Planning on selling your home? Research indicates that homeowners who undergo a degree of home renovation before selling increase their asking price by up to 7%. 

But not all home-improvement projects are created equal. So before you knock down a wall, replace all your cabinetry, or even pull out a fresh can of paint, make sure you’ve picked the renovation project with the best possible ROI. 

Here’s what to Skip

• Room regret: Turning an extra bedroom into a walk-in closet. While adding additional closet-space to your home can increase the overall value, it’s only beneficial if the new closet space doesn’t come at the expense of an existing bedroom. 

Remember, future buyers almost always prefer an additional bedroom over a large-scale closet. Plus, a home’s value is often determined based on the number of bedrooms, so eliminating an entire room automatically lowers your asking price. 

• White-out: It’s official, the era of the all-white kitchen is finally over. So if you were planning to update your kitchen in white marble and snowy cabinetry, maybe reconsider. Recent color-analysis research by Zillow suggests that homes with gray-toned kitchens sell for more, while an all-white kitchen actually decreases a home’s value. 

• Large-scale renovations: For once, less just might be more. While moderate kitchen, bath, and exterior renovations can improve the resale value of your home, the ROI on major full-scale renovations is decidedly low. Most homeowners want to customize their home to their own preferences, so launching a full-scale remodel before selling is rarely cost-effective. 

Do this Instead

• Bump-up the Square Footage: As mentioned before, home values are primarily determined by the number of bedrooms, and, as a secondary marker, bathrooms. If your property qualifies for a relatively simple add-on, an extra bedroom or bath can increase your home value by 21/1%. 

• Say Aloha to an Ohana Unit (or ADU): Hawaiians are getting creative in the midst of the ongoing housing shortage, and that includes adding additional living-spaces to their properties. That means buyers looking for multigenerational homes or potential rental properties are highly motivated to look for houses with Ohana or ADU units. 

As an added bonus, constructing these units separately from your primary living space means that the building process is often relatively simple, since you aren’t trying to integrate the new build into your existing floor plan. 

• Lanai Love: On the mainland, adding a covered porch or deck is considered a low ROI investment. But in Hawaii, Lanai porches are trending up as a desired home feature. Covered or partially-covered Lanai’s provide homeowners a perfect way to enjoy Hawaii’s indoor/outdoor lifestyle, and could be a great way to increase the value of your home. 

Find your Team

Building a home in Hawaii is an exciting process, but it can also be time-consuming and stressful. Working with the right professionals is key, which is why we help potential home-builders find the right team for their needs. Contact us today for help finding the best architects, designers, contractors, or engineers in Hawaii, and don’t forget to check out our free online cost estimator for help planning your budget.

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