sit tight and don't worry too much. It WILL sell! Ask your agent the average days on market in your area...and be sure to check to see if your price per square ft is comparable in your neighborhood. You can even do yourself on realtor.com. Search in your address or MLS# then search "recent sales".

Put your money into having your entire house professionally staged and then stop second guessing yourself.

The house is clean and neat. The kitchen can be updated with granite, etc....but let the new owner handle that. I would just drop the price and be done with it.

Kitchen. Check into staging. I really think it helps sell.

Let the new owner do the updates. No one ever wants the granite that's picked out by the seller because it's always the lowest end one. Lovely as it is, that kitchen needs more help than granite to make it 2014.

Just warm it up with flowers and a fruit basket. Perhaps some coordinating kitchen towels and pot holders. Simple warm things.

Change the light and that will be an instant update.

Updating a house you don't plan to live in is time and effort spent for a negative ROI. Do nothing. Let the buyer choose their own updates.

If time is what you're trying to buy, just drop the price.

Myself, if I was shopping for a home, would prefer you left the light as is instead of the other one you posted a pic of. That change would make me want your home less instead of more.

30 days in the life of selling
Is early days ...(unless you have had no viewers )
Feedback from views you may have had ...
I can't see anything wrong with your kitchen ...
You brought it liked it ....I guess
And I am sure so will someone else ...
Whatever you do costly or not
You always get knocked down in price when selling
You just need tooooo decide
how badly you need it gone
Good luck with your sale ...

I just staged a house on the market vacant for 68 days finally the owner had me stage it. Staged it on a Wed had it ready for open house sat..accepted offer Sunday. No dropping your price is not the answer..UNLESS..your over priced which I don't know. But in today's market buyers are way to savvy and they don't want your repairs. They go on line first and decide right from the photos "a house we must see or they keep clicking". I am not saying that staging alone gets the house sold but it is the icing on the cake. And no house should be partially staged your only confusing the buyer more. A light, a fruit bowl is not going to sell your home, an emotional connection sells your home. If a buyer cannot walk in and vision themselves living there they walk out. Hire a professional stager, it sure is cheaper then your first price reduction. Make sure when the buyers walk in they fall in love with it. And with staging we know how to make that happen. Leaving it empty you are giving the buyers nothing to connect to and just picking at all the flaws. good luck

Just to sum up, have your kitchen staged at the very least to warm up the space. There should be beautiful coordinated dishes and glassware in the glass cabinets, for example and colorful cookbooks on any open shelves. Maybe an oriental rug on the floor for some color. A large colorful bowl on the island full of fruit or a tray of wine glasses and bottle of wine on the island will give the a "come on in" feeling. A large vase of flowers near the windows will draw the eye to the fact that you have two windows over the sink. A stager will do this for you. As everyone has said, potential buyers need a bit of a nudge to envision themselves living in the house. Budgeting for a stager will be easier and less hassle than arranging for granite countertops and such.

I would not change the light fixture, especially to the modern one from the new house. Your current island fixture coordinates with the dining and breakfast area fixtures and looks fine. The ORB ties in with the black appliances and detail in the countertop. 100% agree with professional staging and no "upgrades". Save your energy and creativity for the new house.

If I was going to purchase your home I'd rather pick the granite and the backsplash myself. Why don't you give an allowance for the new buyer to decide. Then they have what they want and you don't have to fool with it.

Paint the cabinets white. That alone will sell houses!

Pick the cheapest granite in the lightest shade that you find. Buyers are obsessed with granite. Period. Few care about how it looks or how expensive it is. Of course avoid dark shades and busy patterns.

Pick the cheapest hardware you can find in a neutral. I would suggest chrome in Matt finish. It doesn't stand out and blends in well.

Those three fixes and you are set. It will be a while before people get fussy about granite and few care for quality of a cabinet when it's white.

Luck!

Also, I see a lot of people here advising you not to spend money on upgrading the kitchen. Remember, they are Houzz members. We like renovations, have strong decor choices, don't fret at DIYs and would do anything to pick our own countertops and cabinet colors. An average buyer will stay away from doing any of the above. They just want granite and fresh cabinets. Stainless steel too. But hold on to those for now. Most buyers will look at that as an easy fix.

Look for the white granites. There are carrera marble look alikes too. Look for the whitest whites. Don't change the light fixtures by the way. That is a very personal decor item and most people will not shy away from changing a light fixture if they dont like it.

The problem with buying granite for the sake of installing granite, is not all granite is pretty. "Builder grade", inexpensive granite is not very attractive. And, some granite is too busy for some buyers. If a buyer loves the house because the neighborhood, square footage, layout, etc, is right, they will say "I can always upgrade to granite later". Or, if a buyer MUST have granite, the buyer can offer MORE for the house, then get a sellers "rebate" at closing so they can afford granite now.

Changing out the flooring doesn't need to be expensive or hard - and can make a HUGE difference! May we suggest an attractive, easy-to-install Alterna Reserve floor? This is a new product called luxury vinyl, and it looks like stone but is softer under foot. It is very sturdy and a DIY project.

I think the kitchen is beautiful, leave it alone.

I think it would look better with a chair at the desk, canisters on the counter and a fruit bowl. It looks kind of stark and unused now. Maybe a rug or two. Maybe a coffee station and some cups and saucers. (In short staging with stuff you have)

I don't know why someone who care about granite counters and I find it hard to believe that granite counters would make or break a sale, which has to be about the rest of the space.

If you can sit at the counter, put in stools. Otherwise, it looks like a biggish kitchen with no eat-in space, which would be a minus for me, and very expensive to fix.

It's unfortunate but true . Buyers think stainless steel and granite make or break a home. I can't wait for these two trends to fade away. Slowly but surely we will move on to quartz as the standard and non stainless steel appliances. Cannot wait for that day but meanwhile, especially for a sale, we have to do what it takes to sell.

I agree with what Walter said--give the buyers a cash back at closing to replace counters. Whatever you do for the kitchen may not be what a client wants--costing you both wasted money. Make this into a positive for them. Good luck.

I think more updated or transitional lighting such as a white drum shade over the breakfast table and some kind of corresponding linear linen kitchen island light (make sure they are bright and on dimmers too!). I think a little color would be good with some staging props and some fresh flowers. The furniture in the breakfast area is a bit over sized...smaller chairs would work better. Staging is good thing but I don't think every room has to be staged such as every bedroom. I wouldn't worry about changing the counters, painting the cabinets, changing the appliances or even offering an allowance. Your kitchen has good bones, it just needs some tweaking.

Agree with Brown, I said it earlier you don't have to stage every room, always stage kitchen L/R, dining room, master bedroom and bathrooms, and most of the time I will put a little desk & chair in another room (for free) just add some charm. And it works good luck

Why don't you paint the island black for contrast? It would also pick up black in appliances.

I'd leave it as is. When you get to a point where the buyer is a buyer and not a potential buyer, then there is room for negotiation and stipulation.
I think people should choose and pay for their own upgrades. Yes, I'm a Houzzer, so I always see potential, but I also think you'll never get your money back from installing random granite -- and like you said, you've a new house to spend your money on.
Best of luck with your sale. Don't be antsy, the right buyer will come.

Update:
I had to let the first realtor go. We went back to the house this weekend to check on things and I noticed she had flyers for the house laid out on the dining table. I take a closer look and they are the flyers from when we bought the house from her clients two years ago... wrong pictures and price included. Needless to say I was not happy that she was too lazy to print brand new flyers. Relo company wasn't impressed either and promptly had her replaced. We are in the process of picking granite and backsplash because unfortunately most home buyers have a hard time seeing the big picture. The cabinets are in great shape and I hope to not paint them and leave that up to the buyer but the new realtor was honest and said if the Corian didn't have the green stripe you probably could keep it but its just too much. I will update with new pictures once it all gets done. Thanks for all the comments so far and I hope this gets it sold quickly.

Forgot to mention that in the mean time we will offer a granite allowance until it gets put in just in case someone comes along in the next week and loves the house.

I agree leave it alone! Stage it yourself, but keep it simple,

Please skip the backsplash. PLEASE. I removed one I didn't like in my house and it was expensive and a horrendous job. Just do the 4" granite (quartz) strip. Tile backslashes are SO style specific, and who wants to be locked into that? Also, for about the same price (okay, maybe slightly more depending on where you live) do quartz instead of granite. And keep it neutral.

changing the counter tops to black if appliances are in good shape.

Love everything about it bar the light fixture, that's all I would change.

you are leaving this home, much better than when you entered it! Since you are selling, i'd opt to make some small changes only. i might consider painting just the island (a soft black?) and upgrade the lighting fixture and cabinetry pulls (brushed nickel?). keep in mind that granites and backsplashes are taste specific. BUT if you feel you must make the change to increase your resale value, i'd go neutral and look for a clean looking quartz countertop (a shade of white?), simple subway tiles (a matching shade of white with a darker grout?) for the backsplash and use a different colored quartz (a black or taupe color? in a soft honed finish?) on the island being sure to create a deeper overhang. good luck!!

I would stay with the granite allowance, stage the kitchen, and do nothing else. You don't know what the new owners might want and could just be wasting your money.

I think painting the cabinets would go a long way. I agree with the designer who suggested white cabinets, marble counter tops and a backsplash. Brick pattern would be nice for the backsplach. You could get a different light fixture and it would look modern and fresh. I am a realtor so I think I would pay for the work before I would do a price reduction. Best of luck to you.

White cabinets with white floors? Wouldn't a darker color on the cabinets, like a dark stain, go with the black and fixtures? I think you call it country-french. I like the light fixture and how it goes with the dining room light is beautiful. Myself, I am so over granite counter-tops and prefer a softer look. Slate, ceaserstone, wood.

Glad the original realtor is gone.

Put quartz in, if anything, granite comes with so many downside-and upkeep. Do you have the time to go and choose the piece that would fit the room? Personally I‘d see if the green strip could be removed or just spend the money staging.

I would also have included in the literature the benefits of Corian ( & possibly it vs. Granite) so prospective buyers see they are getting a better product.

30 days??? Every buyer is going to Google your address and will have access to the pictures of the original agent. I hate to say it but that agent screwed you badly. the first 30 days are the most important.

I would not waste a penny on renovations as doing it cheaply will be noticed. I would have the house staged and drop the price as you have no choice at this point but to get people back in there.

Finding a realtor who actually is educated and works is almost impossible. All these part time moms who think they can just do it during their free time screw so many sellers. They dont even try and educate themselves and think just putting their pretty picture will sell a house. Realtors need to know construction and housing inside and out. They need to know the difference between a hardwood floor and laminate without looking at a sheet of paper. Ask your realtor if she knows how much items cost or what type of floor you have. You ill be surprised how many cant answer. Then guess what??? We hav etc lower the price its not selling.

Your house should have been staged since day one. Ask your agent what do we do when 30 days passes and we have no offers. If their answer is will get to that when it comes, move on. That means they have zero to offer!!!

I'm not sure why this thread has come to life again. If you look I posted this back in September of 2014. I sold this house years ago. Thanks

If you put in a solid color counter, the buyer will want granite. If you put in granite, the buyer will want quartz. I say drop the price $5000 and let the buyer do the counters. If the cabinets are in excellent condition, they may or may not keep them.

From now on I will check the dates of the oldest comments first.

Raven Goswick, I would love to know exactly what you did to sell the house. Did you change to granite? Did you stage it? How long did it take to sell the house once you changed realtors?

I ended up renting the house for a year and then sold it the next summer after i put granite in.

That worked out well!

Spend as little as you can because you don’t know buyers’ taste.

I really don't think it had anything to do with the granite. It was more the market changed.