Buyers and Sellers Weigh In on the “Home Move Tax”

Anyone who’s bought or sold a home recently already knows: this is not something you do in your “spare time.” 

Considering all the demands on our time in a given day, it’s no wonder more Americans are looking for ways to reclaim some of it. There’s a reason flexible work schedules have gotten so popular—not to mention technology that helps us get more done in less time. 

When it comes to real estate, the toll it takes on buyers and sellers is more than a lot of people realize. To gain a better understanding of the true cost, Opendoor surveyed 1,000 Americans who bought or sold a home between June 21st and July 8th, 2024. 

Its latest report sums up the “home move tax”—or the hidden time costs associated with a real estate transaction—and what it entails. Understanding these added stressors can help you, as an agent, better serve your clients. Read on for the highlights. 

How much time are Americans spending on buying or selling a home?

On their busiest day, Americans who purchased or sold a home within the last seven years spent more than a third (34%) of their waking hours working solely on something related to the buying/selling process. 

That’s a big deal when 47% of recent homebuyers and sellers report having less than 35 hours a week for “spare time,” and more than one out of ten (12%) say they don’t have any. 

The time spent has even cut into work time, adding up to $430 million worth of work time spent by Americans buying and selling homes. About seven out of ten survey respondents (71%) say the buying/selling process is like taking on a second job. 

Others made adjustments to their work time to accommodate tasks related to the buying/selling process:

• 46% say they needed to take a whole day (or days) off from work
• 40% had to leave work early or come in late
• 35% admit to taking time off in the middle of the day
• 13% even took time off without their boss knowing (aka ‘quiet moving’)

No time for family, hobbies, or self-care

All the time spent on buying or selling a home (or both in the case of homeowners moving from one property to another) means less time for R&R:

• 59% report missing out on time with loved ones
• 43% lost time with family
• 37% missed out on time with friends
• 40% were unable to unwind and de-stress with hobbies
• 31% were unable to spend time on self-care activities like working out or meditating

Humans aren’t the only ones feeling the time cost of the traditional process of buying or selling a home. Over a quarter of home buyers and sellers (26%) say they lost time with their pets during the transaction. Nearly three-quarters (74%) say their pets had a rough time while moving. 

Losing sleep

With all the details that need tending to—and all the things that could go wrong—it’s no wonder so many homebuyers and sellers are losing sleep during the process. 

Here’s what’s keeping them up at night: 

• 41% worry that the offer they received will fall through
• 36% are waiting to hear whether their offer was accepted
• 37% are fixating on how difficult it may be (or is) to say goodbye to their home
• 36% are losing sleep over the details of preparing their home for a listing
• 32% are unsettled over leaving memories behind
• 32% are tossing and turning over managing repairs

Biggest stressors by generation

For the majority of recent buyers and sellers (54%), not finding a home that matches their needs and wants is the biggest stress point—ranking above the stress of negotiating the price of the home. 

Broken down by generation, major stress points include: 

• Preparing their home for a showing—56% of Millennials and 57% of parents
• Negotiating the price of the home—53% of Millennials
• Anxiously anticipating the closing of the sale—57% of Boomers

Cost and ROI of cleaning, upgrades, and repairs

Getting a home ready to list can be a job in itself and is a major stress point for more than one-third of all sellers (36%). 

The following data points from the report illustrate why: 

• 88% of those who sold a home in the last seven years spent money to get their homes in better shape for a showing. 
• 63% spent money on fixes and repairs to improve the condition of their home.
• 46% spent money on cleaning services
• 44% shelled out money for new carpeting or painting
• 41% invested in landscaping to improve curb appeal

And yet, after all that, 39% of those who spent money on home improvements believe it made zero difference to the outcome of their home sale—meaning it did not contribute to a higher sale price or more favorable terms:

• 47% say the cleaning services they spent money on were a waste of money
• 42% felt they’d thrown money away at new carpeting or painting
• 46% say they don’t think the landscaping helped at all

Granted, in at least some of these cases, the improvements may not have been enough to outweigh the home’s other issues. New carpeting, for example, won’t add much (if any) value to a home in a high-crime neighborhood—or one with a termite infestation—or sketchy plumbing.

These are details a knowledgeable agent would take into consideration before advising a client to spend additional money on cosmetic upgrades that aren’t likely to yield returns.