Which Will Increase My Home’s Value More, a Kitchen Remodel or Bathroom Remodel?
If you plan to sell your home soon, you are probably looking to get the biggest return possible from your remodel. Kitchen and bathroom remodels can both give your home a significant boost in value, but if your budget only allows you to remodel one area, which should you choose?
The good news is that either of these remodels is almost guaranteed to increase your home’s value by at least the amount you spent on the remodel. Kitchens and bathrooms are the most expensive rooms in a home to build in the first place, so buyers appreciate (and are willing to pay more) when these rooms have been improved. They are also areas where we spend a lot of time, so we want them to be fully functional and look their best.
One factor to consider when choosing which area to remodel is the current state of the rooms. If your bathroom is fully functional and reasonably modern, but your kitchen was designed in the 1950s and the sink leaks, you should remodel your kitchen. Maintenance problems in general are a huge turnoff for buyers, so they should always take priority over cosmetic or luxury improvements.
If everything works as it should and neither room is obviously older or more worn out than the other, you will generally get a bigger increase in value from a kitchen remodel. A full
kitchen remodel adds around 5% to your home’s value, while a full bathroom remodel adds, on average, just under 4%. Upgraded kitchen appliances are a particularly good investment - just installing modern, state-of-the-art appliances will usually give you a very good return on your investment.
Kitchen remodels also generally cost more than bathroom remodels, however. If you have a small budget, the best choice might be to fully renovate a bathroom instead of choosing a few kitchen upgrades to incorporate into your existing kitchen. While your home’s value will increase less with a bathroom remodel, you will also spend less - sometimes the return on your investment ends up being roughly the same!
If you have the space and are really looking to increase your home’s value, adding a bathroom (instead of remodeling an existing one) will likely give you a bigger increase in value than either a kitchen or a
bathroom remodel. If you can find space to add a full bathroom to your home, you can expect to add between five and six percent to your home’s value. Just make sure the new bathroom doesn’t make the home feel cramped or take away its only linen closet!
All things considered, there is really no wrong choice when it comes to kitchen and bathroom remodels. Both will increase your home’s value by several percentage points. If you are struggling to choose between the two, we recommend starting by determining your budget. Make sure everything (plumbing, etc.) works as it should, and consider how drastic the improvement will be in each space. Then choose the remodel that makes the most sense for you!
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