7 renovations you should avoid before selling

Once you’ve decided it’s time to sell, it’s only natural to start thinking about how you can get the highest possible price for your home.

All sorts of renovation ideas will come to mind, but only some of them will be valued by local buyers and therefore give you a return on your investment.

As your real estate agent, we know the sorts of features that will command a premium price with buyers at the moment. This puts us in an ideal position to help you decide how you should prepare for the moment when your property hits the market.

As a start, we thought we’d wave a few red flags to help you avoid spending tens of thousands of dollars on features that buyers might like but won’t value.

Here are seven of our favourites:

  1. In-ground pools – Everyone loves the idea of a pool. However, many don’t like the thought of maintaining one. You’ll likely spend $80,000+ on a decent pool, plus council costs, only to immediately reduce your market of potential buyers. Some data suggests it might add only between 7-10% of value to your home. In our experience, it’s not worth the expense and risk of cost over-runs as an upgrade you’d do before selling
  2.    Gourmet kitchens and appliances – An awesome kitchen is great if that’s your dream. But as you’re selling up, you need to look at this differently. For sure, buyers are going to love a fancy kitchen – and that’s a big plus. However, there are many cheaper ways to rejuvenate your kitchen that will make a similar impact on buyers. So, leave the Tuscan tiles or handblown glass to the next owner. Remember, this is all about achieving a return on your investment so if you’re renovating to sell, just ensure it looks good without the luxury price tag.
  3.  Spa in the bathroom – The cost is likely to be prohibitive given most local buyers won’t place a premium on this feature. A spa will often require a larger water heater, and it guarantees higher energy bills. It’s nice in a hotel room but rarely a winner with potential buyers.
  4.  Designer garden makeover – Despite what you see on TV, landscaping is expensive in the real world. A landscaped garden has a genuine “wow” factor but comes at a cost. There are cheaper and less time-consuming approaches than calling in a landscape designer. If your garden needs a helping hand, scour websites like Pinterest to find inspiration on a budget and get active with the shovel.
  5. Adding a room – Building an extension expressly to sell is pretty unusual as the time and expense of constructing a new room mean this really isn’t worth the bother. Data also suggests you might get back only $6 for every $10 you spend so you need to own the property for a considerable period to recoup the investment. However, if you have an underutilised room in your home – say a spare room that has become a hold-all for junk, or an unused corner, consider how you can refurnish them to suggest a better purpose, such as a bedroom or office.
  6. Add a garage – Off-street parking is popular, but that doesn’t mean buyers all need or want a garage. Just as adding a room is expensive and time-consuming, so is the construction of a garage. The fact that your home may not have a garage won’t stop us from selling your home for you.
  7. General improvements – You need to consider these carefully. Enhancing facets of your home that are invisible to prospective buyers, such as installing thermal-efficient windows or new downpipes, are unlikely to get you an extra cent. If you suspect there are building faults, consider getting a building inspectors report so you can decide if you want to undergo the expense of correcting the issues, or simply be upfront with potential buyers and allow the cost of work to be factored into your asking price.

It’s always good to know the landmines that wait for everyone in real estate if they don’t have the benefit of experience. We’d be more than happy to assess your property for you, as well as discuss the market, buyer trends and how we can maximise the value of your home when you’re ready to sell.