When preparing your home for sale, it can feel like there are a million tasks ahead of you, each vitally important to winning over the buyer and achieving your maximum possible price.
One of the overlooked elements of a home is the quality of the flooring. It’s true that buyers don’t walk into a home thinking that they’ll inspect the floor, but very few will ever leave without it having an impact on them.
Scratched wooden floors, chipped tiles and worn-through carpet all leave a negative impression. A buyer’s response will be to either not pursue a purchase or enter a negotiation seeking a discount to pay for new flooring.
However, when a seller goes to the trouble of stripping back and revarnishing a wooden floor, the impact can transform a run-of-the-mill property into a memorable apartment or family home.
As we enter 2026, we believe we’re going to see buyers increasingly choosy about the properties they’re prepared to consider for purchase.
Here are eight flooring choices that will make a buyer think twice:
Thick grout – Modern tiling requires a grout line of a minimum 1mm width. If you’re retiling a bathroom, be aware that some retailers will offer tiles that could expand due to water absorption. Talk to your tiler about the best grout width to prevent tiles lifting. The thinner the grout line the better.
Laminate – It’s no surprise buyers don’t love laminate. It’s one of the cheapest flooring options around. However, it’s highly durable and the designs and quality are becoming increasingly sophisticated. That said, laminate is still a hard sell.
Too busy – Tiles and even slate that have busy patterns and textures can be a turn-off, especially for a buyer seeking a modern and contemporary home. The most effective flooring for a residence is understated.
Carpet cringe – Carpet has a bad rap these days because it collects dirt, dust and mites. However, it’s probably still the floor covering of choice for bedrooms. In downstairs areas, floor-to-floor carpets are not a winner.
Bright and shiny – Wooden floors should not be shiny but understated so the wood’s beauty comes through. Overly-polished floors leave buyers believing they’ll have to spend hours maintaining it and guarding it against scratches.
Dark and moody – It takes a certain home to pull off a dark wooden floor. Ebony floors have never really been in style in this part of the world, and it’s unlikely they ever will be. Our buyers prefer more blond woods, such as Cypress, maple and ash. Medium woods are also popular, including jarrah, walnut and mahogany.
Going grey – Grey flooring is an option if you’re looking at a hybrid flooring solution. Hybrid flooring is great value and offers an incredible choice of styles and colours. One of the least popular with today’s buyers is the washed grey look. It’s been overdone, and it doesn’t look or feel natural. Buyers want more warmth and colour from a wooden floor.