“For a lot of people, the decision isn’t so much sell or don’t sell; it’s sell or upgrade. A big part of what we do is helping people to think through all of those different options, particularly because some of the products out there, like some of the refinance loans that are available, aren’t necessarily as familiar to people.
“They think that because it’s a home renovation, they need to just use cash savings to pay for that, when there are multiple different options that one can use to pay for that kind of larger upgrade.”
As for buyers, she recommended setting aside a small emergency fund, separate from the “general cushion” of living expenses for urgent home repairs, such as “a plumbing catastrophe”, particularly as trade people tend to accept only cash or a check.
Read more: Homeowner survey’s shock findings
Among the most widely understood issues in the US housing sector is the home shortage crisis – although experts cannot agree on the actual number, estimated to be between one and five million or so units depending on whether you quote figures from the former, the National Association of Homebuilders, or the latter, the National Association of Realtors.