Top 5 Flooring Options to Increase Your Home’s Resale Value

When buyers walk through a home, they notice the floors right away. Scratched hardwood, stained carpet, or mismatched tile can quietly lower the number they are willing to write on the offer. On the flip side, choosing the right flooring options can increase the value of your home by making your space feel cleaner, larger, and more updated, helping it stand out in a crowded market.

If you are weighing flooring options to increase home resale value, it helps to understand what buyers actually care about and where your money will have the most impact.

Below are the five best flooring options for maximizing home resale value, along with their ideal applications and tips for optimizing your investment.

1. Carpet: Where It Still Works (And How To Make It Help, Not Hurt)

Many buyers see wall-to-wall carpet in main spaces as a negative because it traps dust, allergens, and pet odors. That said, carpet still has a place in a smart plan for flooring options to increase home resale value.

Carpet still works well in:

1. Bedrooms, where warmth and softness matter.
2. Upstairs hallways to reduce noise.
3. Budget-minded refreshes where the subfloor is not in great shape.

How carpet flooring impacts resale value depends heavily on its condition and color. Old, stained, or brightly colored carpet can drag down your home’s appeal. Fresh, neutral carpet in a soft “greige” or light beige, on the other hand, can make bedrooms feel clean and inviting.

Before you tear every carpet out, consider what a good cleaning can do. Booking expert carpet cleaners can revive dingy fibers, remove deep stains, and help eliminate odors at a much lower cost than full replacement. A professional carpet cleaning company can be a smart first step if you are trying to stretch your budget while still making a strong impression.

2. Solid Hardwood: The Classic Value Booster

If you want the safest choice for resale, solid hardwood still leads the pack. Buyers associate real wood floors with quality and long-term value.

Why hardwood helps your bottom line:

1. It fits almost every style, from traditional to modern.
2. It can be sanded and refinished many times, which stretches its life well beyond a typical ownership period.
3. Many buyers are willing to pay more for homes with well-kept wood floors.

For most resale situations, mid-tone, neutral stains are the smartest bet. Flooring colors for higher resale value tend to be natural browns and light to medium oak tones. Very red, orange, or ultra-dark floors can turn off buyers who prefer a lighter, more flexible backdrop for their furniture.

Use hardwood where it counts most: living rooms, dining rooms, and main hallways. If your layout is open, try to run the same wood through all main areas so the home reads as one large, continuous space. That kind of visual flow is one of the strongest flooring options to boost home value.

3. Engineered Wood: Real-Wood Look, More Flexibility

Engineered wood is made from a top layer of real hardwood attached to a stable core. Once installed, it looks like solid hardwood, which is why it is often treated the same way by buyers and appraisers in many markets.

Engineered wood can be one of the best flooring options to increase home resale value if:

1. Your home has a concrete slab foundation.
2. You want a wood look in a lower level or basement that is not ideal for solid wood.
3. You live in an area with big swings in humidity.

If you choose engineered wood, pay attention to the wear layer. Thicker wear layers (3 mm or more) can be refinished at least once, sometimes more, which makes the floor feel like a long-term feature instead of a short-term finish.

For resale, stick to simple plank styles and neutral stains, just as you would with solid hardwood. Busy patterns or trendy grey tones can feel dated in a few years.

4. Luxury Vinyl Plank (LVP): Durable and “Family Proof”

Luxury vinyl plank has moved far beyond the bargain-bin look it once had. Modern LVP can mimic wood closely and has two big advantages buyers like: durability and water resistance.

LVP is a smart choice when you want flooring options to boost home value without worrying about every spill or scratch:

1. Great for kitchens, laundry rooms, mudrooms, and basements.
2. Holds up well to kids, pets, and heavy traffic.
3. Easy to wipe clean and maintain.

For resale, look for rigid-core LVP with a thicker wear layer, ideally 20 mil or higher. That gives buyers confidence the floor will hold up for years, which makes it more convincing when you present it as one of the best floors for home resale value in a mid-range property.

Just like with wood, choose natural-looking colors and plank patterns. Extremely trendy colors can narrow your buyer pool.

5. Tile and Stone: Best for Wet Areas and Hot Climates

Tile and stone have a reputation for being nearly permanent, and home inspection data backs this up. InterNACHI’s standard life expectancy chart notes that well-maintained wood and natural stone floors can last close to a hundred years, tile typically falls in the 75 to 100-year range, while carpet is usually replaced after about 8 to 10 years and vinyl or laminate within a couple of decades.

Where tile and stone make the most sense:

1. Bathrooms and showers
2. Kitchen floors
3. Entryways and mudrooms
4. Entire main floors in hot, sunny climates

Recent bathroom trend data highlighted by the National Association of REALTORS® shows growing demand for wet room–style layouts and universal design features. Homeowners are leaning toward curbless showers, nonslip flooring, better lighting, and large-format tile that keeps the space easy to clean and easy to move through.

For resale value, keep the design simple. Classic patterns, light neutrals, and medium stones are easier for buyers to work with than bold patterns or very dark tile across large areas.

Don’t Forget Maintenance and Cleanliness

Even the best flooring for home resale value will fall flat if the house feels dusty or cluttered. Buyers read overall cleanliness as a sign of how well the home has been cared for.

Simple routines to clean your house regularly make the new floors stand out even more. Clean baseboards, clear corners, and tidy closets all support the story that this is a home someone can move into without a long to-do list.

If you are planning a sale in the near future, think of your flooring and cleaning habits as a package. Upgrading key surfaces and maintaining house cleaning to sell property go hand in hand when you want strong offers.

Final Thoughts

Choosing the right flooring options to increase home resale value is really about matching your budget, your local market, and how buyers use each space. Hardwood and engineered wood usually carry the most weight in the main living areas. LVP and tile add durability where moisture or heavy traffic are a concern. Fresh, neutral carpet still has a role in bedrooms, especially when it is clean and well cared for.

Combine smart flooring upgrades with consistent cleaning and basic maintenance, and you give buyers fewer reasons to hesitate and more reasons to feel confident about your home.

If you would like more practical ideas on getting your home ready to list, take a look around the rest of the Beycome blog for additional tips and insights.