Do you own a 60s, 70s, or 80s home on the Northern Beaches that you hope to sell?
Whether you are in North Narrabeen, Narrabeen, Elanora Heights, Ingleside, Warriewood or Mona Vale, older houses are still sought after due to their location. The challenge is getting buyer attention when you’re up against places that are less than 10 – 20 years old.
Here are some tips to take your late twentieth-century home to the next level so buyers don’t skip open home day.
What’s to love about older homes on the Northern Beaches?
When buyers see a home from the last century that looks in good condition, they assume that it is well-built and will stand the test of time. After all, if it’s still holding up after fifty or sixty years, it should last many more years.
The other appeal is the chance to own real estate close to the beach. If buyers are location-focused, they will overlook a bit of old-fashioned decor.
However, if the place looks run down, buyers will shy away, thinking it is old or will take too much work to make it liveable. Mid to late-20th-century homes may be desirable, but they aren’t appealing for restoration yet.
Renovating a Northern Beaches home
All it takes is a little TLC and some clever thinking, and you can add thousands to the value of your twentieth-century home as you prepare to sell.
The goal is to modernise the place without destroying its charm, and highlight the best features. Let’s break it down room by room:
- Kitchen
The kitchen is the heart of the home, and a modern update will always breathe new life into it.
When renovating an old kitchen, the trick is to walk the line between classic and modern.
You can keep your kitchen feeling classic by sticking to light colours and using natural surfaces like timber. Add updated features like a floating bench or kitchen island and an up-to-date oven, and you will bring your space into the twenty-first century.
At the very least, refreshing the cabinetry and appliances will make buyers stop and take a second look instead of scrolling past your online listing.
- Bathroom
If there is one room that can drastically date a property, it’s the bathroom.
“We love it, but we’ll have to redo the bathroom” is a common phrase among buyers looking at older houses. In the current market, where goods and services are harder to get, buyers want a home they can move right into. An old bathroom with outdated pastel pinks and seashell soap holders from the 80s will be a turn-off for the majority of buyers.
While updating fixtures is also a good idea if they are too dated, the key to a stylish bathroom is your choice of tiles.
Re-tiling your bathroom in tiles that suit the era of the home will add new life to the room and create a space buyers will look forward to using.
Some of the current bathroom trends include white gloss tiles, mosaic tiles and subway tiles.
The other option is to do a renovation that is completely in line with the home’s era. You can incorporate modern features while still retaining a retro look.
- Outdoors
Older Northern Beaches homes don’t always make the best use of the backyard.
Add, clean or refresh the outdoor pergola so there is some shade to sit under, and find ways to present the yard so it is suitable for entertaining. If you have the budget to lay fresh turf and add some terracing (if possible) it will give the home more modern appeal.
- Living spaces
Along with kitchens, light colours are best when restyling the living area of your twentieth-century home.
Knocking walls down to create more open-plan living can make a difference where it is viable, but oftentimes, some paint and some modern furniture for styling will bring your 60s, 70s, or 80s home up to date.
- Decor
Sometimes selling an older home is difficult because you and your family have lived in it for so long. Remember that there is a difference between a funky retro look that flows beautifully through the home, and faded prints or old family portraits that have hung on the walls for 30 years.
Your real estate agent can give you advice about how to style the home to appeal to buyers, or you can work with a stylist to really bring it to life. There will also be areas of the home such as extensions that can be featured in photos and online to attract more attention.
The golden rule is to present a place people can picture themselves living in. Your real estate agent is the best source of advice to help you get organised and turn a Northern Beaches retro gem into a loveable listing.
Want help to sell an older home in Narrabeen, Warriewood, Elanora Heights or other 2101 postcodes? Reach out to Hunter Estate Agency today.