14 Common Home Upgrades That Won’t Increase Your Property Value

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Improving your home is one of those things that, like all things, it’s easy to assume that any change you make will increase your property’s value. After all, who doesn’t like a little modern update or splash of personality? Not all upgrades are valuable, and some might actually not significantly raise your home’s resale value.

In fact, some renovations can actually turn off potential buyers, leaving you with an expensive project that doesn’t give you much return. What are these renovations? Let’s find out below.

Converting a Room Into a Home Office

Having a dedicated home office is a great idea, but it can actually lower your home’s value. What most buyers are looking for is more bedrooms, not less. Unless you have more space than you know what to do with in your house, it’s best to keep that extra room versatile, rather than turning it into a professional office.

Overly Fancy Bathrooms

Upgrading your bathroom beyond what’s standard for your neighborhood is a mistake just as it is with kitchens. It’s lovely to have a spa like retreat at home, but features such as steam showers, expensive tile, or heated floors may not pay off in dollars when you sell.

Swimming Pools

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For some, a swimming pool may be the ultimate backyard luxury, but it’s not always the draw you’d think. Where it’s cold, or you have small children, a pool can seem like way too much work for way too little pleasure. With all the maintenance, insuring it, and the concern for safety, some would rather just avoid it altogether.

Custom Built-Ins

Custom built-ins, while great storage solutions, aren’t for everyone. A built in bookshelf, or entertainment center might seem great to you but not all buyers will want or need it. In fact, they may be considered limiting as they can’t very well be moved or adjusted.

Excessive Landscaping

Having a beautifully landscaped yard adds to curb appeal, but you can overdo it. Gardens with très intricacies, elaborate water features or hard-to-keep-alive plants might be too hermetic for a buyer shopping for the down low. The vast majority of homebuyers want a yard that looks nice but doesn’t need constant attention.

Wall-to-Wall Carpeting

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The standard used to be carpeted floors, but most buyers today want hardwood or other hard surface flooring options, as this Curbio article attests. Carpet is outdated, difficult to clean, and not good for allergy sufferers. If you are considering adding new carpeting for the entire house, you might want to think again.

Turning a Garage Into a Living Space

The idea of adding more living space may sound like a smart idea, but turning your garage into a bedroom or living room could actually hurt your home’s value. Most buyers want their garage to be functional as a parking and storage space. If you take that out, you could be limiting the appeal of your home, especially in areas where parking is at a premium.

Bold Paint Colors

Because it’s your home, you can definitely express your personality with bold colors. But when it’s time to sell, potential buyers won’t love bright red walls or a neon green kitchen as much as you do. I would prefer seeing grays, beiges, and whites because they put me, as a buyer, in a frame of mind to imagine myself living in the space.

Luxury Kitchen Upgrades

A beautiful kitchen is right, but spending big bucks on high–end appliances and custom cabinetry can be expensive and not necessarily give you as much back. And let’s face it – many buyers aren’t passionate cooks and will not fork over an extra $10,000 for a $10,000 stove or a wine fridge. A mid-range kitchen renovation that’s stylish is often a much better balance of cost versus added value.

Sunrooms and Screened-In Porches

A sunroom or screened in porch might seem like a very cozy upgrade, but they don’t always pay off in the way that homeowners hope. Many buyers don’t see the need for these spaces, which are often underutilized. If you’re considering this type of addition, you should know that it’s not likely to add much to the value of your home.

High-End Light Fixtures

While you might get a more glamorous feel out of your home by upgrading your light fixtures to expensive, designer ones, it’s unlikely to raise the value of your home. Stylish lighting is certainly an attractive feature, but most buyers aren’t willing to pay more for fixtures they can change themselves.

Elaborate Outdoor Kitchens

There’s nothing wrong with adding an outdoor kitchen if you love to entertain, but they rarely bring any bang for your buck when it’s time to sell. According to RTA Outdoor Living, these setups are expensive, and unless you live in a place that has year round warm weather, many buyers won’t consider them necessary.

Solar Panels

It’s tempting to think energy efficiency is good, but putting solar panels on your roof is an expensive upgrade that doesn’t always translate to higher home values. A maintenance cost, the cost of repairs, or taking over a lease agreement for the panels is a concern for many buyers.

Built-in Audio Systems

If you have a high-end, built-in audio system that is great for movie nights or entertaining guests, it just doesn’t have universal appeal. As wireless technology becomes more widely used, many buyers are more interested in portable options than being tied to a house’s built-in system.

Disclaimer: This list is solely the author’s opinion based on research and publicly available information.