Top Home Investments

Add up to 35% to your home’s resale value even in a flat real estate market

More and more homeowners are choosing to improve rather than move for a very good reason: It just makes better financial sense. In fact, adding another bedroom to your home could be a better investment than just about anything else out there at the moment, as we noted in an earlier article. And when you consider the benefits of home improvements to your family, the financial benefits are just the icing on the cake. But not all home improvements are created equal. We look at the improvements which will make the biggest difference to your home’s resale value.   

1. First impressions count

There’s a very good reason why we don’t know who coined the saying “You can’t judge a book by its cover” – because they were wrong! We all do it all the time, whether we’re aware of it or not. In today’s tight real estate market, prospective house buyers won’t even get out of their cars if they don’t like what they see from the street (unless they’re looking for a do-up bargain). So our advice is to put your best face forward when you put your house on the market… 

 

 

  Get fresh: A fresh coat of paint can make an amazing difference to the exterior of any home.

 

 

Go green: Tidy up the garden or, to make a more powerful impression, get your front yard landscaped .

 

 

 

Get a new skin: Times change, but rotten weatherboards, broken wall panels and totally out-of-fashion cladding systems (lovely dark brown faux clinker brick panels, ‘timber-look’ fibrecement weatherboards, that sort of thing) just keep on hanging on, at the same time devaluing your house. The answer: Off with the old, and on with the new.

 

Shed or garage conversion: Separate dwellings have become the in-thing for people with sheds or garages who want an extra income stream from a tenant, a “home away from home” for teenagers, or a separate home office.

 

 

2. Add more space

In most cases, the best way to add resale value to your home – up to 35% if you add a third bedroom to a 2-bedroom house – is to expand your living space. The most economical way to create that space is usually to convert any unused but useable space you may already have in your home – loft space, a basement, even a garage.

 

Build up: If you have unused but useable space already in your home, Convert your loft space into an extra bedroom, office or playroom – or just add more storage space up there. Or lift your roof to create enough headroom upstairs and take advantage of potential views.

 

   

Build down:   Loads of New Zealand homes have space underneath for a car or two and maybe a laundry or space to store your junk, but you wouldn’t want to live under there with the spiders and snails. The solution: Redevelop the space so it becomes an integral part of your home, or a separate self-contained flat for granny or a rent-paying tenant. An alternative if you don’t have space underneath now is to lift your house and build under.  
 

 

Build out: A conservatory is an ideal to get more light into your home as well as create more space. Other options are to extend existing rooms by pushing out walls, or adding new rooms. 

 

 

2. The inside story

Creating a favourable first impression and creating more space are great ways to add value, but your home has to be comfortable, warm, light and a nice place to live if you’re to get the best possible price for it. Here are the priorities:

Kitchen: Undeniably the heart of any family home, the kitchen can make or break any house sale. Buyers today go for style as much as function. A makeover (perhaps a new benchtop, replacement cabinet ‘skin’ or new flooring) may be all you need to maximise your return on investment.

 

   

Bathroom: Buyers tend to be particularly wary of the bathroom than any other room, inspecting for leaks, mould or other signs of water damage that can mean costly repairs. People today also expect the bathroom to be a bit of a retreat or sanctuary.

 

 

   

Energy efficiency: A cold, draughty house is a huge turn-off for buyers, not to mention a pretty uncomfortable place to live in. Buyers have been known to ask for power bills as evidence of a home’s energy efficiency. Better heating can help warm a cold home but the ideal solution also includes better insulation and double glazing.

 

   

Make it flow: Indoor-outdoor flow is something most people look for now in a home. Consider French, sliding or bifold doors and a deck or patio.

 

 

 

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