How To Increase Home Value In 4 Steps

Once your budget is set and you know how much time you want to commit, it’s time to choose your project. In truth, steps 2 and 3 are probably happening in tandem. You can’t plan your budget without first choosing a project or narrowing down different projects at different price points.

Here are some high-return home improvement projects that you might want to consider.

If you need a low-cost way to modernize, upgrade and increase home value, look no further than a fresh paint job. Paint is a major draw for buyers and peeling or outdated interior paint can be a turn-off. A fresh coat of paint is a popular and economical way to stage your home so that it shows well to prospective buyers. 

If you only have a few hundred dollars in your budget, focus on painting the kitchen and bathrooms, as these rooms are the most likely to have seen the most wear and tear over time. Having a clean, attractive kitchen and bathroom will go a long way toward impressing potential buyers.

Painting by yourself could take a few days, depending on the square footage you’ll be painting and how much help you have. Expect to spend between $20 and $125 per gallon of paint, depending on quality and finish. According to Home Advisor, hiring a professional to paint the interior of your home will cost $1,000 – $2,900 total, or $2 – $3 per square foot.

The exterior of your home is the first thing buyers see. It’s worth the cost and effort to spruce up your curb appeal. Mow the lawn, trim the shrubbery, rake the leaves and touch up the paint on your fence.

Consider planting brightly colored flowers. Low-maintenance flower beds can help your yard look great and catch a buyer’s eye from the road. Pay attention to how your house fits into the neighborhood. If the surrounding homes have gone the extra mile on their landscaping by trimming trees and laying fresh sod, you may want to do so as well.

Doing your own landscaping takes time and effort but is a more affordable way to improve your home’s value. Expect to spend several hundred dollars on tools, plants, mulch and more. If you hire a professional landscaper for an overall landscape upgrade, you can expect to spend around $6,000, depending on the size of your yard and where you live.

The same study by the National Association of REALTORS® says that you can expect a cost recovery of 83% on a landscape upgrade. Using that statistic, you could recoup, on average, $5,000 of your costs when you sell your home. In the meantime, you’ll get to enjoy the beauty of your newly and professionally landscaped environment.

When deciding on a home, buyers rate bathrooms as some of the most important rooms in the house. Bathrooms are also among the most cost effective to upgrade. Here are some ideas:

If you’re doing your bathroom upgrades yourself, plan for at least a few days of work. You don’t need to budget for a full remodel to refresh your bathroom. However, if your bathroom needs a full remodel, expect to spend around $35,000. NAR reports that your cost recovery will be around 57%, which means you’ll get about $20,000 back when you sell your home.

If you want to focus your repairs on just one room, you can’t go wrong with the kitchen. Everyone loves a modern, updated kitchen. But when it comes to kitchen renovations, you should expect to spend some serious money.

According to Consumer Reports, spending as little as $5,000 on your kitchen can bring up to 7% back in returns when you sell.

Not sure where to get started? Here are a few areas you can focus on to make your kitchen that much more attractive for buyers:

NAR estimates that a kitchen upgrade will cost $38,000, while a full kitchen renovation will run you $68,000, depending, of course, on your tastes and the labor costs where you live. Of that, NAR estimates that you’ll recover 52%, or about $20,000 of your kitchen upgrade costs, while you’ll recover 59%, or around $40,000, of your costs from the full kitchen renovation when you sell.

Most people think of their utility bills as something they can’t change. However, new advancements in energy-efficient home additions can lower costs and be a big draw for buyers.

Energy Audit

To get started, consider hiring a Home Energy Auditor. These professionals can identify energy inefficiencies in your home and recommend cost-effective ways of reducing your home’s energy consumption. Getting your home energy-audited will cost you about $400, but you’ll get an independent analysis of your home’s energy weaknesses. Your local electric company may also have an energy audit resources you can look to utilize.

New Windows

One of the best ways to decrease your home’s environmental impact is with energy-efficient windows, such as Energy Star-certified windows. These can lower your home’s energy costs by up to 12%.

Replacing all the windows in a three-bedroom home can average between $3,000 and $10,000. Unless you plan to live in the home for another decade, you may want to choose a few key windows. Consider upgrading your attic insulation, especially if you’re not going to replace every window.

Solar Panels

If you’re up for a larger project, installing solar panels on the roof can go a long way toward increasing your home’s value. They’re a highly visible way to inform home buyers that your property is energy-efficient. Not only do solar panels cut back on electrical bills, but you might even earn energy credits by selling surplus energy back to the electric company. But solar panels don’t come cheap. According to Home Advisor, the national average cost of installing solar panels is just shy of $25,000. If you don’t plan on moving for a while, you may be able to finance the cost of your solar panels using your mortgage to make the investment more affordable. Speak with a Home Loan Expert about your options.

Costs Of Energy Improvements

Energy improvements can cost anywhere from $100 to more than $40,000 depending on how green you decide to go. Your improvements can also take as little as an afternoon or require months of work. Go with what best fits your budget and resale goals.