8 Ways to Increase the Value of Your Home When Alec and Jennifer Harmes paid $264,900 for their first home in 2011, a 1,500-square-foot ranch remodel in Austin, Texas, they assumed they'd be living there for years to come. So the couple, millennials in their early 30s, embarked on a series of renovations to suit their tastes and needs. They remodeled the kitchen cabinets, installed new stainless steel appliances and LED lighting. They traded expensive-to-maintain moldy linoleum floors and carpet for new hardwood floors.
Outside, they removed the asbestos siding from the walls and replaced it with durable fiber cement that doesn't require painting. They also used that time to rewallpaper the house with rigid insulation to improve its overall energy efficiency. Although the Harmeses saved big by doing most of the work themselves (he works in construction management; she oversaw design), the total investment was nearly $65,000. They even planned to build a separate apartment and thus entice the family to move to Austin. But her parents didn't want to move to another city, so the couple made the difficult decision to move back to Florida to be near them. "If we could have picked up that house and brought it with us, we would have," says Jennifer. Lorella Martin of Redfin, an online real estate broker, was the agent who handled the sale of the Harmes house; she put a price on him at $450,000. She says that the first time she showed the house, it sparked a frenzy of activity, attracting many young professionals eager to move into
the popular Austin neighborhood. And it wasn't hard to imagine why. "When a home is ready for buyers to move in without having to do a thing knowing they can cook in the kitchen from day one and entertain in the backyard that same weekend, you know you have the upper hand," concludes. The house sold for $472,000. True, the nearly $200,000 increase in value had to do with the rise in the Austin real estate market in the 3 ½ years the Harmeses owned the house. But it's also a testament to the couple's wise instincts in figuring out what today's buyers are looking for, especially now that millennials, a population of 75 million, have become the largest buying cohort, owning 32% of homes in 2014. So let the following renovation rules, driven by changes in today's housing market and informed by a nationally representative survey of 1,573 millennials by Consumer Reports, inform your decisions about how to improve your home and its value.
The Kitchen is Still the Queen of the House Buyers of all kinds have always paid attention to the kitchen, but it is particularly attractive to the new wave of first-time home buyers. An "up-to-date, modern kitchen" topped the list of ideal home features in our survey of millennials, and was the most important to more than 1/3 of those surveyed. If you plan to sell, don't tear your kitchen down; a smaller investment can have a big impact. For as little as $5,000, you should be able to add a new set of appliances, as well as change the flooring and counter to make everything look fresh and harmonious. Applying a fresh coat of paint to the walls or cabinets, and updating the hardware can also rejuvenate the
space.
Buzzwords With Added Value Stainless Steel Though it's been around for decades, this appliance finish expresses a clean, contemporary design, so it'll strike a "up-to-date" signal in a buyer's mind. If you want the latest stainless craze, look for the new black stainless steel versions from KitchenAid, LG, and Samsung, each with a smoother, less reflective finish, but with the same style as the original.
Quartz Counters Made from rock chips, resins, and pigments, quartz has begun to rival granite and marble as the material of choice in avant-garde kitchens. In tests we conducted, it resisted heat, scratches, cuts, and stains well, and required no maintenance compared to expensive natural granite stones. Expect to spend $40 to $100 per square foot, including installation. Potential increase in the sale price: 3 to 7%.
Make Better Use of the House Plan Bigger isn't necessarily better in today's market, but strategically increasing the amount of living space in a home certainly adds value. An "open floor plan with flexible living space" was second on the list of millennials' desired features, second only to kitchen modernization.
Remodeling a basement is the most common way to add more usable square footage to a home. Most homeowners spend between roughly $10,000 and $27,000 to transform a basement, depending on the size of the space, according to estimates from HomeAdvisor, a website that connects homeowners with pre-screened service professionals. Another option is to transform the attic or loft. The average cost of a loft remodel was $50,000 in 2014. Many young buyers dream of additional living spaces like a dedicated office, especially if they work from home. And at the other end of the spectrum, "a lot of my baby boomer clients take care of their grandkids during the day," says David Pekel, who owns a home improvement business in Wauwatosa, Wisconsin. "They want a playroom that they can close the door to once the kids leave so they don't have to deal with toys on the floor."
Multipurpose Rooms Also known as multipurpose rooms, you'll see ads promoting the multipurpose room as an additional living area that serves multiple functions, from a guest room, to a game room or gym, to a study room for students. kids.
Apartment for the mother-in-law These spaces go by various names, including "granny flats," "casitas," and the more technical "accessory housing unit," or ADU. They can house an extra family member or provide rental income, allowing baby boomers to continue to pay for their household after they retire, or so they can help millennials to pay the mortgage. More and more municipalities, particularly in western cities, are amending zoning regulations to allow ADUs.
Laundry rooms upstairs Young buyers say they want a separate laundry room, possibly off the kitchen or even near the upstairs bedrooms. Manufacturers of clothes washers and dryers are designing them in a size and with a finish that integrates perfectly with the living space. We like the Maytag Bravos MVWB855DW high-efficiency top-load washer and Maytag Bravos MEDB855DW electric dryer, each $1,050. Potential increase: 4 to 6%.
Don’t Let Your Home Use Too Much Energy Reducing your home's energy costs will save you money while you live there and will be one of the big selling points. In fact, "efficient energy use" was second only to "a safe community" on the list of features that would most influence a purchase decision, according to a survey conducted by the National Association of Home Builders.
Older homeowners, who have experienced rising energy costs first hand, are often the driving force behind this point. But there are also some pioneers among young buyers, especially in regions of the country with more extreme climates. “My millennial buyers often ask about the cost of two years of utility bills,” says Joe Rivellino, a real estate professional in the Buffalo, New York area. “They want to know the R-value of thermal resistance in insulation and whether the windows are coated with low-e coatings," he says, referring to two important energy efficiency measures. And don't forget about heating water, which accounts for 16% of the energy costs of a typical home. Spending $1,800 to $2,400 on a new unit is another way to impress energy-conscious buyers.
High efficiency windows Energy Star certified windows can reduce your home's energy bills by 7-15%. This will be a selling point for buyers, although replacing all the windows on a home anywhere can cost anywhere from $8,000 to $24,000, so you probably won't get your full investment back if your plan is to sell it now.
Led Lights Some property listings emphasize green credentials by mentioning LED lighting. Opt to replace Feit Electric's 60-watt bulb with a 9.5-watt LED bulb, which costs $7, provides unsurpassed light quality and has an expected lifespan of 23 years. Potential increase: 1 to 3%.
Keep Everything Simple and Stress Free Stain-prone stone countertops , ornate cabinets that collect grime, and wall-to-wall carpeting that collect dust used to be symbols of luxury, but today's homebuyers tend to associate them with more work. "We call it stress-free living," says Miguel Berger, a real estate professional from Albany, New York. "The younger generation in particular would much rather spend their time entertaining than worrying about keeping the house clean." It can be said that the buyers of the baby boomer generation think the same.
Beyond giving the touches of beauty to a house, it is important to keep the main mechanical systems in good working order. Many first-time homebuyers have spent much of their savings on a down payment, so they want to know if the heating, plumbing, and electrical have been recently updated. It is also sought that the house has central air conditioning because it eliminates the need to open and close the windows. HomeAdvisor pegs the national average cost at just over $5,000.
Updated systems In addition to including the age of the system, it helps if you can also point out its reliability. For example, Consumer Reports surveys showed that American Standard and Trane are among the gas heater manufacturers that need the fewest repairs.
New Roof This will help alleviate fears of water damage, ice dams, squirrel invasion, and other home disasters caused by an old, substandard roof. For a typical 2,300-square-foot home, just $6,000 could put on a new asphalt shingle roof.
Hard Wood Floors Many carpets are being replaced with resilient hardwood flooring with a durable factory finish. Engineered wood flooring, which consists of a thin layer of genuine wood or bamboo over a
plywood frame, tends not to be as strong as solid wood flooring, although it looks the same and costs less, making it a good option if you plan to sell soon.
Build a House for “Old Age” By 2040 , there are expected to be almost 80 million older adults, which will represent 21% of the population. All the houses in the real estate market are not prepared to safely accommodate that number of elderly people, too many steep stairs, narrow entrance doors that make it uncomfortable to walk through and slippery bathtubs and showers. Foresighted homeowners are already making the necessary improvements, and those changes will benefit people of all ages, not just the elderly. According to a 2015 survey by HomeAdvisor, 56% of homeowners who hired a professional to manage aging-related renovation projects were under 65, and 10% were under 50.
Easy walk-in and walk-out shower. “People in the 50+ age range don't want to have to climb over the edge of the tub to shower,” says Pekel. Rimless showers eliminate the threshold between shower and bath, and are wheelchair accessible as well as stylish and functional.
Main bedroom on the ground floor . A floor plan where the master bedroom is on the ground floor reduces the need to go up and down stairs. "It's probably the most desired property among boomers," says JP Endres, a real estate professional in Westchester County, north of New York City. Creating a truly functional ground-floor suite often involves a multi-room renovation, which can cost upwards of $35,000. Toilets at a comfortable height . These toilets are a few inches taller, making it easier to get on and off of them. Most of the premium toilets in our tests have a comfortable height, including Glacier Bay's N2428E two-piece toilet, which sells at Home Depot for $100. Potential increase: 1 to 2%.