How to prepare your property for sale in a trade shortage

Preparing a home for sale has never been more challenging. A construction crisis means materials and trades are pricier and harder to come by so renovation budgets and timelines are blowing out. Trade portal hipages.com.au recently reported that 85 percent of tradespeople on their site have had to raise their rates this year as timber and metal prices soar in the wake of a global supply chain crisis, coupled with a scarcity of skilled labour and trades.

CoreLogic’s Cordell Construction Cost Index revealed that building expenses increased 9 percent over the 12 months to March, the highest annual growth rate since the introduction of the GST in 2001.

Property stylist Justine Wilson of Vault Interiors says mammoth renovations should be shelved for sellers on a tight timeline right now.

“Almost across the board, everything from materials to furniture is taking longer to source,” she says. “What used to be a one-month lead time is turning into 14, 16 or sometimes 24 weeks.

It’s doubling or tripling the standard time and that has a flow on effect for anyone trying to renovate for sale, she says, but there are multiple fixes vendors can undertake to add value quickly.

“See what you can do on a cosmetic level before knocking out walls and attempting things that are going to need trades,” Wilson says. “You can give your place a facelift with styling or a fresh coat of paint rather than structural changes.”

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Refresh your strongest selling points

While the old adage says kitchens sell houses, Justine Wilson says vendors needn’t install a new one.

“Kitchens and bathrooms will always entice buyers so have them looking as fresh as possible. If you can’t order a whole new kitchen then use laminate paint to update cupboards, change out door hardware and consider peel and stick tile options to modernise really dated splashbacks. You could also swap out older benchtops and choose a laminate or Caesarstone top because they seem to be in ample supply at the moment.”

Home offices are also an asset in a post-pandemic marketplace.

“Whether it’s a nook under the stairs or a self-contained study it will appeal to buyers because people want an office or media zone separate to the rest of their family,” Wilson says. “You can get freestanding prefab pods, convert a garage, or garden shed rather than going through the expensive and long process of getting something approved and built.”

Take it outside

According to the recent Great Australian Backyard survey by Adbri Masonry, 80 percent of respondents said an entertaining space out back plays an important, or very important, part in decision making when buying a property.

“The outdoor dining and entertaining area is a staple for every Aussie home because it adds a new dimension to how you can entertain while enhancing the appeal of your home,” says landscaping expert and Adbri Masonry brand ambassador, Jason Hodges.

Since timber and carpenters are hard to come by, he suggests refreshing your outdoor area with pavers with a high pressure hose down.

“If you have a paved or decked area, you can give it a clean to inject new life,” he says. “If you’re starting with a blank canvas, consider creating your own aesthetic with a small format paver such as Havenbrick, which allows you to create different patterns with a variety of colour tones to choose from. Also, adding a cosy fire pit as part of your outdoor entertaining area means your space becomes usable all year round.”

A veggie patch can also add to the family-friendly nature of a home, as can embracing a wellbeing element, like a meditation space.

“The beauty of the backyard is its diversity,” Hodges says. “With a little effort and a dash of creativity it can be transformed into the space which is right for you, be it a Zen garden or sleek entertaining area. It’s yours to define. Plus, it can reap financial rewards when selling.”

Invest in styling for maximum ROI

Staging a home for sale is a quick, temporary fix which often means you can avoid the wait for trades. Stylists like Justine Wilson have warehouses of items ready to go so a tired listing can be revived within days rather than weeks or months.

“Styling adds value when you’re presenting your home for sale and can completely uplift a property without any renovation,” she says. “If you can’t redo your kitchen or bathroom then look at putting that money into the best presentation possible,” she says.

Window dressings like these custom made blinds from Tuiss can be ordered online and are suitable for DIY installation

Homeowners can start by making sure the house is neat and decluttered, the carpet is steam cleaned and windows are washed. Even the smell of the home has proven to help with the sale. A study by UK-based real estate agent comparison site GetAgent revealed which scents sell homes. Top aromas included freshly baked bread (with 37 percent of respondents claiming it would entice them to buy), followed by fresh linen (36 per cent), freshly brewed coffee (27 per cent), new carpet and freshly cut grass (both 25 percent).

“You could go a step further and have your home professionally staged so that it stands out online,” Wilson says. “We’ve seen anywhere from a 5 percent to 20 percent increase in the sale price after presenting a home well.”

She says to view styling not so much as an expense, but more of an investment.

“By presenting the space correctly, with the right flow, function, and scale of furniture, it can help buyers who have trouble visualising its potential.”

For some vacationers, the ideal getaway involves $1,200 ozone therapy or an $1,800 early-detection cancer test.

Call it the longevity vacation. People who are fixated on optimising their personal health are pursuing travel activities that they hope will help them stay healthier for longer. It is part of a broader interest in longevity that often extends beyond traditional medicine . These costly trips and treatments are rising in popularity as money pours into the global wellness travel market.

At high-end resorts, guests can now find biological age testing, poolside vitamin IV drips, and stem-cell therapy. Prices can range from hundreds of dollars for shots and drips to tens of thousands for more invasive procedures, which go well beyond standard wellness offerings like yoga, massages or facials.

Some longevity-inspired trips focus on treatments, while others focus more on social and lifestyle changes. This includes programs that promise to teach travellers the secrets of centenarians .

Mark Blaskovich, 66 years old, spent $4,500 on a five-night trip last year centred on lessons from the world’s “Blue Zones,” places including Sardinia, Italy, and Okinawa, Japan, where a high number of people live for at least 100 years. Blaskovich says he wanted to get on a healthier path as he started to feel the effects of ageing.

He chose a retreat at Modern Elder Academy in Mexico, where he attended workshops detailing the power of supportive relationships, embracing a plant-based diet and incorporating natural movement into his daily life.

“I’ve been interested in longevity and trying to figure out how to live longer and live healthier,” says Blaskovich.

Vitamins and ozone

When Christy Menzies noticed nurses behind a curtained-off area at the Four Seasons Resort Maui in Hawaii on a family vacation in 2022, she assumed it might be Covid-19 testing. They were actually injecting guests with vitamin B12.

Menzies, 40, who runs a travel agency, escaped to the longevity clinic between trips to the beach, pool and kids’ club, where she reclined in a leather chair, and received a 30-minute vitamin IV infusion.

“You’re making investments in your wellness, your health, your body,” says Menzies, who adds that she felt more energised afterward.

The resort has been expanding its offerings since opening a longevity centre in 2021. A multi-day treatment package including ozone therapy, stem-cell therapy and a “fountain of youth” infusion, costs $44,000. Roughly half a dozen guests have shelled out for that package since it made its debut last year, according to Pat Makozak, the resort’s senior spa director. Guests can also opt for an early-detection cancer blood test for $1,800.

The ozone therapy, which involves withdrawing blood, dissolving ozone gas into it, and reintroducing it into the body through an IV, is particularly popular, says Makozak. The procedure is typically administered by a registered nurse, takes upward of an hour and costs $1,200.

Longevity vacationers are helping to fuel the global wellness tourism market, which is expected to surpass $1 trillion in 2024, up from $439 billion in 2012, according to the nonprofit Global Wellness Institute. About 13% of U.S. travellers took part in spa or wellness activities while traveling in the past 12 months, according to a 2023 survey from market-research group Phocuswright.

Canyon Ranch, which has multiple wellness resorts across the country, earlier this year introduced a five-night “Longevity Life” program, starting at $6,750, that includes health-span coaching, bone-density scans and longevity-focused sessions on spirituality and nutrition.

The idea is that people will return for an evaluation regularly to monitor progress, says Mark Kovacs, the vice president of health and performance.

What doctors say

Doctors preach caution, noting many of these treatments are unlikely to have been approved by the Food and Drug Administration, producing a placebo effect at best and carrying the potential for harm at worst. Procedures that involve puncturing the skin, such as ozone therapy or an IV drip, risk possible infection, contamination and drug interactions.

“Right now there isn’t a single proven treatment that would prolong the life of someone who’s already healthy,” says Dr. Mark Loafman, a family-medicine doctor in Chicago. “If it sounds too good to be true, it probably is.”

Some studies on certain noninvasive wellness treatments, like saunas or cold plunges , do suggest they may help people feel less stressed, or provide some temporary pain relief or sleep improvement.

Linda True, a policy analyst in San Francisco, spent a day at RAKxa, a wellness retreat on a visit to family in Thailand in February. True, 46, declined the more medical-sounding offerings, like an IV drip, and opted for a traditional style of Thai massage that involved fire and is touted as a “detoxification therapy.”

“People want to spend money on things that they feel might be doing good,” says Dr. Tamsin Lewis, medical adviser at RoseBar Longevity at Six Senses Ibiza, a longevity club that opened last year, whose menu includes offerings such as cryotherapy, infrared sauna and a “Longevity Boost” IV.

RoseBar says there is good evidence that reducing stress contributes to longevity, and Lewis says she doesn’t offer false promises about treatments’ efficacy . Kovacs says Canyon Ranch uses the latest science and personal data to help make evidence-based recommendations.

Jaclyn Sienna India owns a membership-based, ultra luxury travel company that serves people whose net worth exceeds $100 million, many of whom give priority to longevity, she says. She has planned trips for clients to Blue Zones, where there are a large number of centenarians. On one in February, her company arranged a $250,000 weeklong stay for a family of three to Okinawa that included daily meditation, therapeutic massages and cooking classes, she says.

India says keeping up with a longevity-focused lifestyle requires more than one treatment and is cost-prohibitive for most people.

Doctors say travellers may be more likely to glean health benefits from focusing on a common vacation goal : just relaxing.

Dr. Karen Studer, a physician and assistant professor of preventive medicine at Loma Linda University Health says lowering your stress levels is linked to myriad short- and long-term health benefits.

“It may be what you’re getting from these expensive treatments is just a natural effect of going on vacation, decreasing stress, eating better and exercising more.”