YOu won't get any of what you spend on appliances back, ever, even in a hot market. It's a "wasted" expense. People expect a home to have appliances, so you'd only get a deduction on an offer if there weren't working appliances. IF you'd get pleasure out of changing what's there to something else, then rationalize replacement for that reason, but you'll get zero dollars back and will in fact sustain a loss for that expense.

Now, new appliances in a freshened up and cleaned up kitchen rather than tired non matching out of place color ones ones in a dirty kitchen may make your home more sellable, but that's not the same as getting your money back on the purchase.

Save your money and keep the ones you have if they work. IF one doesn't work, then replace it with a mid to low priced option that matches the others. Spend the rest of your budget on minor updates that have a bigger psychological impact like decluttering and all new paint and carpets.

Having just bought and sold homes, I can say that there is no direct value to specific brands of appliances. Those that care will want to choose themselves and those that don't, well, they just don't care. That said, I think in slower markets is actually when these little upgrades matter most.

We bought our previous house (the one we just sold) in a hot market a decade back. Back then, crappy fixer uppers were selling above asking in 2 days. We had to compete with over 4 other bidders. In that kind of market, it doesn't matter if there's a big gaping hole in the roof so appliances are completely worthless.

In slow markets like right now, people are super nit picky. We had people complain and try to negotiate with us because our roof was 10 years old and the other house down the street had a roof that was 8 years old. We were price better but they still wanted to haggle. Luckily we had another buyer that was much more interested so it wasn't hard. In this sort of market, if you've got something that *looks* professional and has a name like Wolf, Viking, Capital, DCS, etc.. they can affect price if compared to similar homes with generic brands like GE and whirlpool.

On the flip side, our new house had upgraded bathrooms, molding, everything but was on the market for 2 months because it had old appliances and old kitchen. We wanted to pick our own appliances anyways and this gave us the opportunity to build our dream kitchen but I think that's rare. Most of the people I know don't want to go through the trouble of even replacing appliances if they don't have to so those little upgrades are worth something.

That said, buy the cheapest "nice/pro" looking appliances you can. Stay with SS or neutral colors. In two years, nobody can predict what the market will be like so if you do decide to purchase new appliances now, just resign to the fact that it's return might be minimal.

Check out craigslist and used appliance stores for recent models in good condition.

Just like cars, they lose a lot of price in the first year.

I'd go for inexpensive stainless or pro-looking models and spend some time looking for a floor model, demo or things like Craigslist, scratch and dent, etc. Most folks are going to buy based on the look of the kitchen and the house as a whole. You will want the look to be equal to or a little better/newer than typically found in the area. That can be something fairly basic like Kenmore or Frigidaire, especially if they are all fairly normal sized and could easily be upgraded without requiring a kitchen reno.

Why not just get something that you can afford and will be happy living with for the next 2 yrs. Why try to outguess some hypothetical future buyer???

Agree with LWO re: the $$$ - you'll not get a good return on it. You may want to get nice gear if it pleases you in the near term though. Two years often has a habit of becoming 3, then 4 then......

You may be able to distinguish your tract home from the zillion other look alikes and move it/keep it on the top of buyer's lists if it has a gleaming WOLF pro range and built in fridge. This assumes that it's close in price and condition to the other listings. That pro range and built in fridge isn't going to bump you price up by $10-15k all by itself.

We just had the appraiser here for our refi today, and pretty much all she noted was "new stainless steel appliances", not even looking to see what brand they are.

Seriously, most people I know IRL do not care about specialty brands, features, etc. They want a working appliance in good condition, and extra woo-hoo maybe if it is stainless.

You might want to look at something like Sears Outlet or another appliance store "outlet" room for minor scratch and dents and floor models.

If you watch the House Hunters show on HGTV you'll notice that the buyers are always impressed with stainless appliances. I agree, they should match fairly well.

You can usually get a good deal on a "matched set" from places like Sam's Club and probably most appliance and big box stores. GE, Whirlpool, etc are always having sales.

" buyers are always impressed with stainless appliances."

sure - but few if any can tell the difference between that $600 IKEA stainless range and a $50,000 LaCornue one. Nor, do many care.

Most people buying tract homes don't know anything about appliances beyond "ooh, shiny!" so I would buy some not-crazy-expensive stainless appliances. You won't feel bad about leaving them behind when you move, and they are current enough that the kitchen won't look worn or dated.

Actually, a lot of buyers on those shows seem to be very put off by $50,000 LaCornue range or a Wolf or BlueStar or any freestanding pro-style range. Even those looking at million dollar homes are impressed with stainless appliances from GE, though I don't think I've really seen anyone comment on the brand. If you want "high end" for resale, think KitchenAid. That seems to be high end for most people.

You will find GE and Kitchenaid in million dollar homes in this area -- and that will be a 4000 sq foot house most likely -- not a small house in a high dollar area. That's what most builders will put in to save some money and most folks don't change them. They will, generally speaking, be stainless.

When we mention GE ,do we mean GE , GE Profile, GE Cafe, GE Monogram? There seems to be quite a difference in quality and price.

When we mention GE ,do we mean GE , GE Profile, GE Cafe, GE Monogram? There seems to be quite a difference in quality and price.

If I were planning a move in 2 years I wouldn't go any more expensive than GE Profile.