Installing the right flooring can transform a house into a home.
When upgrading your home, you may not always consider how someone else would view your choices. But in the case of flooring, you definitely should. Flooring, when done right, is perhaps the largest return on investment in relation to home valuations.
Adorning homes for hundreds of years, hardwood flooring has paved a path within design history. Due to its natural warmth and organic splendor, hardwood flooring continues to be the preferred option among home buyers. According to John Wyman of Wyman Real Estate Group, “Hardwood flooring is considered the top tier of flooring choices. While fashions rise and fall (and sometimes rise again) in home décor over the decades, hardwood flooring remains the most preferred for its durability, beauty, and flexibility. It can be presented in a wide array of colors, styles, and widths, and can incorporate a whole host of tastes from log cabin roughhewn pine to sophisticated urban greys.”
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Why Hardwood is the Best Investment: What Buyers Look For
When considering the ideal home, clients can be quite selective. John Wyman found that “clients overwhelmingly prefer hardwood floors, especially in high traffic areas, main living and entertaining areas, and master bedrooms.” He also found that “carpet has fallen out of fashion in urban markets … as evidenced by the near-total exclusion of carpeted rooms in the new construction market.”
Buyers favor move-in-ready accommodations that require minimal renovations. A home with modern amenities is a fast seller, even in a saturated market. Hardwood offers the appeal of fresh design while incorporating prevailing timelessness. Having been overwhelmingly preferred as the top flooring option for decades, hardwood flooring goes beyond what is trendy and into a permanent style fixture.
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Why Hardwood is the Best Investment: Do Hardwood Floors Help Sell Homes?
Various factors can influence the length of time a home will sit on the market. Homes that spend less time on the market, and sell quickly, feature two (or more) car garages, walk-in closets, eat-in kitchens, and the reason you are reading this article today – hardwood. Over 87% of home buyers looking at homes above $100,000 want hardwood flooring; a percentage that goes up as home valuations increase.
Within the real estate industry, evidence gathered from agents revealed that some clients are unwilling to even view homes without hardwood. Approximately 99% of real estate agents surveyed believed that hardwood makes homes easier to sell, while 82% of those surveyed believed that hardwood lowered the amount of time homes remain on the market.
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Why Hardwood is the Best Investment: Home Values and Hardwood
Due to the timeless styling and durability of hardwood, this flooring option negotiates higher home market prices on average. When done correctly, hardwood can achieve a return on investment that covers most, if not all, of the original flooring costs. Hardwood can also add a considerable amount to home valuations. In his own market of Chicago, John found that “condos with hardwood floors [sell] for an average of $10-$12k over their counterparts with carpet or less valuable flooring options.” This data aligns with other studies done such as what Samuel Weigley of 24/7 Wall Street found that in 2013. According to his research, at least 54% of home buyers would be willing to pay more for a home with hardwood flooring. More recent studies have also found an increasing number of homeowners who are willing and prepared to pay more for the amenities they want.
Hardwood floors have been consistently in the top five home upgrades that raise home valuations. They are also one of the lowest cost renovations in relation to increasing property values.
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Final Thoughts
When done right, flooring can add thousands of dollars to home values and move homes off the market faster. Hardwood flooring should no longer be considered a trend, but instead a timeless design option. Its unparalleled durability and beauty can capture any style while providing a substantial return on investment. Overall, hardwood flooring is one of the best investments you can make for your home