When you undertake a home renovation you enter into a numbers game. You’re also gambling on whether high-end finishes are necessary or if someone else will find your home appealing if you decide to sell it. After all, design style is intensely personal. There are some elements that you can take to the bank with you though. These will increase your return on investment (ROI).
Kitchen Updates
Most buyers take a close look at the kitchen when they decide to buy a home. Undertaking a full kitchen remodel will improve your ROI by about 75%. Of course, this depends on what you choose to do during the home remodel and what you decide to leave alone.
When your home renovation involves a full kitchen makeover, you’ll want to include certain things. These include:
- Spend $2 – $10 per square foot to incorporate subway tile. This home remodel will increase your home’s value by about 7%.
- Mix up your kitchen’s backsplash. Depending on the material and the pattern this home renovation will only cost about $50 – $150 per square foot. It will increase your home’s value by 4% though.
- Swap out your old appliances for new, energy-efficient ones. For instance, spending $100 – $800 on a farmhouse sink is a simple home remodel that will increase your home’s value by 8%.
Bathroom Updates
Another major factor home buyers consider is the bathroom, especially the master bathroom. A complete home remodel here will cost about $12K but it will improve your home’s resale value by about $10K (80%). Some of the things you’ll want to include in your home remodel here are:
- Upgrade your shower to a frameless shower. While this home remodel costs at least $1,200, you’ll appreciate a 5% increase on your ROI.
- Heated floors are a great addition to any master bathroom, especially in those areas where it gets really cold in the wintertime. This home renovation will cost you between $6 – $16 per square foot but it will increase your ROI by about 4%.
General Home Improvements
These are just a few of the many different projects you could do around your home. Some of the other things you could do as part of a home renovation throughout your home include:
- Update your old, brass light fixtures and lamps with modern, hanging, pendant lights. Although you’ll pay $50 – $400 per fixture depending on its style, you’ll receive a 5% ROI.
- Remove any dead or finicky plants from the outside of your home and replace them with vibrant flowers and shrubs for an ROI of about 150%.
- Replace your old, drafty, single-pane windows with new, high-efficiency, double-pane windows. While this costs $400 – $600 per window you’ll enjoy a $500 – $700 ROI.
- Invest $450 – $3,000 (total) in a washer and a dryer. These will pay off for you in the long-term depending on how much you use them. Remember, these units are only good for about 10 years before you’ll want to sell them and use the money to buy newer, energy-efficient models.
- As you look at the appliances in your home, don’t overlook things like your water heater, electric panel, and furnace. Each of these items typically costs about $2,000 – $4,500 but will result in about a 4% ROI. So, it’s worth it to swap out broken, inefficient items for newer ones.
Regardless of how much money you can invest in your home renovation you can still get a great ROI if you carefully choose which features you want to incorporate in your home. By focusing on your kitchen and master bathroom, as well as any important “behind the scenes” items (e.g. appliances, light fixtures) you really can help increase your home’s value.