Renovation Centre
Free, plain-English guides from a decade of Auckland renovations — what a refresh really costs, what to fix, what to skip, and how to get your home photo-ready. No jargon, no sales pitch.
What it costs
Real 2026 Auckland numbers, so you can budget before you list.
It's the first question every seller asks: how much do I need to spend before I list? Here are the real Auckland numbers in 2026 — and,…
Read the guide →Cost guidePaint is the single best dollar you can spend before selling. Here's what interior and exterior painting actually costs in New Zealand…
Read the guide →Cost guideThe kitchen sells the house — but you don't need a new one to sell well. Spraying your existing cabinets gives the brand-new look for a…
Read the guide →Cost guideA dated bathroom doesn't have to mean a $18k tear-out. Reseal, regrout, resurface and re-fit, and a tired room reads clean, dry and car…
Read the guide →Cost guideStaging is the finishing move of a pre-sale makeover: once the home is fresh, the right furniture helps buyers fall for it. Here's what…
Read the guide →Cost guideWorn flooring drags down every room it's in — but new carpet isn't always the answer before a sale. Here's what flooring costs in NZ in…
Read the guide →What to do
The practical jobs, in the order that works.
Selling well isn't about doing everything — it's about doing the right things, in the right order. Here's the plan we run for sellers,…
Read the guide →What to doYou can't fix everything, and you shouldn't. But some defects quietly cost you thousands by making buyers wonder what else is wrong. He…
Read the guide →How-to guideWhen you're selling, paint isn't about your taste — it's about helping the widest pool of buyers imagine their life in the home. That p…
Read the guide →ChecklistBuyers form a price expectation before they're through the gate. Kerb appeal is the cheapest lever you have — here's the checklist we r…
Read the guide →How-to guideBefore any paint or trades, there's a free step that makes everything else look better: clearing out and depersonalising. Buyers need t…
Read the guide →How-to guideBefore you reach for paint, reach for the wash gear. A clean exterior, clean paths and clean windows is the cheapest single lift you ca…
Read the guide →How-to guideAuckland's villas and bungalows sell on character — but character only wins when the home also reads as cared-for and move-in-ready. He…
Read the guide →How-to guideSelling a rental is a different job from selling your own home. The timing, the wear and the buyer are all different — here's how to re…
Read the guide →ChecklistKiwi buyers buy a lifestyle as much as a house, and outdoor space is a big part of it. You don't need a landscaper — you need the garde…
Read the guide →Worth it?
The honest case for spending — and where to stop.
When you're about to sell, the question isn't "how good can this house be?" — it's "what's the smallest spend that gets the biggest lif…
Read the guide →ExplainerSpending money to sell feels counter-intuitive. But the evidence is clear: the right cosmetic work, done before listing, reliably lifts…
Read the guide →Explainer"Four weeks" only reassures if you can see how it's spent. Here's the week-by-week programme we run, so you know exactly what's happeni…
Read the guide →ExplainerGetting a home ready to sell is as much about what you don't do as what you do. Here are the seven mistakes we see most often — each on…
Read the guide →ExplainerA pre-sale makeover only works if it's fast, fixed and finished on time. Here's how to tell a company that can deliver that from one th…
Read the guide →Answer a few quick questions and get a ballpark price and a finish date in about 30 seconds — emailed to you as a PDF. No charge, no pressure.