--- title: Why Buying a Fixer-Upper Might Not Be Worth It description: A new report from Zillow finds that buying a fixer-upper might not save you that much money in the long run. authors: - name: Kerry Close url: https://money.com/author/kerry-close/ at_money_since: 2016 articles: 182 covers: - Housing - Banking - Business - Career Advice - Credit Cards - Economy and Politics - Education - Identity Theft - Insurance - Investing - Lifestyle - Loans - Mortgages - Personal Finance - Retirement - Shopping - Taxes - Technology social: - https://x.com/kerryclose former_staff: true published: '2016-09-07T16:58:13.000Z' modified: '2024-03-18T15:05:33.000Z' section: Housing tags: - buying a home - fixer-upper - home selling - renovations word_count: 306 canonical: https://money.com/fixer-upper-worth-it/ type: Article source: structured-blocks --- > **Disclosure:** We research all brands listed and may earn a fee from our partners. Research and financial considerations may influence how brands are displayed. Not all brands are included. [Learn more](https://money.com/page/disclaimer/). ![Caucasian man painting edge of house](https://img.money.com/2016/09/gettyimages-519517795.jpg) *The discount that comes with buying a fixer upper might not cover needed renovations to the home, a new report has found.* Thinking about buying a fixer-upper? Your investment might not be as good a deal as you imagine. Fixer-upper homes list for an average of 8% less than market value, according to a new analysis by [Zillow Digs](http://www.zillow.com/digs/guides/before-you-sell/buying-a-fixer-upper/). For the median fixer-upper, that leaves buyers just $11,000 for renovations—not nearly enough in many cases to make the kinds of upgrades these properties typically require. Zillow's report analyzed about 70,000 listings of fixer-uppers nationwide, identified by keywords like "TLC," "good bones" and "fixer-upper." It compared their list prices to estimated values in order to determine if these homes sold at a sufficient discount for buyers to fund renovations. **Read next:** *Everything You Need to Know Before Buying a Fixer Upper* Home buyers in Phoenix got the smallest cash discount for fixer-uppers, at about $1,000 less than market value. Riverside, Calif., saw the next-smallest price break, at $3,000, followed by the Atlanta and Miami-Fort Lauderdale metros, both of which saw an average discount of $4,000. But in other markets—particularly those with more expensive homes—fixer-uppers could give buyers a sizable cash hoard with which to make repairs, even if the percentage discount is seemingly small. For instance, while fixer-uppers in San Francisco sell for just 10% below market value, that still nets $54,000 in savings, enough to cover repairs like a kitchen remodel or plumbing updates. San Jose, with $38,000 in cash savings on fixer-uppers, and Seattle, with $24,000 in savings, could also be metro areas where buyers could save big by buying a home that needs renovations. **Read next:** *7 Questions to Ask Before Buying a Fixer Upper* In general, however, the 8% discount—which is "certainly a good chunk of change," said Zillow chief economist Svenja Guddell in a statement accompanying the report—might not be enough to cover the cost of necessary repairs to an older or rundown home. ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "@id": "https://money.com/fixer-upper-worth-it/#breadcrumb", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://money.com" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Housing", "item": "https://money.com/housing/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Home Buying", "item": "https://money.com/home-buying/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Why Buying a Fixer-Upper Might Not Be Worth It" } ] }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://money.com/#website", "url": "https://money.com", "name": "Money", "publisher": { "@id": "https://money.com/#organization" } }, { "@type": "WebPage", "@id": "https://money.com/fixer-upper-worth-it/#webpage", "url": "https://money.com/fixer-upper-worth-it/", "name": "Why Buying a Fixer-Upper Might Not Be Worth It", "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://money.com/#website" }, "datePublished": "2016-09-07T16:58:13.000Z", "mainEntity": { "@id": "https://money.com/fixer-upper-worth-it/" }, "inLanguage": "en-US", "breadcrumb": { "@id": "https://money.com/fixer-upper-worth-it/#breadcrumb" }, "dateModified": "2024-03-18T15:05:33.000Z" }, { "@type": "Article", "headline": "Why Buying a Fixer-Upper Might Not Be Worth It", "articleSection": "Housing", "image": [ { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://img.money.com/2016/09/gettyimages-519517795.jpg", "width": 5150, "height": 3433, "caption": "Caucasian man painting edge of house" } ], "author": [ { "@type": "Person", "name": "Kerry Close", "url": "https://money.com/author/kerry-close/", "@id": "https://money.com/author/kerry-close/#author", "sameAs": [ "https://x.com/kerryclose" ] } ], "publisher": "https://money.com/#organization", "datePublished": "2016-09-07T16:58:13.000Z", "description": "A new report from Zillow finds that buying a fixer-upper might not save you that much money in the long run.", "abstract": "A new report from Zillow finds that buying a fixer-upper might not save you that much money in the long run.", "@id": "https://money.com/fixer-upper-worth-it/", "inLanguage": "en-US", "dateModified": "2024-03-18T15:05:33.000Z", "wordCount": 306, "keywords": [ "buying a home", "fixer-upper", "home selling", "renovations" ], "about": [ { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Housing in the United States", "sameAs": [ "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Housing_in_the_United_States" ] }, { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Real estate", "sameAs": [ "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Real_estate" ] } ] } ] } ```