Do move-in-ready homes sell faster than fixer-uppers?

Usually yes, but speed is the wrong thing to measure.

A move-in-ready home has the widest possible buyer pool. Most buyers have a deposit, a loan and nothing left over, and banks do not hand out renovation money easily. If someone can move in on settlement day and spend nothing, they can bid. In Thornbury the typical home is taking around three to four weeks to sell, and finished homes sit at the quick end of that.

A fixer-upper has a narrower pool: renovators, builders, and buyers with family who can do the work. Fewer people, but the ones who turn up are serious, and they are doing arithmetic rather than falling in love. That changes how you sell it. A competitive auction needs at least two of them in the room.

Here is what actually determines time on market: price. A fixer-upper priced as a fixer-upper sells in the same window as anything else. One priced as though the renovation is already done will sit for two months, then sell for less than it would have in week three.

Sell the opportunity, not the kitchen.