Last Updated on October 24, 2023 by Neil Sharma
There are quite a few upgrades that augment the overall value of a home being readied for sale, and according to realtor Norman Xu, there’s a rule of thumb to remember.
“Before any upgrades are made, we need a budget. Within that budget, for every $1 we spend, we sell for $2 or more,” said Xu. “If we do something for $1 and can only sell it for $1, we don’t do it. If the profitability is 100-200%, we’ll do it.”
A major upgrade is flooring. Some homes have flooring that’s five, even seven, decades old or carpets, which are non-starters in today’s housing market and will doubtless need replacing.
“Yellow is not an attractive colour for flooring,” said Xu. “Darker colours or a brighter light green will work. Flooring is one thing that definitely needs to be done to add value to the home.”
Another important home upgrade that shouldn’t be overlooked is wall paint—is it in good shape and does it make the place look brighter? Walls often have scratches that are still visible, small holes and blemishes on them from being touched, and this is an easy fix that Xu says the seller will recoup at a profit.
Arguably the biggest home upgrades are the kitchen and bathroom, which, at five figures, are the costliest but most value enhancing upgrades one can make to a resale home.
“It will be more costly but if the kitchen is not a Quartz Countertop and the doors, including cabinetry, are out of date and don’t look attractive, they should be replaced together with appliances like stoves and fridges. It’s relatively more expensive but you can expect to make $1.50-2.00 more than you spent,” said Xu. “In the bathroom, change all the lighting fixtures and even the bulbs. If the fixtures are too generic, it won’t help with the sale. We can consider replacing them with higher-end lighting, but if we can’t change the fixtures, we can change the bulbs to make them look nicer. Do not mix the bulb colours; we need them standardized.”
Home décor enlivens a home’s interior and helps potential buyers imagine what it would be like to live there. Mounted decorative pieces, in particular, bring otherwise staid-looking walls to life, says Alyssa Caterina, a media specialist with Nanoleaf, which produces modular wall panels that light up.
“When you go through a home, you might not necessarily think a room is a great size, but what draws you into a space is the pieces that give it personality. Bespoke lighting creates that and you add a little bit of yourself in the home,” she said. “What’s great about Nanoleaf is they’re customizable, modular panels, so they can be made to suit your personal style, and they’re very earthy. They come in a range of warm or cool colours. It’s wall art that you get to completely control.”
Neil Sharma is the Editor-In-Chief of Canadian Real Estate Wealth and Real Estate Professional. As a journalist, he has covered Canada’s housing market for the Toronto Star, Toronto Sun, National Post, and other publications, specializing in everything from market trends to mortgage and investment advice. He can be reached at neil@crewmedia.ca.
