Planning to sell your home? Think twice before you decide to build a lavish new pool or install an industrial kitchen. These luxury extras don’t appeal to everyone and could just add cost rather than add value to your property.

However, renovating your house to upgrade the everyday features before resale is a great way to generate a tidy return on your investment. Below are a few proven ways that will hopefully increase the dollar value of your property.

Street appeal is key

They say don’t judge a book by its cover, but that’s exactly what buyers will do when they’re inspecting your house. The first thing people see is the front of the house. Which means the state of it will drastically affect their first impression.

Invest the time and money in making your house more appealing from the street. It could be something as simple as cleaning the gutters, replacing the letterbox, or adding a few colourful flower beds to the front garden.  

Renovate the kitchen

For most Kiwi families, the kitchen is the centre of the home. For that reason, having an attractive and functional kitchen is not just a desire, it’s a must.

Whether you upgrade the current kitchen or install a brand new one, there are a few must-have features in modern day kitchens. These include energy saving appliances, adequate storage and enough bench space to cook the Christmas day feast.

If completely redoing the kitchen is a bridge too far, small touches like replacing the bench top, upgrading the cupboard door and drawer handles, adding a built-in rubbish bin and quality lighting, will do wonders.

Upgrade the bathroom

In today’s climate, having more than one bathroom and toilet is almost a necessity. If your house doesn’t have a second bathroom, finding space to add one could drastically increase the profit your house could generate.  

If you have a limited budget, upgrading the existing bathroom doesn’t have to cost an arm and a leg. Improving small features such as renewing the taps, replacing mouldy silicon and grout, adding a bathroom ceiling fan or replacing the toilet seat are all low-cost ways of upgrading the bathroom.

Increase storage

Adequate storage is an important selling point for many home buyers. In smaller homes, storage is a must. Finding unique ways to increase storage around the home will do wonders for the attractiveness of your house, especially those cramped in the inner suburbs of Auckland.

Choose the right flooring

Flooring is one of a houses biggest and most obvious features. Because of this, upgrading the flooring could add significant value to your property. Prospective buyers take their shoes off when viewing a house so they’ll notice the state of the floor straight away!

However, completely replacing the flooring can be expensive. So if this is out of your budget, at the very least get the carpets professionally steam-cleaned or re-sand and polish any timber flooring.

Indoor/outdoor flow

Opening up the property by connecting the interior living spaces to the outdoors, is a surefire way to increase the value of your house.

Indoor/outdoor flow is a much sought after feature that most prospective buyers are looking for. If your house is struggling for space, it’s a great way to create the illusion of increasing the floor area.

As you’re renovating, don’t focus on the features that appeal to you such as a built-in BBQ or spa, but concentrate on building a functional and welcoming house that is neutral and appealing to your target buyers. If your budget allows, focus on installing big sliding doors and building a spacious deck.  

Home maintenance

As much as a new kitchen and spacious living areas will increase the property’s value, poor maintenance will bring that crashing down.

Houses that are regularly maintained and show signs of being loved will have a higher chance of being sold at a good price. You may not notice the leaky taps, a hole in the wall or wasps’ nest under the eaves, but prospective buyers will and use this as an opportunity to negotiate a lower price. Regular maintenance may be the best way to increase a property’s value and prevent any large unexpected maintenance costs in the future.

Increase natural light

Lighting will have a huge effect on the attractiveness of your home. Although adding windows, glass doors or skylights can be expensive – they are worth it. However, there are also more cost-effective means of increasing the illusion of natural light in your property, such as tubular skylights.

Be energy wise

As energy costs continue to rise, increasing your energy-efficiency rating will make the property more desirable to potential buyers, especially the environmentally conscious buyers.

Make sure the house is fully insulated, all appliances have high energy ratings and where possible have the windows double-glazed.

Regardless of your budget, simple things such as replacing the cover plates on all light switches, power points and replacing those old brittle ceiling light batten holders and light shades make the place look fresh and modern.

If you would like to discuss other ways you can increase the value of your house or anything else regarding selling your property, contact us today.