6 Renovation Works to Increase Home Value

Are you planning to sell your property in the short, medium, or long term? To increase the value and attractiveness of your property, opt for renovations and improvements! 

The essentials

  • Some works allow increasing the value of your apartment or your house.
  • To increase the value of your home, renovate your kitchen or redo it completely.
  • Renovate the attic and install a veranda or an extension to gain more space. 
  • Don’t forget to decorate your exterior to seduce future buyers of your home.

1. Energy renovation work

With the increase in energy prices, the performance of a home is increasingly scrutinized by buyers. Energy renovation work can considerably reduce the house’s energy bill, which is a central selling point! Thus, the houses and apartments that sell best have the best energy ratings.

The Energy Star score, is an essential document to determine the performance of your home. This document details the energy and climate performance of your home based on 2 pieces of information:

  • the primary energy consumption (in kWh/m²/year);
  • greenhouse gas emissions (in kg CO2/m²/year).

Once carried out by a professional diagnostician, the Energy Star score gives a synthetic vision of your home’s energy performance and provides indications to improve it.

What work should be done to renovate your home?

The diagnostician’s advice will be limited if your home is in the top grades. On the other hand, renovation work will have to be undertaken if your house or apartment is in the lowest classes. Here are some ideas for work to be done:

  • Redo the insulation (roof, walls, floor, attic, etc.);
  • change your windows to double glazing;
  • install more efficient heating equipment (pellet boiler, thermodynamic water heater, heat pump, etc.);
  • add a double-flow or single-flow ventilation system;

etc.

2. The development of the attic

Renovation Works to Increase Home Value

How to increase the surface of the property without adding a new structure? By simply investing in the attic!

Real estate buyers are still sensitive to clever arrangements and space savings in a home. By converting your attic space, you significantly increase the additional living space.

Ideally, the added value obtained by this new room should compensate for your construction budget (which can be quite substantial if the renovation requires heavy work). This will turn the work into an investment for your property rather than a burden! Another advantage: you increase the value of your property since the price is calculated per m².

Before converting your attic, make sure that:

  • the ceiling height is sufficient (more than 1.80 m);
  • the roof slope does not exceed 30°;
  • the frame does not prevent you from moving around the room.

3. Renovation of strategic rooms: the kitchen and the bathroom

These 2 rooms can be prohibitive if they have not been refreshed. Indeed, kitchens and bathrooms are quickly marked by time, even more so in old houses. Old wall tiles or a style from another decade repel buyers, who may fear costly work to bring these sensitive rooms up to date.

What is the solution to increasing the appeal of these spaces? Refresh them, even partially! It is not necessarily necessary to devote a budget of several thousand euros to completely renovate your kitchen or redo your bathroom from A to Z. A few works can be enough, for example:

  • breaking a hollow wall between the kitchen and the living room to increase the surface of your living room;
  • repainting the tiles in your bathroom with a suitable paint;
  • change the color of your worktop;
  • replace the vanity;
  • modify some elements (door handles, faucets, etc.);

etc.

4. Installing a veranda or an extension to enlarge the space

Renovation Works to Increase Home Value

If your budget allows it, a construction project is an excellent opportunity for your property!

First of all, you can install a veranda. This additional room is ideal for enjoying a living space inside and outside. It brings a lot of light, which enlarges the rooms.

You can also start an extension project to create a garage, enlarge your living room or add an extra bedroom to your home. Under certain conditions, you can claim a zero-interest loan to finance these renovations. The advantage? This new room adapts to the existing one. It is also an opportunity to improve your home’s energy performance by using insulating materials… 

As for the attic, this construction must be thought of as an investment, profitable by the added value generated with the increase of the surface.

5. Exterior design with a pergola or a pool

Homes with gardens and terraces are the most sought-after on the market. Buyers remain very sensitive to the exterior appearance of the house.

Why not opt for a pergola or a swimming pool to enhance these spaces and maximize their potential?

Open to the outside, the pergola serves both as a decorative support for your climbing plants and as a shaded area on a terrace. Very appreciated in summer, it is an argument when selling a house.

As for the swimming pool, it considerably increases the price of the sale of your house! Beyond its value, displaying a pool on a real estate ad gives a competitive advantage on the market, don’t forget it!

6. Focus on home staging

If you are getting ready to put your home up for sale, it is not necessarily obvious to spend money on it…

However, it is often important to enhance the value of your property with a slight refreshment. For example, an old house from the 70s in its current state, without any renovation, will attract the eye of the buyers less than a more recent and refreshed house.

With the home staging technique, the idea is not to completely change your interior and engage in heavy work but simply to bring it up to date. A buyer must project himself and consider as little work as possible if he wants to make an offer. It is also a way to reduce the negotiation margin and get an offer at the right price.

How to do it? A few hundred dollars can be enough to improve the appearance of your property and thus increase its value! For example, with a few strokes of paint on the walls of certain rooms, the installation of new flooring, or the addition of modern decorative elements. Although the price remains quite high, the added value it generates remains significant.