5 Ways to Increase the Value of Your Property

When trying to increase the value of your property, there are many steps you can take. While some options will require little financial investment on your part, others may involve making a more substantial contribution to your property. When determining the investment that is right for you, you should consider the potential return on the investment as well as your short-term and long-term plans for the property. Here are five options that you might want to consider when trying to increase the value of your property.

Upgrade the Kitchen

The kitchen is one of the most important rooms in the home, making it a great place to start when trying to increase property value. Fortunately, you do not have to tear everything out and start from scratch when upgrading a kitchen. Rather, adding a new suite of appliances, installing a new countertop and flooring, updating the hardware and adding a fresh layer of paint can do wonders in terms of giving your kitchen a fresh, new look. Generally speaking, a kitchen upgrade can give you a 3 to 7 percent boost in the sale price of the property.

Increase Living Space

While bigger isn’t always better, you can increase the value of your property by making your space work harder. Open floor plans with flexible living space are particularly attractive to most buyers. You can accomplish this by eliminating unnecessary walls, finishing basements, converting attics and creating flex rooms that can serve a variety of different purposes to meet the needs of the buyer. Increasing living space and finding ways to use it more creatively can give your home’s value a 4 to 6 percent increase.

Make it Eco-Friendly

Many of today’s buyers are looking for energy-efficient homes that will help to keep their energy bills low. You can make your property more energy-efficient by updating the water heater, installing Energy Star certified windows and using LED lights. These types of changes can potentially increase the home’s value by 1 to 3 percent.

Utilize Technology

A number of technology upgrades can make your property more attractive to potential buyers, thereby increasing its value. While you don’t want to get caught up in fads that will soon die out and not yield a good return on your investment, installing smart devices such as programmable thermostats will add value to your property for years to come. The same is true for door locks, security systems and whole-house generators. These types of upgrades can increase your property value by 3 to 5 percent.

Create Outdoor Space

Many homebuyers are looking for homes where outdoor space is transformed into additional living space. Making some upgrades to the outside of the property will increase its curb appeal while also making the outside a livable space. Some upgrades to consider include adding a deck or patio, an outdoor fire pit, outdoor seating and basic landscaping that is easy to maintain. These types of upgrades can potentially increase your property value by 3 to 5 percent.