4 Top Home Updates for Best ROI

Best & Worst Home Updates ROI

Home owners want to improve their properties with any number of projects but what’s appealing to some won't necessarily appeal to others. It's important to understand which ones will return the most value when selling, and which will not. Here are four of the best and worst.

Best: Kitchen remodel. The number one bang-for-buck project. It’s the first room most homebuyers will want to see. A bright and modern kitchen with new or like-new appliances will stimulate homebuyers. Dark, tired kitchens that clearly need upgrades can be depressing, which is the last emotion you want to stimulate in prospective buyers.

Best: Finished attic or basement. They may be valuable storage areas, but homebuyers want one thing above all else–livable square footage. Turning a top or bottom area into something like a potential bedroom, a home office or another gathering space is crucial for people with larger families

Best: Bathroom renovation. Second only to the kitchen for the rooms homebuyers want to see updated because everyone is in them every day. The last thing people want is that after buying a house they will need to undertake a major, expensive project. Bathroom remodels are significantly less expensive than ones for kitchens, but have the same solid ROI.

Best: Landscaping. If real estate’s first principle is location, location, location, then the second has to be curb appeal, curb appeal, curb appeal. Driving up to a for-sale house with immaculate grounds sets the stage for an impressed buyer, telling buyers that the inside is very likely as well maintained as the outside. So money spent for shrubs, plants, etc., always pays off.

Worst: Pools, home theaters and hot tubs. These are all things some people would love to have but many others would not. They’re either permanent or hard and expensive to change. Although we saw a surge in popularity of homes with pools during the pandemic, the pendulum appears now to be swinging back to pools having limited appeal. Not to discourage homeowners from creating a backyard oasis with a beautiful pool but don't do it just to boost the sale of your home. Better to keep a property as attractive to the masses as possible, unless it won’t be sold for a long time.