As they say, "designer ready." So it probably wouldnt work for most sales.

Interesting concept. I did this with the basement in a home a few years back. Tore out the poor remodel and painted the cinder blocks and rafters white and the floor tan. Imagine your own use without the 70s paneling and the faux Med electric fireplace.

I'm seeing this in resale condos. It's 'finished', not just windows and drywall, but all white with minimal or no trim. It does visually expand the space.

I continue to hold to my beliefs that most people will do just fine without staging, or anti-staging, or whatever the newer concept of presenting the property is, in most cases. It's like here they've been taught they're unable to do that. For some reason. Yet they have same level of abstract thinking and same eye structure as people in the rest of the world.

A developer in my city did this with newly constructed high rise condos built around 2004. He priced them quite high, IMO, so potential buyers needed to be willing to sink a lot of money and time into their unit before moving in. Sales were slow but he remained firm that he was leaving them as "white boxes." Eventually, he finished some to show what the potential was and I believe most of those units were eventually sold. At about the five- to seven-year mark, half of the building was still empty.

There are still units in that building that have never been sold. I looked at units a couple of times, the second time being a few years ago. I had a very hard time visualizing what the empty boxes could become.

Two extremes, staging and white boxing. Plain old empty house is my favorite way to go.

I note that is shows EVERY nick and flaw. Not a great plan.

I remember reading about people ripping out perfectly good kitchens and you can buy them for a bargain. So, yeah, there are people, especially high end properties, that will do this. But, no, I do not want an unfinished house. If I wanted that, I'd just build a house.

https://greendemolitions.com/

I get the idea. It makes sense in certain demographics, especially in locations where building a new house is really uncommon because the area is completely developed. My particular neighborhood went decades without completely new construction.

Interesting

I think it's interesting -- imagine buyers trying to think of what to do with a space! What a concept. I thought the reason that we staged, painted everything neutral was so buyers could see how it looked and not require you to have some imagination.

A good percentage of the most expensive properties even in my city (let alone Manhattan) are shown as raw space or "build to suit". People at the top end of the market aren't as interested in living in something designed for someone else specifically, or for the "generic buyer".

Personally, I am put off by all the decisions people make for resale, at least when it's to the extent that they won't do something they personally like because the house has to appeal to any random buyer at their price point.

My current house was staged to the nth degree and some renovations done particularly for resale. I saw through all of it but I know other people who looked at this house and it was at the top of their budget. They never really would have been able to afford it, not with all that needed to be done under the stage makeup. It gets to the point of dishonesty I think, because lots of people aren't particularly observant below the surface.

I'm not sure I would want a whiteboxed house, especially one that was still carried premium pricing, but I can see the advantage. I can't tell you how many houses I've rejected because I disliked the choices made during a just-completed remodel.

I live in an area where there is little room for new construction, plus the planning permission process is much more onerous for new construction than for remodeling. Thus, people buy the house and strip it back to the studs, making interior and exterior changes without changing the footprint. It's considered a remodel, but the resulting house usually bears no resemblance to the original.

Interesting. When we bought our last house it was empty and in need of significant renovations. Still, I’m not sure we would have purchased it if they had ripped out the kitchen, etc. As the article points out we could not have waited for renovations to move in—just not enough cash to pay rent somewhere else plus the mortgage.

As far as whether or not staging works, I’ve always been skeptical. But when we went to sell that house we interviewed realtors (we ended up selling off market with no realtor because a neighbor approached us before we signed a listing agreement). And one of the realtors was able to show me the price difference for two virtually identical properties with virtually identical locations. The staged house had sold for substantially more.

It would have been infinitely better for us had we found a white box house to buy. That would have been the perfect compromise between buying a house we would need to gut or building new and buying a house someone else gutted and accepting most of their decisions.

At first I thought what a great idea until I realized they ripped out everything! That seems kind of wasteful. I'm sure there's a market for it though.

In my experience, many people are looking for a house that meets their needs that they can immediately move into without contemplating spending an unknown amount of time, money, and energy on a "white box." I've experienced people looking at houses who are put off by one room that's painted the "wrong" color, and have trouble visualizing what a $20 gallon of paint could do.

I'm sure this concept works in selected markets or in specialized situations, but I doubt that it's a good general strategy for the vast majority of sales.

I don't get the inability of being able to visualize a space as what you want it. I've been told, and have read, the various reasons for "staging". I've been in houses where throws have been artfully place on the bed to look as if they've been casually thrown there. And trays with teapots and cups and saucers placed next to it. Just a few expensive brand groceries placed carefully in the pantry. Closets with 3 pretty boxes on the shelf and four empty (but wood, of course) hangers...Apparently some people need this.

Personally, I think the whole thing is annoying. I will ALWAYS just be looking at the ceiling so I can get an idea of room size and space.

Also I'm suspicious of flipped houses and those that have a new coat of paint and faucet.

Give me an empty, dirty, non (newly)-updated house any day. Then it is what it is.

So I get this. I understand the appeal. It's not for me because money. But I would prefer it given the choice.

Of course it exists in some people, we see it everyday here, Pal.

Jen, I've seen that happen with kitchens on some shows I used to watch...I think was Italy and France, but I can't be sure. It certainly looked strange for the realtor to show "the kitchen" rather than "the room where the kitchen will be".

I am just saying that I think there are many less people like you, like us, than there are people who have to be shown exactly what the rooms in a house are for, and what will fit. They completely lack imagination. And I think this is getting worse because of the internet-people don't have to use their imagination for anything.

There was a thread in the Houzz side by someone who wanted an explanation of what a "very strange, and pointless" room connected to her parents' living room was. Was it another living room? Why were there two?

It was clearly a dining room and when this was pointed out, she said "Oh no, there is a place to eat in the kitchen through a doorway, between the kitchen and this room" so it could not be another place to eat --"what was it?"

Takes all kinds...sometimes I think there are trolls here. There used to be someone who posted who wanted help on the strangest ideas. He was called out a lot, but seeing his history, I think that he may have had some mental challenges. Some of the mean things said to him were atrocious.

So maybe this person was one of the two?

Just a little further explanation of the white box condos I described above, the units being shown didn't have any rooms. You were just shown the unit with the perimeter walls and windows and needed to visualize where the kitchen, bathrooms, bedrooms, etc., might go.

I'm usually pretty good at figuring out where to place furnishings but this was completely over my head.

Interesting. I see this here sometimes but it is not intentional. It is what happens when a flipper or an owner with plans to renovate with credit lines runs out of money and puts it on market “as is”!

I think there is a middle ground. I think leaving the cupboards in place (unless in one of European countries where people do take their kitchens with them) but removing any clutter and personal photos and tchotchkes, and painting all the walls and trim a very neutral colour - white if possible - etc is a good idea. Not renovating for resale, but just cleaning up a depersonalizing for resale. It helps potential buyers visualize how they can use the spaces and see they would have room for their furniture (bare empty rooms often look smaller than furnished ones) but also gives the sense of “this can be their house” and not “current owners old house”.

And as silly as it may be, some people have a hard time visualizing how they can make those blue or harvest gold walls anything but blue or harvest gold. White they can work with. I actually don’t even think it is something as simple as them not being able to realize they can repaint for cheap, it is more the colour leaves them with a “feeling” and they don’t see how different paint would change that. Very dark walls and colours for example can feel oppressive for some so their first and last impression of the house is just that.

I wouldn't go to all that trouble unless it was something needed in my market. Clean and declutter and price it right. Why make unnecessary work for yourself? Only paint if you have done some weird thing that only you could love. And even then, house could still sell. My PO's on my last house had awful paint jobs in their kids rooms, like horrible splatter paint, but they let the kids do it themselves. I just painted over, problem solved, I could look beyond it when I bought. Then the folks who bought my house looked beyond the incredibly cluttered basement which I thought I needed to clear out before the house would sell. They liked everything else so there you go.

I've been looking for a house in an area with many old cottages from the teens through the '40s, and I can see very clearly that the ones with original features fetch much higher prices than the flips, but then, having paid a premium for that original kitchen and bath, the new owners generally rip them out first thing, which I don't understand at all. Interior walls, too. It's amazing how many people have no understanding of the concept of "load-bearing wall."

The key phrase in the first post is "high end". White boxing appeals to a buyer who is already has a predisposition to completely renovating any property they buy to make their own statement.

And in places like New York City, the interior has little to do with the exterior in a high rise or midrise building: the inside can be anything it wants to be. Even the townhouses have already been so substantially altered in the intervening decades since they've been built that there is nothing original to be lost by doing this in many cases.

This is not the same demographic who wants move in ready and can't even afford to have the interiors professionally repainted, not by a long shot.

My first house sold to a buyer who was impressed that we had the same towels in the bathroom that she had.

Yeesh, when I was house shopping, it was a bonus if the appliances were included. These houses are selling with no kitchen whatsoever.

White boxing would work for me in a purchase -- as long as the property hadn't had any wonderful architectural details to save.

For example, my son and DIL may move and they're looking at a neighborhood of semi-custom homes, but by one builder. They can only choose options that the builder offers. In that situation, I'd rather buy a white box inside and finish it out my way -- but, the builder would have to price it at two-thirds of the price.

I don't know about white boxing either way. I do know I'd love to spend time in the penthouse linked in the linked article.

Late to the party, but I can see this happening when you have a property that is otherwise unremarkable and in dire need of renovation, and has locations/views. If it is not a historic home or does not have great inherent features, but is just in need of an entire renovation, I think it might be a benefit to the buyer to know that the walls have been opened up already so the risk of surprises in the wall during renovation are eliminated. The downside is that people often want to move walls and change layouts as well.

It dawned on me that our last purchase was this way -- essentially it was a stripped down condo and bare when shown -- but they completed work to a required point (it may have been required there to process a sale). We were able to pick finishes and alter certain things before completion.

Most buyers I deal with either do not have, or do not want to spend a truckload of cash on a home after bringing a 20% down payment on their new purchase.

If you will read the article, this trend is in high-end properties. Presumably the potential buyers aren't scraping together their pennies.

^This. Plus they are usually paying cash and have their own designers/architects and other professionals.

A certain percentage of high cost property transactions are cash. Of the six new construction houses down my block, average sale price $2M--much higher than neighborhood average-- two or three of them were paid for in full with no mortgage.

"Time on my hands..."

"Money burns a hole in my pocket..."

Mirror, mirror, on the wall, what are all these people doing on this site? haha, Me too!

The two most expensive condo properties in my city are "white boxed" --raw space-- @ $14M and $15M.

We're shopping for property in Palm Springs, and a white box would work perfectly for us, providing it has a swimming pool, or is priced low enough for us to put one in. I'm not sure I would want a white box for my primary residence at this point, however. OTOH, we have seen properties that already meet our requirements regarding design aesthetics but also a few that were renovated not to our taste - and those I reject immediately. If something needs renovation, I am okay with that, but if it has been renovated in a way that I do not like, then I do not want to pay for it. I do have different requirements for a Palm Springs house than I do for one in Los Angeles, however.