NYC Home Resale Value

Home Improvement NY and NJ: Increasing Your Home’s Resale Value

April 18, 2010

As the NY & NJ housing market grinds to a halt, more and more New York and New Jersey homeowners find themselves stuck in an overcrowded and out-dated home. You may not be able to move anytime soon, because while you can get a deal on a new home, it may be difficult to sell your current one. However, you can certainly take some steps to both improve your current living situation and ensure that when the market does swing back up, your NJ or NY home improvements will be attractive to potential buyers.

Make It More Energy Efficient
Everyone’s worried about rising fuel costs, so transforming your home from an energy hog to an energy efficient powerhouse will both attract potential buyers and help your bottom line right now. A home energy audit in NY or NJ is a good way to start: an energy audit evaluates how much energy your home uses and how it uses it so that you know what steps you can take to improve its efficiency. Sealing your home’s thermal envelope via replacement doors and windows and effective insulation will stop heated air from escaping in winter and cold air in summer. Further steps like adding solar panels or a geothermal heating and cooling system will make your home an energy producer instead of merely a user and will cut your utility bills dramatically.

Landscape
Curb appeal is essential: a poorly landscaped or neglected lawn has the potential to turn off potential buyers before they even enter your home. Choosing eco-friendly landscaping like plants with low water needs will both decrease maintenance time and water wastage. Adding plants like trellised vines near windows will decrease passive solar heat during summer, and, in winter when the plants die back, provide much needed light during dark cold months.

Update Appliances
Update refrigerators, ovens, dishwashers, washing machines and dryers. Choose Energy Star models when possible: they use less energy and water, making them attractive for both your current bottom line and your prospective buyers. Choose neutral colors and finishes, though: while you may adore the fire engine red dishwasher others may be turned off and prefer a stainless steel or white finish.

Renovate The Kitchen and Bathrooms
Make sure the cabinetry, wall covering and flooring in the NYC kitchen and all NJ bathrooms are up-to-date, clean, and well maintained. These are the most used rooms in any home and therefore suffer from the most wear and tear. Tile flooring is a perfect choice for both kitchens and bathrooms as they’re easy to clean and relatively durable. Wooden cabinetry is likewise a great choice because, should they become marked or scratched, they can be sanded and refinished. Finally, when repainting, choose neutral colors that both brighten rooms and appeal to the widest variety of potential homeowners.

So don’t despair about the current housing market—be proactive. A few simple steps now can make your time in your current home more enjoyable while ensuring that you’ll get the maximum value for the property once you’re ready to sell.

If you’d like to learn more about improving your home’s resale value, MyHome can help. As the nation’s first full-service renovation specialists MyHome has years of experience in home improvement in the New York and New Jersey area.