Getting a property on the Western Australian home market takes a lot of prep work, especially if you’ll be selling in a city like Perth. Home buyers these days are much savvier about their choices, and they won’t settle for just any house they see. To compete with other sellers, you’d need to go the extra mile in your remodelling efforts to make your home look beautiful, functional, and to the times. And on the subject of remodelling, real estate experts are in agreement that the area that deserves the most attention is the kitchen.
Why should you prioritise kitchen renovations before you sell your home, and when’s the best time to go about kitchen remodelling? This feature will answer those two questions, and hopefully be of some help in your upcoming kitchen makeover.
The Impact of Kitchen Renovations on Home Value
It’s true that pre-sale home renovations can be a very costly endeavour. Before you can expect to make money off the sale, you’ll need to spend a good deal of it first—be it on new materials, labour, or expert advice from your home improvement contractor, electrician, or plumber. That’s why it’s fair to ask which parts of the house are worth shelling out on—it’s both a question of saving your money and increasing your profit in the sale.
And this is where the kitchen area comes in. It is kitchens in particular that are said to drive home sales and bring a return on investment. Real estate experts have found that potential home buyers are more exacting about the kitchen than they are with bedrooms, bathrooms, living rooms, and studies. If you stopped to think about it, it makes perfect sense. After all, the kitchen is thought to be the “heart of the home,” responsible for nourishing its inhabitants. Buyers wouldn’t be amiss to base their impression of the property off the kitchen alone, as it is a good yardstick of how pleasant and how functional a house really is.
Other home sellers have caught on and invested a significant portion of their remodelling budget to the kitchen. According to Houzz’s Home Renovation and Trends Study in Australia, kitchen work was the leading type of home renovation in 2017. The same survey stated a median spending rate of AUD 20,000 by Australian homeowners on their kitchen remodelling alone.
Twenty grand may seem like an imposing figure, but there’s a high chance of you earning a good deal of it back in the sale. Home improvement channel HGTV estimates that a homeowner can regain between 60% and 120% of their investment after renovations, provided that they spend wisely. And sometimes, the renovations themselves don’t need to be extreme—minor remodelling efforts like updating the kitchen’s cabinetry can already go a long way.
In short, renovating your kitchen could increase the property’s overall value, greatly boost your chances of selling it, and win you back a sizable chunk of what you’ve invested. That’s why it’s worth putting your best foot forward when you start on your kitchen renovations.
How Often Do You Need To Do Kitchen Renovations?
Timing your kitchen renovations will depend on the overall age, state, and usability of your kitchen. Some kitchens may only need minor fixes before they’re shown to buyers, while others may be in need of more frequent and intensive work. The following additional factors may be of help when determining what type of renovation work needs to be done, and how soon it should be carried out:
- When it’s been 10 to 15 years since the kitchen was first installed. One decade is a long enough period for some of your kitchen’s original fixtures to be seen as outdated. Let’s put it this way: no one wants to cook in a kitchen that looks like it entertains ghosts from a previous era! As such, if you’re going to sell your home a decade from when you bought it and first used the kitchen, it’s high time to start remodelling it. You can start by getting a new paint job, adding new furniture, or doing other minor remodelling tasks to give your kitchen a fresher, more modern look.
- When there’s significant damage or wear and tear. If more serious problems arise even before your kitchen hits the ten-year mark—such as broken cabinets, shorn down tiles, cracks or persistent stains on the walls—do not delay remodelling. Ask your local carpenter, tile setter, or pest control expert to pay your kitchen a visit, and set things straight. This is one of the biggest courtesies you can afford to your home’s next owner. Indeed, a buyer is more likely to purchase your property if you demonstrate concern for their health, safety, and wellness through your kitchen renovations.
- When the electrical fixtures don’t seem as reliable, when wires are exposed, or when you experience other electrical problems. As in the item above, new buyers should be able to trust you about the state of the kitchen—and you should promise them that they can use new appliances and go about their cooking and cleaning without any risk of power failure, electrocution, or fire. Call an electrician to make sure everything in the kitchen is in good working order before you make the sale.
Don’t Hesitate to Get Expert Help
One other thing that may help you sell your home is a grasp of what your market is looking for. You may want to ask someone who’s well-versed in real estate or home improvement what homeowners currently favour when it comes to kitchens—what style they like, what kind of appliances they’d want to use, and what kind of furniture they’d want to outfit the kitchen with.
But regardless of whether or not you’ll follow those trends, it will be a good decision overall to pool your efforts into your kitchen renovations. Here’s to wishing that every remodelling job will go as planned, and that another Western Australian family will soon inherit the warmth and congeniality of your old home!