Thanks to high demand and low supply, sellers don’t have to do much to their homes to attract buyers — and often don’t. But that could change, real estate agents told Inman.

In today’s seller’s market, buyers are opting to purchase homes as-is.

Brian Rudderow, a real estate investor who flips properties in New Jersey, Florida, Colorado and Pennsylvania, recently listed a Jersey home that needed around $30,000 worth of repairs. It had an all-cash offer in 24 hours.

Brian Rudderow

“The market is extremely overinflated right now and sellers can get away with listing homes that need work while still selling them at full market value,” he wrote to Inman. “It’s pretty ridiculous what’s going on but that’s the state of what we’re dealing with. If sellers can simply clean up their house and make it look semi-livable it will sell fast with no issues.”

While there have been early signs of cooling, the housing market is still overly competitive. In June, Redfin reported that 65 percent of offers written by their agents faced bidding wars. That same month, the National Association of Realtors found that the median existing-home price in the U.S. hit $363,300, the highest on record and the 112th month straight of year-over-year home price gains.

Because homes are flying off the market for outlandish prices, sellers aren’t putting much TLC into their properties before listing them. 

Erin Madden, a Realtor in Boise, Idaho, told Inman that most sellers are skipping repairs because they know they’ll get at or over the asking price without making them.  

Erin Madden

“The market here is such that the median home value has increased 40 percent year over year due to a critically low inventory and a mass migration of people from surrounding states,” Madden wrote to Inman. “The need to stage a home is minimal to none, the need for cosmetic repairs is non-existent. Buyers are almost forced to overlook cosmetic and minor issues when trying to purchase homes.”

Aaron Mighty, founder of Florida-based Mighty Realty, recently convinced a client to list their townhouse without making $10,000 worth of repairs. While the client was hesitant at first, the home received multiple offers the first weekend it was on the market. 

“We had planned to get the carpets cleaned during that first weekend, too, but canceled that after the showings started coming in,” he told Inman over email. “New townhome construction can actually be purchased just a few blocks away starting at $10,000 more so that goes to show that buyers aren’t deterred by an older home either. They just want a home period!”

In addition to buying homes as-is, Madden told Inman that buyers are waiving inspections or signing contracts that state the inspection is for the buyer’s information only, a trend that has been solidifying across the country for several months. 

Buyers are even forfeiting appraisals, according to Redfin and agents who spoke with Inman.

“Lenders require an appraisal, so when buyers waive that contingency, it just means that they promise to pay the difference if the appraisal is lower than their offer,” a real estate professional told the Post. “If they can’t pay the cash, they can lose their earnest money deposit. Sometimes the buyers will write in a specific amount that they will pay to make up the gap, such as up to $10,000.”

This seller’s market won’t last forever

Looking ahead, the housing market has been showing early signs of cooling, which means sky-high prices will eventually float back down to earth. According to a recent report by the U.S. Census Bureau, sales of newly built homes in June were the lowest since the onset of the pandemic. 

While sellers can get away with not doing cosmetic repairs right now, Madden warns that the bigger maintenance issues, like roof replacements or leaks, should be addressed.

Not only can bigger repairs chip away at the sale price, but a seller runs the risk of losing time on the market if the prospective buyer terminates the deal.

Rick Abbiati

“At this point, as we start to cool down, if you lose time on market because someone does an inspection and decides they don’t want to take on that cost, then you could be shooting yourself in the foot,” Madden said.

Rick Abbiati, owner of Colony Property Investments, LLC, explained that while sellers can get away with doing the bare minimum, they should put some thought into the decision because repairs could mean a higher return on investment.

“Yes the market is hot, however if you want your property to be at the top of the pile in terms of consideration, then make it nice,” he said. “Regardless of market temperature, when a buyer is looking at one home that is move-in ready and one that is a dump, they will pick the move-in ready home most of the time.”

Current listings are lacking visuals

Not only are sellers ditching repairs, but there isn’t much effort being put into the visual representation of listings either.

A recent study by BoxBrownie, a real estate image enhancement company, revealed that the majority of listings on the market right now lack good visual marketing.

As Inman previously reported, the study looked at over 25,000 U.S. listings on Zillow and realtor.com from March 2021 to June 2021 and found that 94 percent of them didn’t offer virtual tours and only 16 percent included a floor plan.

“It’s fairly safe to assume that right now agents are cutting corners on visual marketing for listings because of the speed of sales right now,” BoxBrownie general manager Peter Schravemade said.

But listings that focus on virtual marketing are bound to catch more eyes than those that don’t, regardless of the state of the market.

“We have found that buyers are more receptive to listings when they have professional photography, virtual tours, and floor plans,” said Vanessa Bergmark, CEO of California-based Red Oak Realty, in a statement. “Homes that offer these features to prospective buyers almost always sell quicker than those that do not.”

Email Libertina Brandt

Show Comments Hide Comments
Sign up for Inman’s Morning Headlines
What you need to know to start your day with all the latest industry developments
By submitting your email address, you agree to receive marketing emails from Inman.
Success!
Thank you for subscribing to Morning Headlines.
Back to top
Only 3 days left to register for Inman Connect Las Vegas before prices go up! Don't miss the premier event for real estate pros.Register Now ×
Limited Time Offer: Get 1 year of Inman Select for $199SUBSCRIBE×
Log in
If you created your account with Google or Facebook
Don't have an account?
Forgot your password?
No Problem

Simply enter the email address you used to create your account and click "Reset Password". You will receive additional instructions via email.

Forgot your username? If so please contact customer support at (510) 658-9252

Password Reset Confirmation

Password Reset Instructions have been sent to

Subscribe to The Weekender
Get the week's leading headlines delivered straight to your inbox.
Top headlines from around the real estate industry. Breaking news as it happens.
15 stories covering tech, special reports, video and opinion.
Unique features from hacker profiles to portal watch and video interviews.
Unique features from hacker profiles to portal watch and video interviews.
It looks like you’re already a Select Member!
To subscribe to exclusive newsletters, visit your email preferences in the account settings.
Up-to-the-minute news and interviews in your inbox, ticket discounts for Inman events and more
1-Step CheckoutPay with a credit card
By continuing, you agree to Inman’s Terms of Use and Privacy Policy.

You will be charged . Your subscription will automatically renew for on . For more details on our payment terms and how to cancel, click here.

Interested in a group subscription?
Finish setting up your subscription
×