I think this is hard to know. But how you price your home is going to be key.
If its obvious that your price is taking into consideration that the kitchen hasn't been updated - I think you'll get lots of attention. People who want in that market but its a little bit of a stretch will feel like this is their ticket without have to do a complete reno.
A lot of people here feel they have not gotten the best advice from realtors. If they are saying - sell as is - get specific - what would the price it as - REALISTICALLY - in this market. What would the ad say on the MLS? Would it mention the price and updates except for the kitchen ready for their imagination? What? Why are they saying sell as is. If their answers make sense I'd try selling without renovating if you think the market is going south.

I doubt you would "get your money back" on the kitchen remodel, but it would make the house sell faster. If your market is weakening, though, the time spent on remodeling may put you into a much weaker market. Nobody knows how to parse those "if's".

I would probably buy your house for X Dollars if the price left me with $60K to remodel the kitchen MY way. If your market is slowing, you could test the waters by putting it on now without the new kitchen. The point made earlier is a good one: Someone who is stretching to get into your area may be happy with the lower price, planning to remodel the kitchen later, when he has more money available.

Very tritely, the kitchen in my current house sold the house to us. We had looked a lot of homes across two states. We seldom saw a well done kitchen. Our current house has a well done kitchen.

In the 2 million range in nearly every market the kitchen should be renovated. Your appliances probably don't have to be high-high-end and there may be other ways to pare down the $60K, although unlikely. The kitchen redo in this house was over $75K and they were able to reuse the cupboards (although there was other structural work involving knocking down walls).

Look at it this way, what are your monthly carrying costs? How long will it take those costs to add up to $40K - $60K? How long will the house sit without a redone kitchen? At 2 million, it is probably worth getting the kitchen done so the house sells faster and the carry costs stop sooner.

No matter the price point, I'm most interested in seeing a house that suits me. The ones I'm skipping fastest right now are the ones with medium colored wood cabinets, that same brown granite you see everywhere in every flip, beige tile (or stone) backsplash, stainless steel appliances. It all screams 2005 to me and I'd soooo much rather see a non-updated kitchen that I could make my own than see a newly updated kitchen that I can't afford to redo and don't like. As my buying power has increased, so has my desire to have important rooms the way I want them, not the way the previous owner thought "everyone" would want them.

I vote to leave the kitchen as is unless you have something that sticks out more than other things and you can just do it.

The housing market is unlikely to improve soon. I'd sell ASAP. 6 months from now you could have a price drop higher than the cost of the remodel.

Just how bad is the kitchen now? Could it be freshen up for much less money? If it is really dated I do think it could be a problem, in a two million dollar house people expect a great kitchen. Sixty thousand isn't that much money in that kind of house.

Pictures would help if you posted your kitchen now.

We are not in a huge hurry to sell and I have all the design work done for the kitchen. I have asked the realtors whether they think it would be worthwhile to proceed with the remodel and put the house on the market at a higher price. They seem to think we would definitely get back what we put in ($60,000) but generally recommend not doing it and selling as is.

With this you are saying that agents have said to sell as is. Is it possible that your area may be getting a serious pricing correction? If so, you might not even see 2 million with the upgraded kitchen.

I would probably buy your house for X Dollars if the price left me with $60K to remodel the kitchen MY way. If your market is slowing, you could test the waters by putting it on now without the new kitchen. The point made earlier is a good one: Someone who is stretching to get into your area may be happy with the lower price, planning to remodel the kitchen later, when he has more money available.

Very well said!

In *that* price bracket, I would expect an updated kitchen , and wouldn't *expect* the hastle of updating.

Houses in that price range are selling quite a bit slower, at least in S. CA, and they're usually model perfect and move-in condition, as that seems to be the expectation here.

On the flip side, giving an allowance so a buyer could re-do to his/her liking ain't a bad idea either.

Given it's a buyer's market, the reality is, it's his/her 'call'.

Not only will it cost $60K to do the reno, you have to factor the cost of the HUGE disruption to your life that a kitchen remodel entails, then add in the carrying costs of keeping the house while doing the reno.

Personally, if you price the home with the kitchen not reno'd, you may be able to sell faster. Even though a top notch kitchen is expected in that price range, if you price it correctly to reflect your current kitchen, you just may sell. All summed, it will cost you alot more than 60K in time, money and disruption to your lives. You need to weigh that with what you can get by selling it without the reno.

When I'm house hunting I have a list of things in my head that we must have and a dollar figure firmly in mind.
IF I can find a house that has most of what I want BUT there is one room or perk that is missing and I love the house otherwise we make an offer.
This last place we bought the kitchen was/is the pits BUT everything else was just what we wanted. I was fine with waiting awhile to get it done my way.
People who are spending 2 million dollars to buy a home are going to want perks ....view, pool, huge closets hardwood floors, extra garage space, however if they are in that price range buying and redoing a kitchen sould not be a big deal $$$$ wise unless they just don't want to deal with the mess.

I like the idea of listing in line with the comps (to the competitive side), but offering a $60K kitchen allowance right off the bat in the first line of the description like "60K cash allowance to create the kitchen of your dreams". That might appeal to a lot of picky kitchen people for a chance to do the most important room in a house -their- way, but not have to deal with the rest.

However, if you don't have a lot of action and showings within the first couple weeks, you'll have to consider switching your tactic (like dropping the price without offering the allowance) or pull it off the market and do the reno. Those first 2-3 weeks will tell if it's possible in this sort of market.

I'd do the kitchen now. It will be a major distraction to walk into a house in that range and see a dated kitchen. I'd talk to kitchen designers and plan a kitchen that had a "todays" look. I'd probably go tuscan in feel with some stone and a big, warm feeling. Of course, you may live in a minimalist house so I could be way off. Everyone talks about a buyer doing things their way, however, I would HATE to move into a new house and have to do a major reno. right away.
Also, many buyers in that range have young children (at least that is what I've seen in the NYC area) and a three month building process may be the last thing they want to do.
Good luck.
Jo

Thanks for all the responses. We met with another realtor yesterday who I think we'll use. She also recommended not doing the kitchen. She thought we might be able to get 10% more if we did the full blown $100K+ remodel (new kitchen+ extended family room).

The house has a great view of the city and mountains and she said it will probably be bought for the view and "view buyers are willing to overlook a lot". I sure hope so.

While I appreciate the realtor's input, I'm still a little sceptical because I think they'd rather we sell more quickly and at a lower price. I'm also trying to be dispassionate on my side. Since I invested so much time & energy in the kitchen planning, a small part of me would like to see it come to fruition.

The kitchen doesn't look too bad at first glance. It has stainless steel appliances (circa 1973), white painted cabinets, and neutral tile counters but it's quite small by current standards (7 x 12 u shape) and doesn't have an adjoining family room - just a small sitting area. I don't think it would be worth replacing appliances since the cabinets were made to fit a 24" oven and a 27" refrigerator and they definitely wouldn't be considered big enough by current standards.

I think we're going to try and stage the kitchen as well as possible and put it on the market at an aggressive price. I have 3 small boys and the idea of keeping the house in "show perfect" condition for any length of time is very daunting. If it doesn't sell by Thanksgiving, we'll take it off the market until next year and maybe reconsider the remodel.

Linley1, just because the Realtor advises you not to do the kitchen, doesn't mean you can't do the kitchen if you feel it would help. But, if you are listing now, you obviously cannot redo the kitchen. Your ideas for pricing aggressively and making the most of what you currently have are excellent. The Realtor may be absolutely right about the view too. However, "view buyers are willing to overlook a lot" makes me wonder how bad your kitchen currently is if people would be overlooking " a lot".

Best wishes.

Now that we know the kitchen isn't just old, it's very small, I am really going to vote to sell "as is". $60K isn't going to make it bigger. A buyer is going to want new AND bigger; let him do it his way.

Sorry you put so much into planning the kitchen, but soon it won't be your kitchen -- we hope!

I wonder if a more modest facelift might be worthwhile? New appliances, granite (or other higher end counters), a few hot bells and whistles. That might pay off for a buyer who loves the house, but doesn't want to/can't do a renovation right away.

You could hire someone to come in and paint or reface the cabs, and get a very nice look~DD did this and the cabs look great. Have handles/knobs added also, and maybe glass in certain cabs.

I had a product put *over* my old tile countertop because I was told the cabs would literally fall apart when the cabs were ripped out. It's called Granite Transformations(granitetransformations.com)and looks exactly like granite without the mess involved. The product is made from ground up granite/resin and comes with a ten year warranty, transferable if you sell. It feels and looks just like granite, but can withstand temps up to 500 degrees, unlike granite. A new sink can also be put in at the same time.

Purchase new midgrade SS appliances. Anything is better than old, and mid-range appliances have at least 1 or 2 bells and whistles.

You do NOT need to confiqure the whole kitchen to sell. If it's samll, make it cozy. Could a table/chairs be put in the FR instead? If you have a bar, how about bar stools while listing the house? How about eating in the DR and removing all furniture?

Adding Plantation shutters will pretty-up the windows without them getting that 'personalized' look than curtains/drapes give.

Paint the room a warm tan color, but use pops of color in dishes, etc., just don't go overboard with accessories.

Does the light fixture need updating? Choose something simple, maybe iron. or that matches the new knobs/handles 'you've used on the cabinets'.

It doesn't have to be such a daunting task if you take what you alredy have and make it work for you. You'll be able to advertise that you have an updated kitchen, and everthing can be completed in about a month or less.

Best of luck with your decision.

If you can stand the disruption, go for the kitchen remodel. I think the house will sell faster if the kitchen is up to the same level as the rest of the house. JM2C. Good luck!

According to Realtor Magazine (12/2006), the average cost for an upscale kitchen remodel in the Pacific region was $115,549 with a resale value of $103,798, an 89.8% return. A minor remodel (replacing vinyl w/vinyl, formica w/similar, adding 30 linear ft. of cabs and refacing, new wall oven and cooktop) averages $19,307 in the Seattle market, returning $23,341 in resale value.

This was adopted from Remodeling Magazine, their site may have updates.

Good luck!

Rowen - who's likely to pursue a kitchen remodel this year, return or not.

Realtors will always tell you not to remodel the kitchen, simply because full remodels take time, and the realtor wants the listing now.

They know that once the remodel is finished, there is the possibility that you may either (a) change your mind about selling or (b)use another realtor.

It's as simple as that.

Do you really expect a realtor to say "No, don't list with me now--do the remodel, and call me in six months when you're ready to list"?

Realtors will always tell you not to remodel the kitchen, simply because full remodels take time, and the realtor wants the listing now.
They know that once the remodel is finished, there is the possibility that you may either (a) change your mind about selling or (b)use another realtor.

It's as simple as that.

Do you really expect a realtor to say "No, don't list with me now--do the remodel, and call me in six months when you're ready to list"?

Yep, happens all the time.

Yep, happens all the time

Spoken like the realtor you are.

Anyone out there with a story about how their realtor suggested waiting six months before listing?

I'd like to hear it.

Well, our realtor didn't suggest we wait six months, but she did suggest that we redo our bathroom (in decent condition, but a bit dated) before listing our previous house, even though we'd already bought our current home and were somewhat anxious to move on.

It took 6 weeks to finish the bathroom remodel and a few other small touchups, plus some decluttering. Afterwards, she suggested we raise our (what we thought was already a good asking price) by $20,000, and showed us some comps. We trusted our agent -- she knew our neighborhood VERY well --so we agreed to the higher asking price.

We received multiple offers the day of the agents' caravan, on the first day our listing was on the MLS. The final sale price was $31K over the asking price, with the sellers closing as quickly as their loan could be funded (37 days).

This was not an agent we found via the Yellow Pages or an Internet search -- we did a lot of homework, and everyone who we talked to who had used her previously raved about what a great agent she is. Even the buyer's agent told us how much she liked doing deals with our agent.

photos would really help....

We received multiple offers the day of the agents' caravan, on the first day our listing was on the MLS. The final sale price was $31K over the asking price, with the sellers closing as quickly as their loan could be funded (37 days).

How long ago? Was it in this market?

Our current home was in the same price range, however on the East Coast, but I feel the situation is still comparable. When we were looking for a new home, I saw many that I liked, EXCEPT for the kitchen, however if it was a recently remodeled kitchen, I couldn't justify getting rid of perfectly good granite and tile simply because I didn't like the color. It felt too wasteful to me. We found a home that the kitchen actually NEEDED to be remodeled, it hadn't been touched in over 15 to 20 years. We were able to negotiate a price that allowed us to do the remodel of the kitchen that we wanted with the money we saved.

In your current situation, you say your house is completely updated except for your kitchen,but when you say 1973 appliances, I don't think you have any option but to do a remodel because you also have the difficulty of small kitchen, too. A new buyer may be up to tackling a new remodel on the kitchen, but not necessarily an expansion. They are more apt to overlook the size of the kitchen if it's remodeled IMO. Good luck with whatever you decide.

Onourway2 - just curious, how much did you lower your offer to account for the kitchen? We have not set our final price yet and I'd be interested to know what buyers would be mentally deducting for remodel.

I finally got a chance to take some pictures of the kitchen. These are before staging it for sale. I'm going to be moving out all the current furniture and trying to stage it more like a real family room per the realtor's advice. I know some may be expecting a mansion at this price range but it's really just a 3800 sf suburban house on .5 acres of land. It just happens to be in an expensive neighborhood.

functional kitchen part of room

rest of room

Here is a link that might be useful: pictures of some of the other rooms

Your kitchen looks great! I was expecting a hideous, dark room. It looks prefectly fine now. I am going to reverse my position and say you absolutely do not need to remodel it. In fact, it looks better than some which have been remodeled. If you could do one thing, I would change the countertops to granite. If you can't, you can't, but it would make it look updated.
For all those who think a realtor always says sell now, I am a realtor and my first post voted for a remodel. I am also working with a couple whom I have counseled to wait until Spring to sell as the process would be too disruptive to their family at this time. They are well aware that the market may be less desireable at that time. Not all realtors pounce on a sale.
Jo

I thought it would be a cave, but it's quite lovely! In addition to the new countertop, I think you also need a new stainless fridge.

I was also surprised at how nice the kitchen looks! I don't know about that granite-covering stuff the other poster mentioned, but if it looks decent, I might try that (in a mid or darker tone to set off the cabs). The tile counter was the only thing that jumped out at me as really dated.

I agree that the view is gorgeous! Good luck!

The cabinets are great and look like the remodels down the street, especially with the crown. And that view!! Gorgeous! I'd update all the appliances to current stainless steel. If anything, the new owners can use those in their own remodel. And change the counter tops as several have mentioned, prefer granite and it doesn't seem like you have a whole lot of counter space, so it could be very reasonable.

Out of curiosity, what's in those double closets off your dining table? W/D? Sticks out strangely, but like the crown.

I will dissent - I think people are forgetting your price point. At $2,000,000 your kitchen is functional. It is not something I'd expect in a two million dollar house. A $300K house? Sure. Two million? Nope.

At $2,000,000 you are probably going to get sophisticated buyers who have remodeled kitchens before. They are not going to have their heads turned by a new stainless fridge or new granite on top of old counters they will have to tear out.

I think what might be helpful are photos of the areas you HAVE remodeled. If you've done a great job, then maybe it *might* make sense to put in a spectacular $100k+++ kitchen while crossing your fingers and hoping market stays good in your area. But probably not.

Either go whole hog or don't spend a penny. It's certainly not ugly or distracting.

Well I'm a little heartened to see the responses. We painted the cabinets white, added the crown moulding, and painted out the wood ceiling a few years ago. It really brightened things up. I guess the issue is really more that we're trying to compete with newer housing with sub-zero, 48" wolf stoves, etc... None of those things would fit in the current area. The ovens are 24" wide and fridge is 27".

The double doors are a shallow 18" deep pantry space. It's nice storage just a little inconvenient because the doors swing out into the room a lot.

I'm going for a clean, swedish style with the staging. Light blue sofa, white chairs, narrow table (totally impractical of course but just for looks). I'll post pictures when I'm done.

Here's our current living room & downstairs family room. Have to add a few more accessories for staging and the realtor thinks we should add coffee tables to both rooms. I don't have them now because I have 3 small boys who are very rowdy and our previous coffee table was an injury magnet. Do you think the coffee tables are necessary?

and library/family room

Here is a link that might be useful: a few more pictures of interior

I bought at that price point several years ago. I agree not to add a free standing stainless frig, a buyer expects a built in, here Sub Zero is the standard, dumb but true. I bought in a hot market for the view also, but I hate my kitchen, the cabs are cheap but I haven't redone them yet.
I would not do any inexpensive fix, it will cheapen the entire house.
Do it right or do nothing.

It really depends on your area of the country and competition. My brother bought a DUMP in Santa Barbara for $1 million. They got it livable before they moved in, but it still has the original bathroom and kitchen and it's probably worth about 1.4 million now. If they tried to sell, simple granite counters and stainless appliances certainly wouldn't get people excited, but it'd make a drab kitchen not stick out like a sore thumb among the rest of the house.

So linley, you need to know your market.

As far as coffee tables, the rooms are big and it seems a little blank in the middle of the rug -- and you're not selling the rug. We didn't do a coffee table and rolled up our rug to show off the floors. It was fine. I think it's six of one/half dozen of they other. Doubt anyone will be looking at your furniture, they'll be looking out the windows at your view!

I also think your kitchen looks much better than what I was expecting. The cabinets look good and the rest of your home is lovely. If I were to do anything, I'd change out the appliances. I could easily live with the kitchen the way it is for awhile if the appliances were current. I wouldn't replace the refrigerator unless you're leaving it behind with the sale of the home or if it benefits you to do so now.

As far as our home and the offer we made, we deducted an additional $60k off of their price since I honestly felt it was priced to somewhat compensate for the outdated kitchen. They accepted our offer even though their home had only been on the market for a little under a month. I ended up spending a little more than what we saved on the sale of the house thanks to relatives in the industry when we remodeled the kitchen. This was almost 7 years ago when the market was doing well in this area. Now everything is sitting including our home and my mother's who is going to be moving in with us when we move to NC. I just keep telling myself to be patient and that all things happen for a reason...sometimes it helps.

I think your realtor is right. Leave the kitchen.What is your countertop material? Since the countertop area is so small you might price some granite, I bet it wouldn't be that expensive. With that and some staging I think it would be fine.

Yes, this is a 2 million dollar house, but only because of the location. I don't think the kitchen looks that out of place at all.

Instead of coffee tables, what about ottomans?
Kathy G in MI

I think Julie is right: you need to know your market. Don't make any decisions until you do.

Your cabinets look fine. The appliances, however, are not OK for a 2M home.

That fridge looks like a $149 special from Wal*Mart. I'd expect better, even in a $250k tract home. This belongs in a single-wide.

I agree that the refrigerator looks cheap. It also sticks out too far making the space seem more crowded. I would get a cabinet depth stainless refrigerator to give it a more built in look and to match the ovens.

I would not replace the current fridge--give an allowance of xx dollars, but a new fridge, to fit that opening will probably not be one that a new gourmet kitchen would have. The new owners might want a subzero or one like that. A subzero would not fit in that opening.

I still say switch out the cabinets and the tile backsplash and have the plans out for viewing. What is behind the range? Could you do a stone mosiac kind of thing behind it and tie it in with the same tiles near the sink?
Jo

Jo

If you are thinking of upgrading appliances you should do a lot of research. Stainless Steel is going out of style, forums I've been reading are saying bisque is the new it color. One of the manufacturers has a new "metal" color out. Wish I could remember the color name.

Since the OP already has a stainless oven and dishwasher it makes sense to just replace the refrigerator with a stainless one, rather than replacing all of the appliances.

Agree with many posters. Kitchen is fine. I would only switch counters to granite after house has been on market, if view and neighborhood are as good as you say, granite won't make a difference. Someone will buy with a vision for your kitchen.

My neighbor is a designer. She said you could get some granite slabs (she gave me this advice) and leave on the counter during showings so people could envision granite in your kitchen. We actually DID do the granite and our house is still sitting so that is why I recommend NOT doing anything until you think it is detracting from the listing.

I think the new metal is platinum or copper based on what I hear on the kitchen forum...platinum would look fine with SS but I also say just leave it alone. You can offer a kitchen & appliance allowance of $50k too?

"what your take is on the importance of a kitchen to buyers"

Every house I've ever bought had a kitchen. In fact, I don't believe I'd even consider buying a house that didn't have one.

Ba dump bump. Oh, I crack myself up...

Well, we just put our house on the market yesterday. It was way more work preparing the house for sale than I anticipated. Here are pictures of the kitchen after we staged it. We repainted the kitchen based on the strong recommendation of the realtor. It looks much more "Pottery Barn" like now. We also bought new furniture and accessories.

We'll see what happens. I definitely think the market here in Seattle suburbs has topped as I'm just starting to see price reductions at the upper end price ranges.

{{!gwi}}

{{!gwi}}

Good luck!! Your house is beautiful.

I am curious where you are? We sold in June in Issaquah.

Jellyben,

We live in Clyde Hill. Glad to here you sold in June. I'm not sure this is the best time to list but I'm crossing my fingers.