Increase your Property Value for 2022
Investing in renovations for your home to increase its property value is a smart move as a homeowner. However, not all renovations are created equally!
Just because you decide to renovate a certain part of your house, it doesn’t necessarily equate to an automatic increase in the value of your home. We’ve updated our list to include the most cost-effective home renovations so you can hit the ground running in the upcoming year!
1. Get Creative and Increase the Usable Square Footage of your Home
Square footage has one of the largest impacts on the value of your home or condo. When buyers begin their search for a property, they generally have an idea of how many bedrooms, bathrooms, and an approximate idea of the square footage they want.
One of the first things buyers look for is the value of the square footage in your home. While it might be impossible to physically increase the square footage, especially if your property is a condominium unit, there are ways to create more livable space in your home.
Condo Renovations
Consider changing the interior floor plan of your property to make it stand out. This is especially effective if you live in a gated community or condo where all of the properties have a similar layout. For example, if you have a living room and foyer separated by a piece of drywall, remove the drywall to give your home a more spacious feel. You won’t be changing the actual square footage of your property, but it will definitely feel bigger and more open!
Kitchen Renovations
Single-Family Home Renovations
Another option is to renovate your kitchen. Think about the angles of your kitchen. Do you always feel you’re a bit cramped while cooking? Perhaps the stove is too close to the sink, or maybe there just isn’t enough counter space! If so, brainstorm what you would change. Additionally, if your appliances are more than five years old and you’re looking to put your house on the market shortly, you should definitely upgrade them. Spending a few thousand dollars on your kitchen might seem expensive but you could see a 3-5x return on investment.
Alternatively, if you see you own a single-family home without building restrictions, a home extension might be a good choice. Adding a covered garage or a single or double story extension to the side and/or rear of your house can increase the raw square footage.
An unfinished basement is a diamond in the rough. While the professional cost to fully renovate a basement can be expensive, on average $18,500, it can typically increase property value by $10-$35 per square foot. If you’re handy, you also might consider a basement DIY project which runs about $10,500 cheaper. Side note, a basement is not considered “livable square footage” by the MLS, so imagine the “Wow factor” it could create when a potential buyer expects a much smaller living space.
When it comes to investing in a renovation to increase the value of your home, square footage is the king. It’s the smartest, fastest way to increase value across the board for any interested buyer.
2. Create a space to rent
Creating a space to rent, whether that be adding another bathroom off of a bedroom to create a private bathroom/bedroom that can be rented out, or adding an entire efficiency addition to your home will increase its value immensely.
As a homeowner, having a property that can offer you passive income is incredibly valuable and especially appealing to a lot of buyers today. Not only will this potentially create more square footage as mentioned above, but creating a space to rent also makes the additional square footage immediately profitable.
This can easily become a huge value boost and buyer draw when compared against other homes of a similar price.
3. Transfer to energy-efficient routes as much as possible
The reality is that in 2022, the generational group that is interested in purchasing homes has energy efficiency not only in mind but as a large priority. Wherever you can remodel and renovate your house so that it is more energy-efficient, go for it.
Solar panels on the roof would be a big step, but a worthwhile one. Another more basic yet effective route would be to change all lighting in your home to LED lighting.
You can schedule an audit with an energy company or your utility provider to find out whether your home is energy efficient and where you can improve its efficiency. This will save you money and increase your home’s value when you do decide to put it on the market.
4. Bathrooms and water pressure
A lot of a home’s value depends on the experience or perceived experience the buyer will have while living in it relative to the asking price.
The bathroom is a great place to start making sure buyer senses that they will have a good experience living in your home. The water pressure in the shower is probably one of the most important, if not the most, experience-based assets to a bathroom.
Address and enhance the water pressure of your shower or showers on your property as much as possible.
5. Detail the kitchen
Similarly, many people want to purchase a home with a kitchen that is already fairly upgraded or very upgraded.
If you can upgrade your kitchen in any capacity, whether that be adding a dishwasher or an on-tap water filter, or garbage disposal, or all three – these are things that increase value since they won’t have to be renovated post-sale by the buyer.
6. Knockdown walls
This comes down to the experience in the home, as discussed above, which directly relates to value. Access to the kitchen area while someone is sitting in the living room, for example, too many interested buyers, has value.
If you can knock down walls and drastically enhance the day-to-day experience and feel of your home, this is a great way to increase its value as well.
7. Create an outdoor experience
Adding a deck or outdoor experience of sorts will not only increase square footage but creating an outdoor experience of sorts also increases the value of your home.
Renovate your backyard so that something there can be experienced and relished in regularly. It may not have to be extravagant, but it does have to be there to increase your home’s value.
Fire pits are a nice touch, but simply a small deck with a tile outdoor table and a clear area for a fire pit or a grill is enough to offer the space for an outdoor experience in your house.
Appliance upgrades aren’t the most exciting renovations, but they drastically increase your home’s value and immediately make it more low-maintenance. A low-maintenance home, especially in 2022, has more value.
Upgrade your furnace, especially if it’s particularly outdated (and not quite as energy efficient as it can be).
Similarly, the upgraded water heater will also make your home more low-maintenance from the get-go. This one may seem small, but it is actually important enough to deserve its own mention.
Nothing is worse than running out of hot water while you’re in the shower or in the middle of washing dishes. If a house has an upgraded water heating system plus a stellar shower pressure situation, its value goes way up!
Upgrading and perfecting the roof adds a ton of value to your home and lessens a lot of fear in a buyer that there will be or maybe an emergency repair soon after purchasing your home. That in itself inherently increases the value of your property.
If your home has a new roof and another home’s roof needs a bit of work, your property has increased value and simultaneously creates less worry for a buyer. After all, the property is literally the “roof over their head”, and if you can give them some extra sense of security here in any capacity, it will work in your favor.
Increasing your home’s property value in 2022 effectively has a lot to do with understanding the values of the modern buyer. Experience is key, as always, and square footage is king, but energy efficiency and a general sense of security, and an investment in a low-maintenance home is especially important to the modern-day property buyer. Keep these 10 top home renovations for 2022 in mind as you approach increasing the value on your home, and when it comes time to sell, you’ll be able to sell smart and be more than set up to have your property hit the market with unmatched value.
8. Upgrade the furnace
9. Address the water heater
10. Perfect the roof
Conclusion
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