Photographer: Alan Jensen
If you own a property, chances are you’re hoping it will one day be worth more than you paid for it. While much about a property’s value relies on location, population growth, infrastructure and the mercy of a fluctuating market, many aspects within your control can make it more attractive to buyers and increase your home’s value.
Often, the smallest changes have the biggest impact, so don’t feel as though you have to undertake a full-scale renovation to make a return. When renovating for profit, it’s essential to avoid overcapitalising.
Here, we run through ten affordable tasks you can do to make your home more appealing to buyers as well as increase its value.
How to increase the value of your home
1. Improve exterior appeal
How your home looks from the street influences desirability. Adding a fence can be expensive, but it will attract potential families and pet owners to the property. It would also be worth fixing and painting any existing fences around the property.
Additionally, replacing or painting your front door a different colour will boost your curb aesthetic for little cost.
Painting the exterior of your home in a trending colour is a great way to catch the attention of potential buyers. This will add both street and market appeal and add value to the property. Look for inspiration in Your Home and Garden and social media, and consider which new colour would best suit your home and surroundings. This guide on the latest exterior house paint trends will also be helpful.
As for the colour, ivory is said to be the one colour that will add value to your home.
2. Modernise key interiors
It’s possible to create a completely new bathroom look without undergoing a renovation. Small, but modern updates (such as replacing handles and tapware) are simple ways to elevate the appearance of this room. If tiles look old or grubby, consider a flick of paint or grout replacement. Replacing an older vanity would also make a remarkable difference to the feel of the room.
Unless you adopt a hardcore minimalist approach, zero storage space will be a significant shortfall for potential buyers. Think open shelves in the kitchen, bathroom and laundry. Additionally, installing hooks on the back of doors is another simple convenience often overlooked.
3. Boost outdoor appeal
An outdoor space perfect for entertaining will increase the desirability of your home. If you don’t have a deck, this should be on your priority list for your outdoor space. According to real estate agent Lodge, a deck can increase home value by up to 30%, as it expands the home’s usable space. While these can be costly, they are likely to provide a greater return on investment. Shade and shelter are also essential, and fire pits have become a popular addition to many backyards.
Also consider a garden. Whether you have raised garden beds housing seasonal vegetables or borders blooming with flowers, a colourful outdoor space will enhance your home’s appeal. Otherwise, opt for a garden full of native plants, such as flax or pōhutukawa, for low-maintenance landscaping.
4. Improve insulation and energy features
Whether the future owner of your home will be renting to tenants or living in the house themselves, ensuring your home is up to the healthy homes standards is crucial. The regulations for healthy homes include standards for heating, insulation, ventilation, dampness, and draught stopping. This means ensuring your home is warm and dry throughout the year will add value, so be sure to invest in these areas if need be.
5. Seek advice from your local experts
Inviting a local real estate agent into your home can help to define exactly what will and won’t add enough value to make it worth doing. Ask them exactly what they would recommend. They see things through the eyes of a buyer and can make recommendations about finishes, how to add privacy, walls to remove, areas to upgrade and more. You can ask them exactly how much value it could add, as they will have comparable properties to use as a reference.
Once your home is ready to be put on the market, be sure to stage it right. Fresh pillows and linen on beds, clutter-free cupboards and surfaces and sparkling clean rooms will attract those unwilling to exert themselves towards a makeover as soon as they move in
Essentially, staging your home is all about selling the idea of life there to prospective buyers. Perhaps people can look past a little dodgy paintwork and a few easy fixes, but if you do the work for them, they’ll focus instead on the possibilities of a life to be enjoyed in your home.
Related Articles:
- 20 decorating myths holding back your interiors
- 11 colourful kitchens that’ll inspire your next reno
- Five affordable, design-led updates you can do this weekend
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