The average American home hit a record high of $400,000 in May of this year.

There are numerous factors that determine your home value when you decide to sell – size, location, age, etc. If you’re looking to sell for the highest possible price, you may have to take matters into your own hands with some renovations.

An updated home with new features is always going to fetch more on the open market. Some updates are worth investing in, while others might have the opposite effect.

In this post, we’re going to tell you 7 of the very best, yet simple home improvement projects that you can do.

Often, increasing your home value isn’t just about breaking the bank or renovating for the sake of renovating. It’s all about being smart and choosing the right things to improve. Keep reading and we’ll make sure you’re seeing good ROI on your home improvement projects.

1. Any Kitchen Upgrades

The kitchen is probably the most important room in any home these days. Not only is it where you cook all of your meals, but for most households, it’s where families congregate and socialize.

A kitchen upgrade may not sound like a simple fix and it’s true that a full kitchen overhaul is expensive and won’t give you the ROI you want. Stay focused on the small stuff, however, and you’ll have an easy project that home buyers will notice.

Replace your kitchen faucet, upgrade the hardware on the cabinets, and paint them rather than replace them. Try adding new energy-efficient light fixtures and put a backsplash behind your counters. These little things will make your kitchen more attractive.

2. Upgrading Appliances

Do your appliances match? Are they energy-efficient? Do they work at all?

If you’ve got room in your budget to purchase brand-new appliances, they can really help to give your kitchen and laundry areas a more complete appearance. With energy-efficient models, you can entice home buyers with lower utility costs.

Going with energy-efficient appliances may put you in line for local government rebates. There are other little things you can do to boost the home’s energy efficiency, like installing new windows and doors. These things can get expensive, but if you’re looking to cast a wide net to sell your home quickly, it’s a good move.

3. Bathroom Upgrades

After your kitchen, the bathrooms are the next most important thing to upgrade. And, as with the kitchen, you can get a lot more out of little flourishes than an expensive bathroom remodel.

Simply adding new cabinet fixtures, replacing the faucet, throwing a new coat of paint up, installing new mirrors, and brightening things up with better light fixtures will go a long way. Bigger upgrades, like replacing the tub/toilet or retiling the floor are going to cost too much and take a bit too much time to complete.

4. Adding Solar Energy

One of the best upgrades you can make to boost the value of your home and incentivize buyers to take an interest in adding rooftop solar panels. Over the past 20 years, the solar industry has steadily grown, which has drastically reduced the cost of going solar.

It’s easy to see the benefits of going solar, especially when you consider that it’s cheaper than ever to do. You can effectively eliminate your energy costs and break even on the panels in a matter of years. You’re also drastically lowering your carbon footprint in the process.

When it comes to selling your home, buyers will understand the significance of solar panels as well. It’s definitely something to consider if you’re looking to sell your home in the next several years. Don’t forget about the numerous incentives and tax rebates for solar panel buyers, both at the federal and state level.

5. Smart Home Gadgets

Realtors love being able to promote a home that has the latest smart home technology. Turning your home into a smart home is relatively cheap and entices buyers that are more tech-oriented. It can bring a level of new-world sophistication to older homes especially.

Some of the more popular smart home devices include smart thermostats, home security systems with doorbell cameras and alarms, smoke and carbon monoxide detectors, and lights. Making these small upgrades can increase your home’s value by up to 5%.

6. Curb Appeal

Your home’s curb appeal is a crucial part of how quickly it sells and how much it sells for. If you don’t love the look of your home’s exterior, invest some time and money into landscaping and making small upgrades to its facade.

Adding new walkways, redoing the trim on your windows, and even cleaning the siding all have a big impact on the impression your house makes on buyers. You can also do a bit of shrub pruning and get rid of the weeds to really take it over the top.

7. Finish the Basement

Redoing an unfinished basement isn’t something you can quickly do on your own, but the difference between finished and unfinished in a listing is huge. Hire a company that can help you transform your basement into something a buyer might want.

The more versatile the space is, the better the ROI on the renovations will be. Transforming unused spaces is always a great way to quickly add value to your home without having to add any square footage, which often goes over budget.

Boost Your Home Value Now

Now that you have a better idea of how to quickly and easily boost your home value, it’s time to get to work. The better your house looks and the more features it has when you decide to sell, the more you’re going to get for it. If you make smart upgrades, they’ll add up to a significant increase in value.

7 Simple Upgrades That will Add Value to Your Home by Shanea Patterson | Realty Biz News