Here are five research-based reasons to put down that hammer:

 

 

I know what you're thinking - how is that possible? Here is one study among many:

 

 

 

 

 

 

Actual home marketing seen yesterday: “The home is well preserved with original details intact.” Historic integrity is what people want now. Preservation by neglect. So preserve your house. And your money. Here's a beautifully preserved home currently on the market in Los Feliz that we love.

 

 

Why does it seem like 4 out of 5 homes on the market are just…frankly hideous? That's usually because someone renovated them. That '90s kitchen you hate - the previous owners thought their renovation looked amazing. And don't even talk to us about the proliferation of accountants turned home flippers that have relied on subway tile and grey laminate flooring in their “upgrades”…we meet a lot of them, and inside scoop, they're often underwater on their projects.

 

 

When Home Depot became the largest hardware chain in 1989, it began to “search for ways to redefine its marketplace.” Guess what they did? Pivoted the role of a hardware store from home repair to home improvement. 

 

The deal was sealed when HGTV launched in 1994, with the home renovation “before and after” formula that is still their brand today. Here's a good deep dive by the Atlantic on why we all think we constantly need to be improving our homes…

 

Getting your house ready for sale requires pre-listing preparation, because you are marketing it for sale. Want to know what improvements to make that will return in spades when it sells? Call me (and watch this video). 

 

 

You want to have generational wealth? The upper classes live in old houses that they don't touch. Buy assets instead and leave that old tile. It will be back in style soon anyway.

 

🎥 Lori's rant about male home flippers making daft renovation choices hits hard. But really guys, enough with the grey….

💰 Almost 1 in 5 Americans Want to Move to Los Angeles.

🤖 From reddit/r/NoStupidQuestions: “Why do California residents pay so much to live in bad areas when they could live luxury for the same price in other states?”  Interesting answers.

💸  Please just sell me this gorgeous, massive historic seminary/college in Santa Barbara on 11 acres so I can live in it and pretend I'm royalty.