It’s important to understand which home renovations offer the best return on investment. This holds true whether you’re flipping houses for a living or are trying to improve the property you live in to sell eventually.

Unless you’re selling a home in a higher-end market, you’re generally better off spending money on mid-range renovations that appeal to a wide range of buyers. And while you don’t want to skimp on the quality of the materials you use, you also don’t have to go to the opposite extreme and buy only the best.

Increasing your home’s property value in 2021 effectively has a lot to do with understanding the values of the modern buyer. For them, Experience is key and square footage is king, but lighting and an investment in a low-maintenance home is especially important to the modern-day property buyer. Please contact me for a free expert consultation on which home improvements will make the most difference on where you live. Keep these 5 top home renovations for 2021 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.

Increase Usable Square Feet or Make it Feel Bigger

They say “location, location, location”. But after that, square footage is what matter to most buyers. When real estate agents and prospective buyers review comparable sales to see if the home’s value aligns with the asking price, this is one of the most significant factors. Some easier ways to add sqft could be finishing a basement or attic or tearing out a wall in a closed-off home. Some ways to make a home feel bigger include opening up the floorplan by taking out walls or merging smaller spaces into bigger ones, or changing the layout. This will add extra living space or at least make the home feel bigger.

Expand Outdoor Places and Create an Outdoor Experience

Remember Experience is Key for buyers. Since the COVID pandemic, private outdoor space has been on the top of buyers wishlist. Even if it’s a small space, creating an outdoor experience is key for buyers today just like when you go to your favorite designed restaurant dinner experience or you go to vibey places because you like the vibe. Create a vibe in your home and especially outdoors. If you have a deck, patio or yard, think about designing the space with features that create experience in those places. Some examples include adding a firepit, or an outdoor kitchen, or a built-in sitting area with outdoor lighting and music. If you have a deck or patio, you can update or expand that’s a great place to invest- put a new stain on that deck, change the cement on that patio into stone. If there’s not much to expand in your outdoor space, then update what you have, design the space and add the right landscape and watch your home value grow.

Kitchen Renovation

If you were to do one room renovation in the entire house I would recommend the kitchen – it’s always the central part of the home… Its where people eat, cook, store and entertain. I would argue it’s the most used room in the home. When the kitchen is updated, buyers seem to feel less overwhelmed by other dated areas of the home.

Improve Lighting

Lighting can change the mood of a room or even make a room seem larger or smaller. It can enhance color and increase functionality. A bright way to increase the value of your home is to add lighting. A well-lit room feels more energetic and cheerful, and makes spaces feel larger and cleaner.  If you’re able to increase natural light, do so. Open blinds, clean your windows, and strategically place mirrors to reflect the natural light. Add room elegance or change the feel of the room just by replacing boring light fixtures with eye catching ones.  Even just choosing brighter bulbs is another easy way to increase the amount of light in your home. By the way, look into LED lighting that is not only cost efficient but also energy efficient and very bright!

Small Changes Can Add Up to a Big Difference

The little things matter. Compared to remodeling your kitchen or installing hardwood floors, it’s relatively inexpensive to see what small changes you can make that will make the biggest differences. Examples of this include:

• Replacing hardware on bathroom and kitchen cabinets is a low-cost way to modernize the space that does not require much labor or skill.

• While replacing the entire sink and countertop might not be in the budget, swapping out the faucets can make a big difference in the appearance of the space.

• If the floors look worn but you don’t want to change them consider staining them for a fresh new look.

• Paint interior and exterior is the best facelift you can do and not only to get a fresh new feel and to cover “wrinkles the home sustained” but to neutralize overly bright colors or to play with your design. Paint is essentially like the foundation on a woman’s face, it’s the final touch!

If you need a Real Estate agent, I’d be more than willing to help you. If you are looking at the option of buying a home or selling a home in the San Francisco or the Peninsula in the near future please reach out to us.