There are two ways sellers leave money on the table:
1. They list the home as-is (under-prepared), or
2. They over-capitalise on renovations the market won’t pay for.
Both cost you. The sharp move is the middle ground — five low-cost, high-impact updates that consistently lift a Perth Hills home’s sale price without blowing the budget or delaying your campaign.
Here they are.
1. Paint the interior in neutral tones
The cheapest, highest-impact update you can make. Fresh paint says “this home has been cared for.” It also brightens the space, which matters more in Perth Hills homes where established trees and elevation can make interiors feel darker than they really are.
Stick to: warm neutrals — off-whites, soft greys, pale beiges.
Avoid: strong feature walls, trendy colours that date quickly, anything you personally love but the market won’t.
Approximate cost: $2,000–$5,000 for a professional interior repaint depending on size. One of the highest-returning preparation investments you can make.
2. Declutter and depersonalise
This one is free. Most sellers skip it because it’s emotionally hard.
Buyers need to picture themselves living in your home. They can’t do that when every shelf is covered in your family photos, your trophies, your kids’ artwork, or your collection of anything. Pack it.
Rule of thumb: remove half of everything visible. Empty surfaces. Empty walls. Empty wardrobes — buyers will look inside, and full wardrobes signal a lack of storage.
The home should feel like a hotel-staged version of itself, not a lived-in family scrapbook.
Approximate cost: $0. If you don’t have somewhere to put it, hire a small storage unit for the campaign — usually $50–$100 a week.
3. Sort the kerb appeal
Buyers form an opinion within seconds of pulling up. If the front of your home is tired, you’re climbing a hill before they walk through the door.
Quick wins:
– Mow, edge and weed
– Mulch the garden beds
– Paint or replace the front door
– New letterbox if the existing one is faded
– Pressure-wash the driveway and front path
– Add two large pots with healthy plants by the front door
– Clean the windows inside and out
Approximate cost: $500–$2,000. Returns far more than that on sale day.
4. Minor kitchen refresh — NOT a renovation
This is where sellers most often over-capitalise. A full kitchen renovation rarely returns more than it costs at sale.
What works:
– Replace cupboard handles
– Refresh the splashback if it’s dated
– Replace the tapware if it’s tired
– A coat of paint on tired cupboards
– Deep-clean the oven, rangehood and benches
Approximate cost: $1,000–$4,000 for the whole refresh.
Do NOT rip out and replace the kitchen unless it’s genuinely unusable. The maths almost never works in the seller’s favour.
5. Modernise the lighting
Old pendant lights and yellow bulbs date a home faster than almost anything else. Walk through your home at night and look up. If the fittings are dated, replace them.
The simplest version: replace every bulb with a modern warm-white LED. Brighter, cleaner, instant lift. A few dollars per bulb.
The next step up: for visible fittings — the pendant over the dining table, the vanity lights in bathrooms, the entry light — invest a bit more. Modern fittings are widely available and disproportionately impactful for the price.
Approximate cost: $200–$1,500 depending on how far you take it.
The trap: over-capitalising
What sellers should NOT do before going to market:
– Full kitchen renovation
– Full bathroom renovation
– New flooring (unless the existing is genuinely unsalvageable)
– Pool installation
– Extensions or additions
These rarely return more than they cost. They also delay your campaign by months. If a buyer wants to renovate, let them — and price the home accordingly.
The point of these five updates is to remove buyer objections, not to add features. Buyers pay a premium for a home that’s presented and move-in ready. They don’t pay extra for someone else’s renovation choices.
The truth about presentation
Presentation matters. So does pricing. So does method.
Naked Real Estate averaged 14.01% above list price across 79 settled sales in 2025 and has been ranked on the REB Top 50 Agents WA every year from 2022 to 2025. That premium doesn’t come from any single thing — it comes from a defined process that combines correct presentation, sharp pricing, and the trademarked Select Date Sale® method to create competitive tension between qualified buyers.
Updates help. Strategy is what closes.
Truth. Strategy. Sold.
Book an appraisal
Thinking of selling? Book an appraisal with Brendan Leahy at Naked Real Estate for a frank discussion about what to fix, what to skip, and what your home is genuinely worth in today’s market.
See our full industry recognition for the complete track record.