As interest rates continue to drop, many homeowners are looking into refinancing as a means of either lowering their rate, cashing out their equity or reducing their monthly payment. If you are thinking about refinancing and pulling some of the equity out of your home, a good long-term play is to reinvest that money into home remodeling projects that will boost your home’s value for years to come.
In this article, we’ll review several home renovation projects that add significant value—and why you should prioritize them.
Remodel your kitchen
Everyone loves a fresh, remodeled kitchen—including prospective homebuyers. Renovating your kitchen can give your home’s value a major lift ahead of sale or refinancing: on average, homeowners who invest in kitchen remodeling see a 80.5% return on their investment (ROI).
Start with new cabinets and countertops. These are the visual hallmarks of your new kitchen and what will impress future buyers the most. Talk to a kitchen remodeling professional in your area to start thinking through potential combinations and styles. Some of this might depend on your home’s overall style or even the home aesthetics of your community. For example, many homeowners install granite countertops in Phoenix suburbs to fit within the contemporary kitchen style, while homeowners in Minneapolis might go with a farmhouse-style kitchen instead.
When it comes to your kitchen, focus on cabinets, countertops, and floors first. You’ll want to put the money into high-quality materials and hiring a qualified contractor—cutting corners on either of these fronts could result in a shoddy final project that doesn’t hold its value in the years to come.
Rethink your bathroom
Next to kitchen remodels, making upgrades to the master bathroom is one of the most effective ways to boost your home’s value. In this space, you’ll want to make strategic upgrades to the shower, vanity, flooring, and tub. To limit your total overhead and ensure you maximize your return on investment, avoid making significant layout changes to your bathroom that require moving electrical or plumbing—these alterations require a licensed professional and may involve local building codes.
The shower should be the centerpiece of your new bathroom. Replace the worn, frosted door with a modern glass one, and then add chic tile throughout the shower. Upgrade the faucets and fixtures in the shower and work with a plumber if you’re planning on adding another showerhead. For the bathroom vanity, the same principle that applied in the kitchen also is relevant here: invest in high-quality countertops and cabinets that can stand up to the regular wear-and-tear of actual, everyday use.
For some finishing touches in the bathroom, change out the sink faucets and fixtures, upgrade the lighting above the vanity and shower, and replace older, water-wasting toilets with modern, high-efficiency ones.
Focus on other high-ROI upgrades
If a major kitchen or bathroom remodel just isn’t in the cards at the moment, there are still many things you can do to boost your home’s value.
- Make essential repairs. If your garage door, water heater, HVAC systems, or roof need to be replaced, you should prioritize these fixes first. It’ll make selling your home so much easier in the future.
- Work in your backyard. You don’t have to pour thousands of dollars into building a deck or installing an in-ground pool, but you can put work into your backyard to transform it into an awe-inspiring space. This includes planting new shade trees, extending a patio with pavers, or building a grilling station to house your gas grill.
- Change out your lights. Inside your home, lighting is everything. Harsh, fluorescent lights or yellow lights can make your home feel outdated and low on energy. In contrast, bright lights in the kitchen—including pendant lights over the island and under-cabinet lights—can reinvigorate your home.
Get started today
Whether you’re planning on listing your home this month or just want to reinvest in it, now’s the perfect time to launch a home remodeling project. To get started, talk to an experienced local contractor who has remodeled homes just like yours.
For even more design inspiration and ways to better boost the value of your kitchen, bathroom, and backyard, take a look at this infographic from Superior Stone & Cabinet, a granite countertop and cabinet installation team in Phoenix, Arizona.