The expectations of luxury home buyers in the East Bay have fundamentally shifted, according to veteran real estate broker Debbi DiMaggio of Corcoran Icon Properties, who says today’s buyers want both Instagram-worthy aesthetics and completely updated infrastructure, a combination rarely found in the area’s historic housing stock.
“The new buyer profile wants the electrical done, the plumbing done. They want the kitchen, not just painted and new knobs and pulls and lighting, they want it to be totally renovated,” DiMaggio says, contrasting current demands with previous generations of buyers who were more accepting of older homes’ quirks.
DiMaggio recently witnessed this shift firsthand at an open house in Piedmont. While older buyers found the property charming and move-in ready, younger buyers focused on systems that needed updating. This represents a significant change in market dynamics, particularly challenging in an area dominated by 1920s homes.
To address these evolving expectations, DiMaggio has developed what she calls a “lived-in to stage to sell” approach. This involves coordinating with multiple contractors, designers, and stagers to create the right balance of updates and improvements.
“We get all the bids, and then we’re going to go through them and see what you want to do or what you don’t want to do,” DiMaggio explains about her process with sellers. She notes that most sellers ultimately follow her recommendations, recognizing the changed market dynamics.
The impact of these heightened expectations is evident in current market conditions. While some properties still attract multiple offers and sell above asking price, DiMaggio notes a significant increase in price reductions and longer marketing periods, unusual in a market where 10-day sales were once the norm.
“We’re getting those ‘price reduce, price improvement, new price, can’t believe it hasn’t sold’ emails,” DiMaggio says. “In our market, things usually sell in 10 days. If it goes on for a month, that’s a whole new way of life for us here in the East Bay.”
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