Should you Renovate Before Selling Your Home?


Financing / Wednesday, April 25th, 2018

Summer is just around the corner and many homeowners plan to renovate or sell their homes during the peak season. For most people looking to sell their homes, it’s a good idea to consider some minor renovations, like repainting, before putting it on the market.

Beyond just these simple repairs, there are many renovations that can dramatically improve the return on investment of your home and help sell it within a shorter period of time. Here are some things to consider when you prepare to sell your home.

Areas to Renovate Before Selling Your Home

Kitchen

Aside from the master bedroom, the kitchen is the room that really sells your house, and if you are looking for an upgrade, focus your dollars here. First, consider the neighbourhood your house is in and what other household’s kitchens look like. Don’t over-improve, as you will unlikely get your money back on the sale. For example, if the neighbours have granite and flagstone kitchen tops, so should you; this makes your house competitive within the neighbourhood and suited to the taste of the average buyer house hunting in the area.

Open concept kitchens are appealing to most in the current market, so consider knocking down some walls and opening up the space if possible. Focus on decluttering and cleaning – just this simple task of can make your kitchen seem a lot more appealing!

Doors

According to Remodeling Magazine, replacing existing doors will yield a 101.8-per-cent return on investment for a minor cost of under $1,000. It is the first thing buyers see, so making a good first impression is important.

Installing new garage doors will also have an impact on potential buyers as it has been reported to yield an 88-per-cent return at resale and cost on average $2,000 to replace.

These are both incredibly easy repairs and upgrades to make but make such a massive difference in the resale value of your home.

Walls and Floors

Refinishing your floors and repainting walls are quick and easy ways to give a house new life. You can expect roughly a 15-per-cent uptick in price with these two simple and common upgrades.

Paint colour matters, and focusing on neutral colours and shades of gray is popular among modern homes right now. This house is a great example of renovated homes for sale in Hamilton; it has some incredible upgrades, but specifically the hardwood floors and fresh coat of paint has made this home worth more than the surrounding homes. You can expect to spend $2,000-$3,000 painting the interior of the house.

The same goes for new carpets; you want to avoid competing with your wall colours, so aim for a neutral tone on your floors. Most buyers prefer hardwood floors – while pricey to install, they may go a long way in bringing new life into your house.

Renovations to Avoid When Selling Your Home

Not all renovations will help add value to your home. The renovations that you definitely need to avoid are projects that are too expensive and too specific in taste. Here is a list of things to consider avoiding:

  1. Excessive wallpaper
  2. Expensive and grand light fixtures
  3. Bright and bold paint colours
  4. High-end electronics (home theatres)
  5. Too much carpet

These remodelling elements are usually too specific to certain people’s taste and will make the house difficult to sell on the market.

Should You Renovate Now or Later?

Renovations are something that most people don’t think about while living in the home. Homeowners like to push the renovations until the end right before they sell, but why wait? Doing minor renovations to your home over time can help make the home better for you while you live in it. For example, if a home was built in the 1970s, you will likely have small closets and little space for storage. A great renovation option would be to expand storage space and install new organizing systems to bring convenience for yourself.

What Kind of Return Can I Expect?

In Toronto’s hot housing market, a well-renovated home can induce bidding wars. In a survey commissioned by MasterBrand Cabinets, an investment of $10,000 to $24,000 on kitchen remodelling can add approximately $44,000 to your home’s value. That is an 81-per-cent return on investment on top of the appreciation. For example, the average price for houses in Mississauga is currently $678,214. A kitchen remodel can effective make your house worth $722,214.

Zoocasa.com is a leading real estate company that combines advanced online search tools and a full-service brokerage to empower Canadians to buy or sell their homes faster, easier and more successfully. Home buyers can browse homes for sale on the website or free iOS app.

One Reply to “Should you Renovate Before Selling Your Home?”

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *