Farewell to the Fixer-Upper?

It seems that the fixer-upper has lost its charm.
The Chicago Tribune reports that, according to a recent poll by Coldwell Banker, almost 9 out of 10 home-buyers said that a “move-in ready” home was a top priority. Even with the economy still in shambles, buyers are willing to pay more in order to avoid the hassle of remodeling or making repairs. Agents and “staging” experts are urging sellers to shell out for basic repairs and to keep properties in pristine condition.
The fixer-upper has been a staple archetype in American real estate ever since Donna Reed and Jimmy Stewart dreamed of renovating “320 Sycamore” in Frank Capra’s It’s a Wonderful Life. It’s a symbol of energy, individualism, and renewal – of taking something that’s seen better days and making it comfortable, beautiful, and tailor-made for you and you alone.
That American home-buyers want to opt out of real estate as “project” says something more than that sellers need to keep homes spruced up. A psychological principle is operating here-or perhaps not operating-that ought to give real estate “experts” pause.
Since the housing crisis hit, numerous “Buy vs. Rent!” articles have sprinkled themselves all over the internet. Heck, we’ve even posted some right here on this blog. The compulsion to compare home-ownership with a renting lifestyle, while well-intentioned and justified by solid research, may be doing more harm than good.
Even most renters agree that, except in strange circumstances, buying makes more sense. That’s encouraging, but maybe it’s time to focus less on how home-ownership compares with its alternatives and more on home-ownership itself.
I can think of a couple  explanations for the trend away from “fixer-uppers”. One is the perennial elephant-in-the-room: the Recession. If you’re lucky enough to be employed, you’re probably working harder and longer to make ends meet – having put a lot of time into scraping together a down-payment, most people simply can’t or won’t put more hours of their lives into remodeling the kitchen.
The other explanation is that more people are buying out of expedience rather than desire. They’re buying because it’s the Smart Thing to Do – not because it’s a long-sought dream. Which is sad, perhaps – but is there really room for dreams in real estate these days?