Should I remodel my kitchen before selling?

by Samantha Rose December 06, 2017

A New kitchen can make or break the sale of a house. Here are some tips on turning your kitchen into buyer bait.

For potential buyers, the kitchen is the room that can make or break the sale. An upgraded, attractive kitchen can make your home irresistible. Your priority should be to create a dream kitchen that will appeal to potential buyers and not your dream kitchen.

Remodeling for resale means choosing materials that appeal to the masses. This means opting for stainless steel appliances that are high quality rather than professional-grade models. Spend on functional features like pantry drawers, soft close cabinet drawers and doors, waste-recycling cabinetry. But don’t over-personalize the space. You may appreciate the art-deco drawer pulls that cost $50 a pop, but will buyers care? Probably not, so spend $4 instead.

Sure, you have a list of “wants” for your renovation, but since you need to realize a nice ROI on this project come home-sale time, you must set priorities based on what sells a kitchen. Keep in mind cost of every project.

The simple White Shaker is the most popular option today as it will blend in with most of your choices and will have a clean and elegant look.

No matter what changes you make in your kitchen with resale in mind, never compromise the architecture of your home. “When you sell your home, buyers fall in love with the exterior of the home first. That will engage them,” says Ellen Rady, president, Ellen Rady Designs, Cleveland, Ohio. “If someone really likes your traditional home and you put in a contemporary kitchen, you are setting yourself up for such a niche market of a buyer who is willing to live in a traditional exterior home and who will be happy with a very contemporary kitchen.”

Always a safe bet: “Go transitional,” Rady says.

Tips To Make Your Kitchen Appeal to Buyers

Talk to real estate professionals. Ask a local real estate agent about kitchen must-haves in your neighborhood. Find out what attracts buyers, and what repels them. “Research what is being marketed by the real estate professionals in your area and buy those,” one local real estate rep advises. Sometimes, it is simply a finish color that is important (stainless steel is still popular).

Keep the style and color scheme simple. Think neutral for countertops, cabinets, floors, backsplashes and appliances. By neutral, we don’t mean white for everything. Go natural and subdued. Choose surfaces and fixtures that blend with many styles. “Select countertops and cabinets that are not busy or loud, Simplicity is the key.

Avoid extremes. The exotic wood cabinetry, the $10,000 range, the separate refrigerator and freezer units — is it necessary or luxury? You decide. Don’t cheap out, but avoid the highest end items and features.

Open up the space. If you have a larger budget for your kitchen renovation and your floor plan is one that doesn’t allow the kitchen to “air out” to other spaces in the home, it could be worth your while to knock out some walls, Buyers really want that open floor plan.

Add some ‘Wow!’ features. Convenience items impress homebuyers. Go for extra drawers, a pull-out pantry (tall or in a base cabinet), stone or stone composite countertops. Lighting, such as under-cabinet fixtures, will add ambiance and show off materials in the kitchen.

Go for granite. No matter the price range of your home, buyers want to see granite countertops. If you opt for solid surface such as pulverized quartz, choose a “pattern” that looks like granite. Keep in mind the price tag when you choose granite: There’s no need to go for the most obscure, high-end slab. Check around—there are some companies that offer great specials, especially on level one granite. To the buyer: granite is granite—what level or tier that granite is rarely makes the to-buy-or-not-to-buy discussion.

Are you considering selling your home have one of our kitchen designers layout out a free kitchen design showing you 3D images, we will work with you to incorporate your needs and wants based on your budget. call us at 800-788-7575, view our collections.