When renovating your home, the biggest part of the process is finding functional upgrades that improve the home’s aesthetics but are still affordable and add value to the property. Finding those kinds of projects often means looking beyond your preferences or attractiveness to what the market wants.
Unless you are not thinking of renting or selling your home, approach home upgrades as an investment. The most important considerations should be demand for the particular improvement you want to make and your return on investment, explains Limestone Country Properties, a property management company in Cibolo.
The most beautiful renovations won’t mean anything if renters or buyers don’t want them.
In this regard, the most in-demand home renovations are bathroom and kitchen renovations. Partly, that is because of people’s sentimental attachment to their kitchens and bathrooms. It is also due to how bathroom and kitchen renovations change the entire home.
How much value can kitchen and bathroom upgrades add to your home?
Why a bathroom renovation?
Although visitors are less likely to see the bathroom, this does not diminish its value. People spend a lot of their time in their bathrooms. The room plays a huge role in a person’s well-being and level of personal productivity.
The bathroom is a crucial part of our daily ritual for getting ready for work, learning, or play. It is also an essential aspect of what we do to unwind at the end of the day. Bathrooms are vital for taking care of the sanitary needs of our bodies and for physical grooming.
Yet, the value of bathrooms is not all about their function. Part of the reason we invest a lot of energy in making bathrooms luxurious is that they give us a chance to indulge. Buyers want a bathroom that is beautiful and inviting.
That is why buyers assign bathrooms an average score of around 9.6 out of 10 when asked to rate the importance of bathroom renovations. As a result of high demand by buyers, a well-renovated bathroom adds 56.2% – 70.6% to the property’s market value.
How much value the bathroom adds depends on the scale of the project and the upgraded features. Upscale bathroom projects return around 56.2% of the money spent on them. Midscale projects and minor renovations yield 69% and 70.6%, respectively.
The renovation cost also depends on the location and the quality of the new features. Some bathroom renovations cost as little as $6,000. Expensive upgrades can take as much as $60,000. But the price of most bathroom renovations hovers between $20,000 and $38,000.
The bathroom upgrades with the highest ROI are:
- Adding energy-saving features: low-flow faucets or toilets and energy-saving bulbs.
- Adding a walk-in shower with a see-through glass door.
- Replacing the old shower with a rain showerhead featuring multiple flow settings.
- Improving the amount of natural light that enters the bathroom.
- Adding modern sinks and a granite countertop.
- Adding an exhaust fan to prevent issues of excessive humidity.
- Installing heated floors.
- Repainting the entire bathroom.
Why a kitchen renovation?
Kitchen sells homes; visitors to the house are very likely to enter the kitchen because this room serves as the social hub of the home.
The aesthetics and functionality of the kitchen are a huge factor in buyers’ decision to buy or not buy a property and how much they offer for it, reason why this is one of the main updates owners do that pays off the investment.
In addition to its role as the place where meals are prepared and sometimes eaten, the kitchen has another completely unrelated function. It serves as the showpiece for the entire home. Buyers use kitchens as a benchmark for deciding the property’s value.
Homeowners also use the kitchen to give visitors a glimpse of their class. Visitors may not be able to see all the rooms in the home, but they can get an idea of what the rest of the house looks like from the kitchen’s appearance. Kitchens serve as statement pieces for the entire home.
Kitchen renovations vary widely in their cost. Costs can range from as low as $8,000 for minor kitchen remodels to $150,000 for extensive renovations. Renovations in the midrange are more common. Their price is often between $18,000 to $35,000.
For minor kitchen renovations, owners can recoup 80% of their costs. Midscale projects will return 60% of the investment, and homeowners can expect around 52% returns on upscale projects. The best kitchen renovations improve floor space, storage, and function.
Examples of kitchen projects with high ROI include:
- Adding a new backsplash and installing a stone countertop.
- Replacing old flooring with new and improved materials.
- Re-facing, repainting, or replacing kitchen cabinets.
- Adding a kitchen island and under-cabinet lighting.
- Installing energy-efficient features and lighting.
- Adding new kitchen appliances and custom cabinets.
