How will renovating the kitchen or bathroom affect the market value of your home? Does improving these two areas of your home guarantee that you will be able to sell the property at your desired price? Or will the projects boost your home’s value just enough to let you recover your costs?
If you are thinking of making improvements to your home’s bathroom or kitchen, these are some of the questions you are probably asking. That’s because it makes no sense to spend money renovating a home you are about to sell unless those changes will have a positive impact on the sales process and the home’s sales price.
Therefore, it’s right for you to want to know if a bathroom or kitchen remodel will make your home more attractive to buyers or potential tenants. Also, if the upgrades actually do make your property more appealing, can the additional appeal translate into a higher selling price for your home? The honest answer to this question is it depends.
In theory, every change you make to your home will potentially improve its value. But in practice, no single improvement will single-handedly increase your property’s value. The impact of every upgrade partly depends on the unique needs of your home and how that particular upgrade fits into those needs.
Kitchen renovations
To get the most value from your kitchen remodeling, make these your goals: to create additional space or the illusion of space, repair or replace damaged features, and make the kitchen an easier or more pleasant space to work in. There are many ways to approach these goals.
Depending on how much you are willing to spend, your kitchen remodel can be upscale, midscale, or minor. Here you can find ranges of prices for a kitchen remodel project. Upscale projects can cost as much as $126,000 and often involve an overhaul of the entire kitchen. For such projects, the average ROI is 54%.
Midscale kitchen renovations cost as much as $75,000 and fetch a return of around 69%. If you are planning a minor upgrade expect to spend between $11,000 and $21,000, to recoup 81% of your costs. These figures partly depend on the specific changes you make to the kitchen and the location.
Here are the highest-performing kitchen projects to consider:
- Repainting the kitchen in modern colors
- Increasing storage space
- Changing the floor plan to merge kitchen and dining
- Installing new appliances
- Replacing the kitchen floor
- Replacing or refurbishing the cabinets
- Better lighting, including under cabinet lighting
- Replacing all hardware in the kitchen (plumbing and cabinet)
- Upgrading to natural stone or steel countertop
Bathroom renovations
When renovating your bathroom, aim for a luxurious space that is inviting, relaxing, and highly functional. The typical ROI to expect from a bathroom is 60% to 70% and renovation costs can range from $6,000 to $60,000, with the average being around $18,000. Here you can find ranges of prices for a bathroom remodel. However, like kitchen renovations, the ROI from a bathroom remodel does not increase with how much money you spend on the project. Midscale renovations regularly outperform upscale renovations.
Here are the bathroom projects with the highest returns:
- Improved lighting, with mood lighting and lots of natural light
- Installing a walk-in shower with glass doors and rainfall showerhead
- Adding water-saving and energy-friendly features
- Replacing the sink, faucets, and vanity
- Repainting the bathroom
- Replacing or repainting the cabinets
- Adding smart storage
- Installing heated floors
- Replacing the toilet