The average home selling price in the United States is currently $428,700. However, the exact price at which a home sells depends on a variety of factors. If you want to make sure that your home sells for as much money as possible, you might be wondering what you can do to make it happen.
Fortunately, there are several ways in which you can increase home value. But where should you start? Keep reading and learn more about what you can do below.
1. Improve Your Home’s Curb Appeal
Improving your home’s curb appeal is one of the easiest ways to sell your house fast and for the highest price. Many people don’t realize that good curb appeal can do a lot of good for a home for sale. That’s because the appearance of your lawn and the exterior of your house will either give potential buyers a good or bad first impression.
If your lawn’s grass is dead and if your property’s curb appeal is virtually non-existent, your property isn’t going to be very attractive to potential homebuyers. On the other hand, if you spruce up your lawn a bit and make your property look more visually appealing, it will certainly catch the eye of potential homebuyers.
There are various ways in which you can improve your home’s curb appeal. For example, you can try planting some flowers or bushes or even a tree somewhere in your yard. Doing this may sound very simple, but the simple addition of vegetation can make your property look much more interesting and alive.
Colorful plants tend to be the best option since they can give your property a nice splash of color. Even some minor landscaping can do your property a lot of good. And, of course, mowing the lawn is also important since overgrown grass can make your property look decrepit and undesirable.
2. Paint Your House’s Exterior
Speaking of curb appeal, another way that you can make your property look more attractive is to paint your house’s exterior. If your house’s current paint job is not looking so great, homebuyers won’t even give your property a second glance. That’s because chipping or faded paint will make a house look far older and more rundown than it really is.
So, if you want to make your house look more attractive to homebuyers, you should give it a fresh coat of paint. It is best to use a neutral color like beige since houses painted a neutral color tend to sell faster and for more money. Once you put on the fresh coat of paint, you will find that your house will look much fresher and newer than before.
Homebuyers will also notice this and they might give your house a closer look as a result.
3. Install New Floors
One of the first things that homebuyers look for in a house is a good floor. If your floor is several years old and not looking its best, you will find that you will have some trouble selling your house for a large sum of money. This is especially true if you have carpet.
Houses with carpeting don’t sell nearly as well as houses that have nice hardwood or tile floors. This is because carpeting can easily get dirty and is hard to clean. If you have carpeting that is stained, matted, or has a bad smell, it is best to tear that carpet out and install a new type of flooring.
If you don’t have carpeting, getting a new floor may still be a good idea, especially if your floor has obvious signs of wear and tear. Houses with hardwood floors tend to sell very well since hardwood floors are associated with luxury. However, some tile floors also look very nice.
Whatever the case, if your flooring is old, it will be a good idea to replace it if you want to get top dollar for your home.
4. Paint the House’s Interior
Painting the interior of your house is just as important as painting the exterior. After all, once your home is listed online with pictures, your walls will be on full display. If your walls have obvious signs of stains, chips, or other types of damage, it will be an immediate turn-off for potential homebuyers.
For that reason, it is a good idea to paint the inside of your house. Again, using a neutral color like white or beige is a good idea since it will be more appealing to homebuyers. Also, applying a new coat of paint will make the inside of your house look quite a bit newer and cleaner.
When you sell your home and want to get the highest home sale value you can, the goal is usually to make your house look as new and clean as possible.
5. Change Your Front Door
The front door is one of the first things that a homebuyer will notice upon stepping up to your house. You might not think the appearance of your front door could influence the selling price of your house, but it certainly can. If your front door is chipped, cracked, or otherwise damaged, it won’t give a very good first impression to your potential homebuyers.
To give a better first impression, consider getting a new front door for your home. There are many front doors to choose from, but it is best to choose something that is relatively average yet attractive in appearance and, of course, a door that isn’t too expensive. The simple addition of a new and stylish front door can make all the difference and you’ll certainly get your money back in the form of a higher sale price for your home.
6. Make Your House Look Bigger
The last thing a homebuyer wants is a dim and cramped little house. Even if your house isn’t small, it may still look small in real estate pictures. When it comes to the listing pictures for your house, you want to make sure that it looks as good as possible, and space has a lot to do with that.
If your house looks small, cramped, and dark, homebuyers are going to pass your listing right up. On the other hand, if you make it look more open and spacious, they might give your listing another look. You can make your house look bigger just by moving some pieces of furniture around or by painting the inside of your house a light color.
7. Update Your Kitchen
For homebuyers, the kitchen is one of the most important rooms in the house. After all, people tend to spend a lot of time in the kitchen, especially those who love to cook. If your home has nothing more than a bare-bones kitchen, then it isn’t going to be very attractive to most homebuyers.
This is especially true if your kitchen is obviously worn down and beaten up. For that reason, it is best to give your kitchen an update.
This doesn’t mean that you have to renovate your entire kitchen, but you should make sure that the countertops and cabinets are in good shape. Having appliances such as a dishwasher and a new sink can also be a big help.
8. Make Repairs
If anything is broken in your house, you should fix it right away. This is because broken items or appliances are very unattractive to potential homebuyers. If, for example, your dishwasher is broken, homebuyers know that if they buy the home, they will have to get a new dishwasher themselves or they’ll have to call someone to repair it.
Any extra work on the part of the homebuyer is not very attractive which might prevent people from buying your home, especially at a high price. For that reason, you should fix whatever is broken in your home whether it is a sink, a dishwasher, a shower, or anything else.
That way, your home will be as fresh and tidy as possible.
9. Improve Your Home’s Energy Efficiency
Homebuyers love homes that are energy efficient. After all, the more efficient a home is, the less a person’s electricity bill will be. If your house isn’t very efficient, then the next owner will have to pay quite a lot of money for cooling and heating only for all that air to seep out of the house due to poor efficiency.
Fortunately, you can improve your home’s energy efficiency in a variety of ways. For example, you can get insulated windows or you can add more insulation to your home. A more efficient roof may also help or even the addition of solar panels.
Whatever the case, it is important to make sure that your home is as efficient as possible. The higher your efficiency rating is, the more attractive it will be to potential homebuyers. Not only will your house sell in a shorter period of time but you will also be able to charge more for the house with the addition of energy-efficient aspects.
10. Improve Your Home’s Security
No one wants to buy a house that seems unsafe. Even if your home is perfectly safe, you will want to make sure that homebuyers know that your home is very safe. You can improve your home’s security in a variety of ways.
For one, you can add a home intruder alarm. This is a very simple and relatively affordable thing to do. If anyone happens to break into your house, the alarm should go off and alert the police.
Another home security measure is to add cameras to the outside of your house. That way, the homeowner could see if there happens to be any strangers around the house. Motion-sensor flood lights are also a good option and they aren’t very expensive.
They turn on as soon as they detect movement outside. Any of these safety features would make your home much more attractive to homebuyers.
11. Update Your Bathroom
The bathroom, of course, is a very important room in any house. If your bathroom is old and grimy, it certainly isn’t going to be very attractive to potential homebuyers. For that reason, you may want to renovate your bathroom to a certain extent, especially if it is small and old.
Simply adding new flooring, changing the countertops, and switching out the cabinets for new ones can give your bathroom a whole new look and feel. Lighting is also important since it can make your bathroom look much larger than it really is.
Fresh new tiles on the floors or walls can help as well.
12. Improve Fixtures and Accessories
Once you got all the big things taken care of, you won’t want to ignore some of the details of your home. Take your doorknobs, for example. Changing your doorknobs may not seem very important when selling your house for a high price, but if your knobs are beaten down, changing them can make a big difference.
This is also true for light fixtures, light switches, cabinet handles, and so on. If all of these items are old and worn down, it will be a good idea to change them so that your home looks as sleek and new as possible.
How to Increase Home Value
If you want to increase home value, you will have to consider a few important things. For example, you will want to make sure that you improve your home’s curb appeal and paint the home’s exterior. Updating your kitchen, bathroom, and floors is important as well.
To learn more about selling your house, click here.