Home Renovations That Offer the Best Return on Investment (“ROI”) For Resale

Our Seller clients will often seek guidance from our agents on ways they can prepare their home for a resale and the conversation often begins the same way by asking whether or not they should make renovations. The Hawaii real estate market differentiates a bit in terms of our resources, what provides an asset to the property and just like most housing markets, buyers will measure the quality of the home for any potential repairs to be made in the future. 

While the Hawai’i real estate market is a truly unique creature of habit, structural concerns do arise often contingent on the location of the home, the weather of the area, the age of the architecture of the home and many other factors each member of HDG can curate for clients. A big portion of the concern for sellers is whether or not renovations will assist them achieving a certain level of monetary gain from the property sale. When explaining to clients as to whether or not renovations would provide a great return on their investment, we go through the motions of the following five factors to consider when wanting to sell a property anywhere in Hawaii real estate. 

Hawaii real estate can involve so many different facets for potential buyers and sellers and our suggestions always begin with the following items for a property owner looking to sell their home. With the world being so different in terms of supply and demand post-pandemic, many things have changed from our previous solutions for sellers on what could yield the highest return on investment of renovation. Our tips and tricks for all things Hawaii real estate are the following:

Know your Home Prior to Renovation

1. Hawaii development, no matter the era of the property, typically brings in different formats of suggestions for sellers to know that development in property in Hawai’i does have different phases than elsewhere so definitely get to know the home prior to making the decision to renovate. Know your builder, the type of home you have, the permitting process for your area via the state and/or county, any zoning restrictions on larger renovations and understand that process prior to making the decision to renovate. 

Kitchen and Bathroom Renovations

1. Average renovations to modernize homes usually begin with the high traffic areas of the home, which are typically the kitchen and bathrooms of properties. Utilities included, many things have wear and tear from countertops, to flooring to actual infrastructure modernizations that may need to be renovated. Definitely look at what a potential buyer would see should you decide to renovate these areas with modern upgrades and think of the cost and worth analysis of what could yield the most profit. A home needing new utilities in the near future would on average cost a buyer money down the road and could make their decision to offer a certain amount factor in the potential costs they may want to do or may need to do to renovate. 

Know Your Budget

1. We always suggest for potential sellers to really look at what they are capable of doing in terms of cost, as some renovation projects, particularly given the chain of supply problems many Hawaii developers face currently post-pandemic. Understanding whether or not you and your ‘ohana would want to invest in renovating a home, whether the property is a recent build or if it’s an older home, knowing what you want and what you are financially capable of is the best place to start. 

Simple Renovation Items Can Help

1. Not every seller is in a financial position to fully upgrade and renovate their existing home prior to listing and that is totally reasonable. Simple items such as a paint job, redoing certain fixtures within the home, even a staining or a carpet removal to reveal the true beauty of certain homes’ actual hardwood floors can be done. These types of projects are without a larger cost and many homeowners are capable of doing so themselves given recent Do-It-Yourself fascinations and there are so many free available resources to homeowners to learn how to do new projects!

Curb Appeal

1. Lastly, one of the best ROI renovation projects many of our clients see time and time again is always the curb appeal to reveal the true beauty of a home. Simple yard fixtures, small yard and landscaping renovations can truly add something to a home for a decent cost. Clearing out overgrown landscaping, particularly here in Hawaii real estate, makes for such a simple task yet yields maximum ROI for many of our clients. 

The decision on whether or not to upgrade is always left up to the homeowner of the property and here at HDG we want to make sure your property yields the best results for you and your family given how competitive Hawaii real estate can be. A property should be something that represents your love for the lifestyle you shared in it or the investment purposes you originally purchased it for and for a buyer, they want to see the property from your perspective. 

We encourage all potential clients to connect with an HDG agent today so we can advise you and find the best possible way to market your property to yield more than just a return on your investment, but a return on the property that served as a foundation to an era of you and your ‘ohana’s life!