The housing market is always fluctuating through periods of highs and lows, excess supply, and shortages. As a homeowner, it can be quite difficult to understand when you should sell, how you should sell, and who your optimum clientele is. While it’s great to be working with a realtor who understands the market and who can help you navigate the housing markets’ terrain, it’s always beneficial to do some homework on your own and develop at least a basic understanding of your home as a commodity on the real estate market. 

When potential buyers come to visit, they will often highlight things that you never gave any importance to or never thought to be a significant factor in the overall condition of the house. For example, if you have a manual garage gate rather than an electric one, this could be something that your buyer says is a major consideration for them. The reason for this is not only the fact that they have a certain requirement, such as a buyer who specifically wants an electric garage gate, but also the fact that it has an influence on the overall image of the house that the buyer develops, and the user-value that the home holds for a buyer.

While you and the buyer might know that upgrading to an electric gate only requires the installation of an inexpensive motor, the problem isn’t the cost of the upgrade, but the fact that the buyer will have to make modifications right away to what is for them, a new home. When buyers are looking to buy a new house, even if it’s not a brand new construction, they want a place where they can move into and start living without having to worry too much about maintenance or upgrades. Sure, they might want to upgrade certain things down the line, but something like flooring represents a lot of expense, time, and inconvenience.

Does Flooring Matter?

A lot of your existing fixtures and fitting matter. Not only the types and amount of amenities that you have around the house, but more specifically the condition of these things are of great importance to the new buyer. Flooring is one of those things that people certainly keep an eye out for because it can be quite expensive to install and it’s not the quickest job to complete. Moreover, flooring is a part of the house that has a relatively long life span, if installed correctly and used appropriately. When people are hunting down new homes, having these long-lasting, high investment amenities already sorted is a big plus.

It’s also worth noting that during this time, amid the pandemic and economic uncertainty, people are even more willing to pay a premium for houses that have the things they need in good working order. Right now, it’s more inconvenient to get house renovations done as people are looking to minimize the amount of contact they have with people in general and supplies are not always easy to get a hold of.

What Kind Of Flooring Do Buyers Like?

By and large, wooden flooring is the most preferred solution. It is visually appealing, it’s very durable, it doesn’t require too much maintenance and it gives the house a very unique feel. However, buyer preferences also vary with the overall style and structure of the house while practicality is also a big concern. However wooden flooring is quite popular especially for large areas of the house such as the dining rooms, central areas of the house, and decks/patios.

In larger houses with modern styling, marble and ceramic tiles are also preferred for the central areas of the house. In smaller, more traditional houses, carpeted floors are also popular. However, in both styled houses, carpets are preferred for rooms and even bathrooms. Considering that carpets tend to wear relatively quickly with heavy use, you might want to consider changing out the carpet in your home before you sell it. Whether you want to re-carpet just a couple of rooms, or the entire house, select quality options that will improve the visual appeal of the space and will also provide sturdy comfort in the long run. As a resident of the house you might have grown accustomed to the flooring, but when someone has a look for the first time, the type and condition of the flooring can have a big impact on their judgment of the entire space.

Flooring In Homes On The Market

There is a lot of variation and it really depends on the area, the style, and even the price of the home you are looking at. Sometimes you can find really expensive houses in areas that generally have a lower price only because the condition of the house is immaculate. If you are considering improving the flooring in your home to earn a better retail price you need to look at flooring that will help you attain this goal rather than flooring which is cheap or easy to install. Look at it as an investment that will help you earn a profit.

Which Flooring For Which Area?

This is mostly down to general preference but there are a few things you should keep in mind.

  1.   Keep flooring homogenous between large spaces. You don’t want different kinds of woods or materials touching each other in a large space, it looks very unattractive.
  2.   Functionality. While things like wood and marble have a lot of visual appeals they will not be the best choice for areas such as the garage, areas that are exposed to rain and sun, and in places where they could easily be damaged.
  3.   If you are using wood, make sure it is the right wood for the right purpose. Not all woods are equal. Before you use the wood make sure it is treated for termites, it’s polished and has a protective coat, and if you are doing it yourself make sure you know how to install it properly.

Overall, improving the flooring is a great way to earn some more money on your house. Moreover, in the process, you will be able to evaluate everything under the floor and you will also gain access to a lot of areas that you had probably not inspected in quite a while. If you find that there are other things that should be attended to while you are doing the flooring, get it done, you can always add that to the list of improvements/renovations that you have done and the new buyer will be much happier in paying for a home with all of this work already done.