Before planning your remodel, determine whether you are prioritizing your own design aesthetic or the return on your investment. For example, if you are planning to remodel your kitchen the cost of your remodel will likely be less if you keep your existing layout and stick to more cosmetic changes versus tearing out walls, expanding your home’s footprint, and rearranging your plumbing and appliances. Determining who you are remodeling for before you start work will help guide you in your decision making and how to spend your budget most efficiently.
So which projects will help your home sell faster and boost its final sale price? Here we review five remodels that typically make good financial sense and provide a nice return on investment at time of resale – and five that don’t.
Projects that Offer Good Resale Value
1. Kitchens.
Updating a kitchen is one of the wisest ways to spend your remodeling budget and increase the value of your home. According to Remodeling Magazine’s 2022 Cost vs Value Report, a kitchen remodel can yield a 51-78% return on investment in Portland, Oregon. An updated kitchen increases your happiness and quality of life and can help your house stand out to prospective buyers when the time is right for you to sell.
2. Primary Suites.
Buyers will picture themselves relaxing in a tranquil primary suite which means updating a primary bedroom or renovating to add a new primary suite is money well spent.
3. Bathrooms.
Having upgraded bathrooms in your home is the easiest way to communicate to buyers that your home is move-in ready, even if there are other cosmetic changes they want to make to the home. Most folks can live through other home renovations, but everyone needs access to a working bathroom.
4. Curb Appeal.
First impressions are everything when you are ready to sell your home. While we understand it’s not as fun to repaint or replace siding and windows or update your roof, all of these are vital components to your home’s health and should be addressed before they become potential problems. Thankfully, exterior repairs yield a high return on investment, according to Remodeling Magazine. Siding replacement yields an 84% return on investment, windows, 69%, and a new roof 64.2%.
5. Adding Living Space.
Additional living space can yield a lovely return on investment. For example, adding a primary suite to your 2 bed, 1 bath home can open your home to a greater number of buyers as more people are interested in a 3 bed, 2 bath home. We would recommend considering your family goals and speaking with an experienced professional to ensure that an addition is right for you.
Projects that Typically Offer Poor Resale Value
1. Removing Features.
We do not recommend removing features for investment purposes. For example, if you have a fireplace in your basement, removing it might make sense to you, but your future buyer may wish it were there. Our advice is to let the future homebuyer decide if they want to keep the fireplace or not.
2. Kid Spaces.
Creating kid dedicated zones in your home can be great, but it’s another thing we would avoid if you’re thinking about selling soon. As we stated above, outside of the kitchen and bathrooms, buyers are most focused on primary suites – not kid only zones.
3. Pools.
We get it, pools are cool, but it would be wiser for you to invest in other areas of your home as many buyers will see it as a negative maintenance expense.
4. Wine Rooms.
Another feature many buyers would see as wasted space. Always remember when you are adding or remodeling spaces to a home you know you will sell, consider how many buyers you are appealing to.
5. Minor Additions.
Adding a few square feet to your home is rarely money well spent once you factor in the costs including, permits, foundation, framing, and roof. We would only suggest a minor addition if you knew you were in your forever home, and even then, we’d recommend brainstorming your options with an experienced team – like us!
We hope this article will help guide you as you embark on remodeling your home. Remember that renovations with selling in mind should focus on your return on investment. If you choose to remodel, knowing you will move eventually but are not sure when, we suggest the remodel meets your current needs first. Our experienced team can help guide you during the design process, so your home is a representation of your personal style – while still appealing to future potential buyers.