Real estate inventory is tight enough right now that it doesn’t always make sense to trade up your home, even if you really could use a change.
In July 2023, Realtor.com found that 60.3% of homebuyers weren’t able to find a new home due to a lack of housing that was either suitable or within their budgets. This is up from July 2022, when the number was 56.4%, and way up over pre-pandemic July 2019, when only 52.9% said the same.
For them, and for you, there may be only one option: not moving. But how do you make the home you have work for you?
[READ: What Does It Cost to Own a Home?]
Make Your Home Your Own
When you moved in, you probably did some painting or hung some things on the wall, but did you ever really consider making your house truly fit your needs? You may have thought you wouldn’t be there long enough to worry about big projects, but now you’re finding that you’re going to be calling it home much longer than you planned.
Getting started on making your house truly your own requires a great deal of thought about how you’re using your home, and usually doesn’t really work well until you’ve lived there a while.
“Narrow down the reason you want to move,” says Angie Hicks, cofounder of Angie’s List and chief customer officer at Angi in Indianapolis. “Unless you want to move to a new location altogether, there are probably some projects that can make your home fit your lifestyle better.”
Hicks suggests projects that are custom-designed to suit your specific needs, rather than a generic remodel to appease an unknown future buyer. After all, you need to be able to live in your home now.
“If you want to move because you need more space due to a growing family, you can look into expanding your home instead,” says Hicks. “Or, if you want to move because you need a more accessible home due to aging or disability, there are projects you can take on to make your current home accessible. Instead of jumping straight into the selling process, think about how you can make your current home fit your changing lifestyle.”
[READ: Remodeling Projects to Make Aging in Place Easier]
Decluttering is Always an Option
It may seem like home professionals recommend decluttering a lot to homeowners, but that’s because it’s so effective at creating space where there hasn’t been space before. If you’re thinking about moving due to a lack of room, or because your house feels awkward to live in, sometimes all it takes is a well-considered redesign of your current space.
“Decluttering and changing furniture can significantly help a home feel more spacious, even if the physical square footage remains the same,” says Danielle Nash, project director at Freemodel in San Francisco. “Ultimately, the goal is to maximize the space you have while minimizing clutter and overcrowding. By decluttering and making thoughtful changes to your furniture and decor, you can create the illusion of a more spacious and inviting home, even in a small or cramped space.”
Decluttering, Nash says, is more than skin deep. It means really thinking about how the storage works in your home, considering how your furniture flows in your spaces, and coming up with more creative ways to store the things you have, including adding more vertical storage options to free up floor space.
“Decluttering often goes hand-in-hand with better organization,” says Nash. “You can find a designated place for everything, reducing the feeling of chaos and creating a more open environment.”
Is Remodeling the Right Move?
If it’s space or amenities you’re looking for, remodeling can be the right move, especially if you’re in the happy position of having plenty of untapped equity in your home. A home equity loan can open doors — and install new ones — in your house, turning it into a space you might have never imagined it could be.
It all starts by finding the room within your home’s footprint, if possible. A lot of people don’t even realize they have so much potential square footage just waiting to be created from what they already have.
“You can steal space from another part of the home to build a new bathroom in, or you can think about a home addition that maybe extends into the backyard,” says Jason Legat, founder and president of Model Remodel in Seattle. “The biggest untapped potential in most homes is the basement. If your basement is unfinished, highly consider if finishing it will solve your home problems.”
Legat adds that by finishing the basement or adding a second story (or remodeling the attic), you may be able to add rooms that you sorely need, like a playroom or another bathroom, along with additional bedrooms or even a home office.
It might not seem possible with your home’s current shape, but Legat says remodelers have tricks up their sleeves for making spaces do things you might not have imagined.
“One of our favorite attic bathroom tricks is to use a skylight to extend the headroom,” says Legat. “This trick can help fit a shower into a sloped ceiling with enough headroom to make it usable.”
[Related:7 Bathroom Renovations Under $1,000]
Moving Isn’t Your Only Option
Moving isn’t ever the only option, and especially in a real estate environment where so many homeowners don’t want to give up their sub-5% mortgage and have equity they can use for improving the homes they have.
Decluttering, small home remodeling projects, converting unused space into useful space, and improving your backyard are all options to keep you happier in your current home. If you’ve ever looked at older houses, you’ve seen it’s been done time and time again, and often very successfully for families as they grow and change. Whatever you do, though, do it because it’s what’s right for your home and your family.
“Remember that the specific changes you make should align with your budget and long-term goals for your home,” Nash says. “It’s often a good idea to carefully plan and prioritize updates to maximize your satisfaction with your short and long-term goals.”
That could also mean looking at the neighbors’ homes to see what’s normal for your neighborhood and what kind of house might make sense if you were to sell it later, when the environment is more to your liking.
“If you don’t know where to start, I recommend getting familiar with what other homes in your neighborhood have to offer,” Hicks says. “If most houses have three bathrooms and your house has two bathrooms, adding another bathroom would be a good investment.”
Finally, remember that calling in an expert for a consultation doesn’t necessarily mean the wrecking ball is coming for your kitchen. There’s a lot of outside-the-box thinking possible with a remodel.
“Even if you don’t have the funds for a major remodel, there is value in smaller solutions, too,” says Legat. “Sometimes it’s as simple as adding or removing a wall.”
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Things You Can Do Instead of Moving originally appeared on usnews.com
