I would probably do it right before you were ready to list. And get something that looks nice but does not cost a lot.

Depending upon your price point, people may expect it to look a certain way even if they are planning on replacing it, given people's elevated expectations because of all the real estate shows and emphasis on staging.

Yes, the buyer expectation is my concern. We are not in a high-end location overall, but Victorian homes in this area do have a certain amount of cachet in comparison with newer construction. We bought for 500K in 2016 and comps suggest a value in the low 700s today.

As for nice but inexpensive - if we do replace, we'll definitely keep that in mind, but with 1000 Sq ft plus a big flight of stairs, we're probably looking at 4K minimum even with a lower-end Home Depot selection. Personally, I HATE carpet on stairs and I think refinishing the wood on ours would be a worthwhile use of funds given that the rest of the staircase is still original to the house, but I'm not sure if that is just my prejudice (and love of Victorian era woodwork) talking!

I'd remove the carpet on the stairs and the hall and have the floor refinished. Replace the bedroom carpets when you decide to move. When you shop for carpet, keep in mind that the width measurement of how it comes off the bolt will save you money. Let's say a room is 13 x12. Find a carpet that comes off the bolt at 13'. No waste, no seam.

Have you looked under the bedroom carpet to see what is there" Pull up a corner in an off spot. You may love what you see. Most people prefer wood everywhere.

If it's in the budget to refinish the stairs I would do that, and now so you can enjoy it. And it's possible that the bedroom floors are in good condition under the carpet. Carpet often gets removed here in older houses with decent floors so people can see it, but not necessarily refinished for sale. Same as carpeting people may want to choose their own stain color.

I agree with palimpsest. There are a lot of buyers who can't look past cosmetic issues, so you should have a larger buying pool if you make these improvements. If it was something really expensive, like changing out the kitchen cabinets, I'd say leave them, but this will likely be a good investment in terms of moving the house sale along. Just go with something neutral and reasonably inexpensive. My neighbor sold her house several years ago and replaced the carpet before selling, even though it was in pretty good shape. She spent a lot of time looking and settled on a pretty expensive replacement carpet. Within a month of moving in, the buyer had torn out all the new carpeting because he didn't like the color.

No one knows what the market will be like in 1-2 years. No one.

I also feel with the trend of staging and elevated expectations there are certain things that have become bargaining chips or power struggles of sorts, depending upon the market.

I know someone who ended up having to sell a house during the last downturn and the house was only a few years old. (Divorce, change of circumstances) The seller wanted to take the light fixtures over the island and over the dining room table. I said "Take them out Before you list, don't even let the buyer see them".

She didn't. Of course the buyer insisted on having those light fixtures, and I think also wanted carpet replaced in one bedroom because of a stain or something. (Carpeted bedrooms common here).

As soon as the new owner moved in she took down those light fixtures and replaced all the carpet including the brand new carpet in the one bedroom. . She just enjoyed "winning".

^^^Mean people suck.😞

Thanks everyone! I have pulled up a few corners and unfortunately, the floors underneath are painted white and look to have been cut in weird ways (most likely walls moved during previous renovations). The floors are also extremely uneven, which complicates matters further. If we decide to replace the carpet we will probably pull up all of the carpet to see if any of the bedrooms are salvageable without massive investment, but I doubt it.

We haven't pulled up the carpet on the stairs yet but I feel like refinishing those (and the hallway, potentially) would be a good compromise. Also, no furniture to move!