Home Improvements that Lower Your Property’s Value in the Future - May 2022

By Guest Blogger, Timothy Evans, 

Vals QLD

When you buy your own home, you have bought what it is and could be. You bought how you saw yourself living in that particular property. Many buyers look at a property’s potential and what home improvements they’re excited to undertake.

You are well within your right to make home improvements to your property as you wish. However, if you plan to sell this property sometime in the near or distant future, you may want to consider how certain improvements will influence your property’s value. Not all home improvements add value, and some may even cause a depreciation over time.

You may have heard the term Property Valuations, an essential tool that can be useful in several situations, giving insight into how much the property is worth, whether you are looking to sell, refinance, or find out a realistic valuation of a property you may be interested in purchasing.

When seeking recommendations or a better insight into your property and if proceeding with any type of renovation or home improvement will be of any benefit in the future, then look no further than a qualified expert in the field. A property valuer is someone who will assess how much the property is worth by conducting an inspection, as well as analysing all relevant information within the market and any other factors that may come into play, you will then be presented with a report that is detailed, clear and consistent based on the current state of the property at the time of inspection you will also get a non-biased recommendation with regards to undertaking certain improvements on your property and whether or not it will benefit your property’s value in the future.

Below we have listed a few improvements that could have a negative impact on the value of your property. As there are a number of influencing factors to consider this may vary as well depending on other factors that may arise. As your property is likely to be one of your big assets it makes sense that you want to ensure you are utilising every avenue to maximize the value the best you can.

Converting a bedroom into a hobby room

It is all part of the home buying experience to walk into a property and see how you may be able to use the space. Each person will have their own vision of what a room could be, where their furniture will go and how they’ll live in it. This vision will be limited or eliminated entirely if you have turned a room into a hobby specific room.

If you turn a space into a home theatre, office, gym, library etc. then that is all anyone will see. The room’s potential is no longer there. Someone with a strong imagination may still see something else but they will also see the dollar signs that come with converting the room.

If you want to turn a room into a hobby room, consider only using fixtures, furniture etc that can be easily removed in the future when it comes time to sell your property. This will restore the room to its former blank canvas state, which is much more attractive to home buyers.

Renovating a single room

It’s very easy to get excited and maybe even a bit carried away when you renovate any part of your home. This may lead to certain considerations being over-looked, which include:

• Design: It is your home and of course, you’d want it to look a certain way. However, if you go too bold or even luxurious in its design you may turn away any future buyers.
  
  
• Quality: Going for the more affordable option or the option that “looks” good but isn’t necessarily good quality will only harm your home’s property value in time. When making home improvements always opt for good quality products with a warranty to ensure your improvements stand the test of time.
  
  
• Consistency: This goes hand in hand with the above. The renovation of a single room must be consistent with the design and quality of the rest of the property. If the room does not match, prospective buyers may take notice and will already be thinking about the costs of fixing up the rest of the house to match.

DIYing your home improvements or repairs

DIYing has become increasingly popular over the years. It is seen as an easy and affordable way to improve your home and potentially increase its value. However, in most instances, this isn’t the case. If you don’t have the skills or the experience to undertake a home improvement project then simply put, don’t.

Most DIYers make costly mistakes. This could be choosing cheap quality products, completing work that needed to be done by a professional or creating structural issues that must be fixed sooner rather than later. To avoid disastrous results, do your research, consult with someone with experience or hire a professional.

Turning two small bedrooms into one large luxurious bedroom

Whenever you remove a bedroom from your home, property value has been lost. Families and investors alike will both prefer a property that has more bedrooms over any other space.

Not everyone longs for a large and spacious bedroom. Some may even prefer a cosier space to rest their head at night. If you ever plan the sell your property, the cost of bedroom conversion may not be worth the number of buyers turned away from an ad that promotes a 3-bedroom home when they were looking for 4.

Removing built-in closets

Built-in closets have become something many expect in a modern home. If you remove this feature because you prefer space or a more open closet solution you have been better off looking for a property that didn’t have closets to begin with.

Something else to consider is the availability of built-in closets in your local area. If every property in your neighbourhood has built-in closets, then your property value has now been lowered by comparison.

For all home improvements, doing your research is incredibly important. If you want to avoid lowering your home’s property value, consider which home improvements may be worth the effort, speak to one of our team members to help determine what valuation service would best suit your property requirements before you get started.

Author bio

Timothy Evans has over 20 years’ experience in residential, commercial and industrial valuations across the Brisbane metropolitan area. His expertise in property has led him to become an authority in his field and has become an expert in larger scale commercial property and development site valuations. In addition to being one of Brisbane Property Valuer’s leading Senior Valuers, Timothy often features as a guest lecturer and keynote speaker at conferences.

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