MW My real-estate agent wants me to spend $8,000 on a new driveway. Will that really help sell my house?
By Aditi Shrikant
'I want the house to move quickly and at a good price, but I don't want to keep throwing money into improvements that won't make a real difference'
Homes are staying on the market for longer than they were last year.
Dear Dollar Signs,
I'm a 33-year-old man in the middle of buying a new home while selling my current one in Arlington, Texas. My real-estate agent keeps asking me to spend more money fixing up my old place, and it's starting to feel like a money pit.
I've already spent $20,000 on refreshing and renovations - things like paint, flooring and minor updates. Now she's suggesting I pour a new driveway, which would cost another $8,000. I'm hoping to sell the house for $460,000, but I'm starting to wonder what's actually necessary to sell versus what's just fluff.
I want the house to move quickly and at a good price, but I don't want to keep throwing money into improvements that won't make a real difference. Is there a rule of thumb for how much I should spend refreshing a home before selling? How do I know when to draw the line?
Overwhelmed in Arlington
If you're just starting out on your money or career journey and have questions about how to navigate your finances, we want to hear from you. Write to Dollar Signs, MarketWatch's new advice column, at dollarsigns@marketwatch.com.
Dear Overwhelmed,
The good news is you're doing everything right. Updating the paint and flooring can significantly increase the value of your home.
The bad news is that this doesn't mean your home is going to sell quickly. Right now in Texas, it's a buyer's market, said Amanda Pendleton, a home-trends expert at Zillow $(ZG)$.
"If you're a seller, you need to put in a little more work to make your home stand out," she said.
From the archives (May 2025): Home sellers face an 'absolutely brutal' market that's tilting in buyers' favor
This might sound like a strange question, but does your driveway look really bad in pictures? Spending $8,000 to repave it does seem like a lot of money up front, but perhaps the reason your agent is pushing for this update is that it's kind of an eyesore.
"Curb appeal is a very, very strong factor for home buyers who look at the home online," said Jessica Lautz, the deputy chief economist and vice president of research at the National Association of Realtors.
A new concrete driveway could increase the value of your home by up to $10,000, according to Angi's List $(ANGI)$.
Painting, flooring and landscaping have the best return on investment
Like I said, you've made some pretty smart remodeling decisions so far.
There are three home renovations that everyone should make before trying to sell, Pendleton said: painting, cleaning or replacing carpets, and landscaping. These updates net the greatest return on investment, meaning you earn back more than what you spent on them.
The average return on investment for interior painting is 107%, according to Angi's List. For updating floors and landscaping, the ROI can be up to 70% and 104%, respectively.
"Save any other renovations for the next homeowner," she said.
'In today's market, investing a lot up front may not pay off, but being willing to make concessions at the end of a deal may be a better play.'Amanda Pendleton, Zillow home-trends expert
It sounds like you've tackled both the paint and the floors. Maybe there is a cheaper landscaping option to increase your home's curb appeal so you don't have to spend $8,000 repaving the driveway. For example, standard landscape maintenance, which includes hedge trimming and lawn care, costs $4,800 and adds $5,000 to your home's value, according to a report by the National Association of Realtors.
Before making any decisions, I'd ask another agent if they would also recommend you repave the driveway. If they do, it might be worth the money. If they don't think anything is wrong with your driveway, let it be.
Working with a specific buyer to customize the home to their preferences might be a smarter move than trying to guess which renovations will fetch the most offers.
"In today's market, investing a lot up front may not pay off, but being willing to make concessions at the end of a deal may be a better play," Pendleton said.
Dallas-Fort Worth is a buyer's market right now
Regardless of which renovations you choose to make, don't expect them to rapidly reduce how much time your home spends on the market.
Homes are staying on the market for longer than they were last year, Lautz said. And the Dallas-Fort Worth area, where Arlington is located, is a particularly difficult market for home sellers right now.
Due to rising inventory, home price per square foot in the region is down 3.4% year over year, according to M&D Real Estate, and homes are sitting on the market for an average of 53 days - a 30% increase over last year.
"It's a buyer's market, with house hunters asking for price reductions, doing inspections, and requesting concessions," Jesse Landin, a Redfin Premier agent in San Antonio, said in a statement. "In terms of making offers, buyers are throwing spaghetti at the wall to see what sticks. Sellers who want to make it stick, will."
You're on the right track with everything you've done so far. Get a second opinion and be patient. Your home will sell - it might just take a bit longer than you'd prefer.
And remember, you get to choose whether to accept an offer or not.
If you're just starting out on your money or career journey and have questions about how to navigate your finances, we want to hear from you. Write to Dollar Signs, MarketWatch's new advice column, at dollarsigns@marketwatch.com.
-Aditi Shrikant
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October 13, 2025 16:37 ET (20:37 GMT)
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