Swimming Pool Installations That Drain Your Wallet
Swimming pools might seem like the ultimate luxury upgrade that would make buyers jump at your property, but reality paints a different picture. At most, a pool could increase your home’s value by 7%, according to home improvement advice site Houselogic. On the other hand, according to NAR’s 2023 Remodeling Impact Report, which focused only on outdoor features, the estimated cost recovery on an in-ground pool addition was just 56%.
While an in-ground swimming pool may seem like the ultimate luxury to you, it could negatively impact your home’s value. Families with small children may consider pools to be safety hazards. The financial reality is even more sobering when you consider the maintenance costs that future buyers will inherit. Swimming pools can often be a detriment when selling a home. Many buyers will not buy a house with one, no matter how beautiful it is.
Major Kitchen Overhauls That Burn Through Cash
Everyone dreams of a magazine-worthy kitchen with top-of-the-line everything, but upscale kitchen remodels are notorious money pits. A major kitchen remodel is something everyone dreams of, but most homeowners are shocked to find out this type of project doesn’t necessarily have a good return on investment. Homeowners can expect to spend about $155,000 and recover only 34% when they sell.
The problem isn’t with kitchen renovations themselves – it’s with going overboard. Major kitchen and bath remodels only offer an ROI in the 40% range. High-end appliances, marble countertops, and luxury light fixtures are expensive to install and don’t give you the ROI you would expect from your hard work. Additionally, you have no way of knowing the future owner’s style and preferences.
Instead of going all out, minor kitchen updates prove much smarter financially. The difference in return is staggering when you compare minor updates to full luxury overhauls.
Upscale Bathroom Additions That Don’t Pay Off
Adding a brand new luxury bathroom sounds like it would boost your home’s value significantly, but the numbers tell a harsh story. Adding a brand new, 100-square-foot master bath to the master bedroom can actually have a worse projected ROI compared to a mid-range bathroom addition. The high-end features that homeowners think will wow buyers often backfire.
An upscale bathroom remodel can run homeowners nearly $72,000 and only recovers about 42% when the home is sold. The problem lies in the luxury elements that appeal to very specific tastes. Buyers might see expensive features as maintenance headaches rather than selling points. While this layout may seem luxurious, it also raises concerns for potential buyers, including the high maintenance costs and upkeep required due to the excessive space.
Home Office Conversions That Miss the Mark
With remote work becoming more common, converting a bedroom into a dedicated home office might seem brilliant. However, this specialized conversion often falls flat with buyers. Converting a spare bedroom into a home office by removing the closet and adding built-in storage might sound like a good idea, but the ROI is only about 45%. This is because many people do not need a home office and would prefer the extra bedroom.
The issue lies in reducing flexibility for future homeowners. Most buyers value bedrooms more than specialized spaces because bedrooms serve multiple purposes. What seems like forward-thinking to you might actually limit your buyer pool significantly. While you may love your home recording studio, a young family might not see the appeal. Having to redesign the room could turn them off from the home completely.
Sunroom Additions That Don’t Shine
Sunrooms feel like they should be valuable additions – after all, who wouldn’t want extra space filled with natural light? Unfortunately, the numbers don’t support this assumption. The truth is, however, that a sunroom is considered one of the worst home renovation projects when it comes to return on investment. Experts estimate that somewhere between 45-50% of your investment in a sunroom is recouped when your house eventually sells. That’s considered a poor return.
The costs can be astronomical too. The cost to build a sunroom addition ranges from $5,000 for a smaller space and as much as $140,000 for something on the luxurious side, or $150 per square foot for uninsulated spaces and up to $300 per square foot for a four-season sunroom, according to Angi, making it one of the most expensive home improvement projects. The biggest problem? A sunroom can seem like a good alternative to a larger home addition, but you won’t get the same return on investment. Unlike a full room addition, sunrooms often aren’t included in a home’s square footage, which appraisers use to determine the value of a home.
Primary Suite Additions That Disappoint
Adding a luxurious primary suite sounds like a slam dunk for increasing home value, but the reality is financially devastating. The average cost of an upscale master suite addition is $253, 821, increasing the resale value by $131,035 but leaving the cost recouped at 51%. When looking at this particular renovation with such a large contribution to buyer decisions, losing about half of your money invested might not be the best option if you are restructuring your home for sale.
According to Remodeling’s 2023 Cost vs. Value Report, a mid-range primary suite addition and bathroom addition both offer a mere 30% ROI. Upscale additions bring in even less, with 22-26% of the cost recouped. While it might seem like expanding the property would appeal to buyers, sometimes additions end up not fitting the neighborhood’s look or price point.
Garage Conversions That Drive Away Value
Converting your garage into living space might seem practical, especially if parking isn’t a concern for you. But buyers think differently about garages than you might expect. Most homeowners spend between $6,002 and $27,460 to convert a garage into a livable space, according to home services directory and information company Angi, but this renovation project typically doesn’t add value to the home.
The reason is simple – most buyers highly value having a garage. A recent survey of 12,000 Canadian homebuyers by the Canadian Home Builders’ Association found that a two-car garage was one of the top 10 assets buyers valued. Another survey by American real estate investment firm Crescent Communities showed that 74% of the respondents believed having a garage was “extremely or very important”. Listings that mention garages are associated with a slight sales premium: 0.3%, according to Zillow’s 2024 analysis of listings data.
The lost value isn’t just about parking either. Parking is often tight in urban areas, and with the high price of cars, homes that allow for safe parking could have an edge over homes without a garage that can also serve as a handy storage space.
Elaborate Landscaping Projects That Don’t Bloom
While basic landscaping and curb appeal improvements are smart investments, going overboard with elaborate outdoor designs rarely pays off. However, big-ticket items, such as pools, major kitchen and bath remodels, and extensive landscaping undertaken for the sole reason of adding value might not bring the return you hoped for. The key word here is “extensive” – simple landscaping works, but elaborate projects don’t.
Creating a backyard paradise is nice, but it won’t add to your asking price. A well-kept lawn and some well placed shrubbery and vegetation is all you really need to boost the “wow” factor. The problem with elaborate landscaping is that it’s highly personal. What you consider beautiful paradise, potential buyers might see as high-maintenance headaches.
Professional landscaping costs can quickly spiral into tens of thousands of dollars, but buyers typically won’t pay premium prices for your specific garden vision. They want neat and tidy, not necessarily award-winning landscape design.
Specialized Entertainment Rooms That Fall Flat
Home theaters, wine cellars, and specialized entertainment rooms might enhance your lifestyle, but they’re risky investments when it comes to resale value. A state-of-the-art home theatre can undeniably enhance your TV and movie watching experience significantly. Just be aware that not everybody is a cinephile. A dedicated viewing room will be seen by most homebuyers as space that could be better utilized.
The fundamental problem with specialized rooms is their limited appeal. A recurring theme with many of the worst home renovation projects is the fact that some of the additions you make to your home won’t appeal to everybody. A potential buyer might love the rest of your home, but have no interest in a green room. These spaces often require buyers to invest additional money to convert them back to more universally useful rooms.
The costs for these specialized rooms can be enormous, especially for high-end home theaters with professional-grade equipment and acoustics. But most buyers would prefer that space as an additional bedroom, office, or flexible family room.
Backyard Patio Renovations That Don’t Add Up
While simple patios can add value, elaborate backyard patio renovations often don’t deliver the returns homeowners expect. The average cost to renovate a Midrange Backyard Patio is $54,161, increasing the resale value by $29,445 and leaving the cost recouped by about 54%. Just by looking at these numbers we can conclude that remodeling the backyard patio shouldn’t be top priority. Sure, it’s a great addition for children to play and guests to enjoy but is it really going to be a deciding factor on whether someone buys your home or not?
The appeal of outdoor living spaces varies dramatically by location and buyer preferences. In some climates, elaborate patios might be used only a few months per year, making them less valuable to potential buyers. It is interesting to note that outside additions to the home are more expensive, yet don’t provide a solid ROI. Like any part of a home, backyard aesthetic preferences all depends on buyer discretion.
Simple deck additions perform better financially than elaborate patio renovations, offering more flexibility and broader appeal to potential buyers.