If you’ve spent most of the Covid-19 crisis working from your dining room table during the day and watching Netflix at night, you’d be forgiven for wondering if a home office and media room would be good real estate investments.
While an increasing number of buyers are asking about properties with quality home office facilities, media rooms, or home theaters, are attracting less attention even though we spend hundreds of hours watching the news, sport and entertainment.
So, would a home theater add value to your home when it’s time to sell?
For luxury property, it’s already a standard feature. But that’s not yet true for the rest of the market.
If you’re thinking of installing a home theater, consider carefully the value of the room you’ll be sacrificing. Right now, I don’t think the market is ready to swap out a bedroom when you can still watch TV in the living room.
But if you’re renovating or building, and you can afford the best of both worlds, then go for it. Your life’s pleasures are just as important, if not more so, than whether you make money on the backend when it’s time to sell and move on.
Below are some observations from home theaters and media rooms in properties we’ve sold.
- Home theaters don’t have to be large. Rooms that measure around 16 x 26ft can get the job done. The seating and size and resolution of your screen(s) will determine the optimal amount of space required.
- You can DIY this project – there’s no shortage of advice on the internet. But most owners invest serious dollars to hire a specialist company.
- Estimating the cost is like measuring a length of string. Everything depends on the size of the room, the tech you want and whether you’ll go the whole hog and install special acoustics, which gets expensive.
- Soundproofing is essential. Enjoying the sound effects is half the fun, and you don’t want to be told to “turn it down” by other members of your household or your neighbors, especially in an apartment block.
- Lighting should be integrated into the ceilings and walls. Experts will recommend different styles of lighting to watch movies, play games and generally entertain friends.
- Most enthusiasts go all-out on quality seating, furniture and even a drinks bar and fridge.
- If you use a specialist installer, ensure they draught a plan of the room and cite in the contract all the equipment and their specifications.
- It’s common to pay the contractor in installments. Before the last payment, check that the promised tech is in place and you know how to use it properly.