Before the pandemic, finding an old colonial and making it your own was, for a certain kind of buyer, the point. The project was part of the appeal. Four years later, that buyer has largely left the market. What has replaced them is someone with a different calculation entirely: one that starts with construction costs, runs through contractor availability, and ends at a number that makes a turnkey property look like the obvious choice.
Bill Melnick of Elyse Harney Real Estate works with buyers at the $3 million and above tier in Litchfield County, Connecticut, where the renovation question comes up consistently. “Even people in the luxury market are very hesitant to do renovations,” he said. “Construction costs before COVID to now are at least up 50 to 100 percent, and it’s often more.”
The math has changed. So has the buyer.
What Construction Costs Actually Look Like Now
New construction in Litchfield County is currently running between $1,000 and $1,200 per square foot. That figure applies to custom builds where the buyer controls every specification. For buyers purchasing a recently renovated property or a contractor-built spec home, the cost per square foot should be lower, because the builder is not paying retail on materials and labor. Pricing a renovated resale at new-construction rates is a mispricing that Melnick sees sellers make and that informed buyers will identify quickly.
The contractor availability problem compounds the cost issue. The better builders and contractors in the region are booked out one to two years in most cases, sometimes three. A buyer who purchases a property with the intention of gutting the kitchen and adding two bathrooms is not moving into a finished home at closing. They are entering a queue and waiting. For buyers whose timeline is driven by school enrollment or a remote work arrangement that is already in place, that wait is not abstract. It has real consequences.
“Kitchens and bathrooms need to already be done,” Melnick said. “People are like, I’ll do a few things, but I’m not willing to do a big renovation project.”
The Generational Shift Underneath the Numbers
The cost and logistics arguments are real, but Melnick identifies something else running alongside them: a generational change in what buyers find appealing about a property search.
An older buyer cohort, one that came of age in a period when renovation was a normal and even exciting part of homeownership, was genuinely motivated by the prospect of putting their mark on a house. The work was part of the ownership experience. That orientation is less common in younger buyers, who are more likely to treat the house as infrastructure for a life they want to start living immediately.
“I think it was an exciting thing for someone to find an old colonial house and renovate it,” Melnick said. “I don’t think that’s something that is as important to younger generations today. They want something that is already done.”
The result is a buyer pool that enters the search with turnkey as a baseline requirement rather than a preference, which changes how properties are evaluated and how quickly they move.
What This Means for Pricing and Days on Market
The premium that turnkey properties command in the current Litchfield County market is real but not unlimited. Buyers are willing to pay more to avoid a renovation project. They are not willing to pay as much as a custom build would cost, because a custom build delivers exactly what the buyer wants and a renovation resale delivers what someone else wanted, executed to someone else’s specifications.
The pricing window for a well-executed renovation sits between the cost of a property that needs significant work and the cost of new construction. Getting that pricing right requires understanding both what the renovation actually cost and what the market will recognize as value versus over-improvement.
Properties with kitchens and bathrooms already updated, reliable systems, move-in condition, and ideally some outdoor infrastructure such as a pool or finished landscape are consistently outperforming comparable properties that require a buyer to imagine their way to the finished product. In a market where the buyer’s default position is no renovation, the properties that require the least imagination are the ones attracting the most attention.
Explore current listings in Litchfield County at Elyse Harney Real Estate.
About the Expert: Bill Melnick is a luxury real estate specialist with Elyse Harney Real Estate, serving Litchfield County and surrounding markets in Connecticut.
This article is based on information provided by the expert source cited above. It is intended for general informational purposes only and does not constitute legal, financial, or real estate advice. Readers should conduct their own research and consult qualified professionals before making any real estate or financial decisions.
