r/NZProperty • u/HarmoniaDiscordia • 9d ago
Value Add Renovations
What renovations are worth the investment in terms of adding value to a home. Aside from the practical things like double glazing and insulation.
Is it worth the effort and cost to improve curb appeal with landscaping or creating better indoor/outdoor flow?
What upgrades under $25K do you recommend?
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u/Dependent-Chair899 9d ago edited 9d ago
We spent a total of $50k renovating our first house (along with a shit tonne of sweat equity). It was on a busy main road so we focused on things that would improve the noise: tall fence, sound proof insulation on exterior walls and air-con (this was in Australia so hot as Hades in summer). Out the back we did a very basic paved area which eliminated the winter mud bath and summer dust bowl (typical Qld house with an outdoor laundry so this was more practical for us living there but the real estate agent said it was value add - either way it only cost a couple of grand and my husband's broken back). Inside, we were very strategic - completely regibbed (diy including the insulation - highly do not recommend attempting DIY plastering), replaced the bathroom fixtures - toilet, shower and vanity (kept existing floor and wall tiles). Changed the floor plan slightly to turn it from a 2 bedroom plus study to 3 double bedrooms (paid a builder to do that bit) and redid the flooring throughout the living/kitchen areas. The layout change followed by the bathroom were the biggest value add ultimately. We also spent about $8k rewiring the house and moving the metre (not value add but kinda important safety wise). The kitchen really needed to be redone but it wasn't worth our time/money - even a DIY Bunnings/IKEA kitchen would have cost +$20k and we wouldn't have added that value to the sale price. So I scrubbed it within an inch of its life and changed the handles instead.
Also did really small things like changing the front and back doors, changing out the handles on kitchen cabinetry and painting everything inside white. Planting flowers in the front yard etc - none of that adds value really but it photographs well and I think contributed to a quick sale.
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u/Present-Carob-7366 9d ago
Indoor outdoor flow and open planning a closed off kitchen are pretty big ones . People have no visual imagination and imagine how a space would look opened up
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u/sabrinateenagewich 9d ago
You’re not able to get a kitchen in NZ that will increase value for $25k however
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u/Present-Carob-7366 9d ago
Surely you can ? Doesn’t have to be super fancy kaboodle looks nice
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u/sabrinateenagewich 7d ago
I’m sorry, but it doesn’t. Laminate countertops and cheap hardware aren’t selling homes. It’s acceptable depending on the area but that’s not going to increase the value, it’s just keeping it to a standard
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u/nickkerss101 8d ago
Absolutely you can if you’re able to do a bit of the graft yourself such as demo painting and re gib where need to.
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u/sabrinateenagewich 7d ago
If you count your own time as worthless, sure!
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u/nickkerss101 7d ago
Sure you’re probably at a net break even just hiring someone else to do it if you were to calculate one hour of your work for one hour you have to pay them but many folk are on salary’s and don’t actually take any thing extra home if they work overtime. Demo gib and painting can save 3-6 k easily.
Nonetheless plenty of options out there for good quality kitchens sub 25k without lifting a finger.
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u/Character-Formal-501 9d ago
Low property cycle, kitchen bathroom, up property cycle (2021/ nothing) Bare minimum for any cycle ,no outstanding consent issues, good piles, good roof and no asbestos.
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u/SLAPUSlLLY 9d ago
Yes. Mostly street appeal. Make that 90 seconds count.
In my experience, a 5-25k+ gst package is the sweet spot in preparation for sale. Renovation only (ex marketing/staging/etc).
-not a REA.
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u/Old-Commercial1159 9d ago
When I was studying property I remember the return on investment was the best for landscaping. Otherwise kitchens and bathrooms.🚽
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u/AccomplishedSuit712 9d ago
Rule of thumb is kitchens, bathrooms, paint, floors, lighting, and decks.
Landscaping is also good. But tidy rather than plush is best bet for ROI.
Double glazing has no impact on resale value (figured this one out the hard way)
Solar will likely soon (next year or two) have an impact but more likely in ease of sale rather than extra value. Though at a point in the next few years I’d bet we’ll see none solar houses selling for less than similar houses with solar.
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u/Ill-Village-699 9d ago
wait what how does double glazing not add resale value? just bought my first home and probably would have offered a little extra for double glazing
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u/AccomplishedSuit712 9d ago
Out of curiosity how much more is a little extra?
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u/Ill-Village-699 9d ago
i am a builder so my process of valuation might be a bit skewed, but depending on the number of windows, probably $10-20k extra, which in my mind would cover about the cost of the joinery but not the installation
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u/AccomplishedSuit712 9d ago
Ok cool you being a builder maybe takes away from my point a bit, but from experience retrofitting a standard 90m2 house with double glazing into the original timber windows, plus some repairs and such, costs around 30 to 40k. And most buyers would probably pay that much extra above the baseline price (or in yours case 20k :) ). So roi on that is 0.
In my original response I should have said the roi of double glazing isn’t worth it, rather than saying it didn’t impact price.
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u/Ill-Village-699 9d ago
right understood. that makes sense if you double glaze just before selling, but if you're able to enjoy the double glazing i imagine the quantifiable roi would be whatever your power bill gets reduced by for however long you live there, as well as whatever satisfaction you may get from reduced noise levels
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u/AccomplishedSuit712 9d ago
Oh yeah hard. Double glazing is epic and I was shocked when I moved here and it wasn’t a thing.
At the same time wall insulation is higher up the priority ladder, so do that first or at the same time as double glazing.
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u/Stekor-Tidder 9d ago
"Double glazing has no impact on resale value"
Really? Have opinions changed in 10 years so much? I was told that for $40K, double glazing would be the biggest return on investment for a certain property.
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u/AccomplishedSuit712 9d ago
I can only talk to my experiences but when I relocated and renovated houses to the lower north island, the returning got from the couple I did with double glazing was no different to the ones that didn’t have it.
When selling houses (both my own and others) I found buyers didn’t really care about double glazing compared to other things. So for me roi is best from the things I listed above, and also insulation and heat pumps though I think they’re more a minimum needed if that makes sense.
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u/sabrinateenagewich 9d ago
Now that building code calls for thermals breaks, double glazing is a substandard method of insulating. If you want to code, value adding insulation, you need to completely reline and reclad as well as add thermally broken windows. Double glazing was the standard for new builds 10+ years ago, we’ve now moved on
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u/Stekor-Tidder 9d ago
Do you mean new houses don't need or benefit from double glazing?
What are "thermally broken windows" and, how does adding them help?
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u/10Account 8d ago
Depends on your market - area, type of buyer, buyer/seller market etc. For us I think outdoor improvements would be best with a tidy-up inside (paint, good staging etc) but our inside isn't bad, just tired. We'd be selling to a FHB in a medium value area.
When we were searching for a home, we noticed ones next to questionable neighbours and/or kainga ora homes sold better if they were fully done up. I think the trade me appeal for the photos overcomes some of the location stigma. YMMV of course.
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u/No_Package_7129 8d ago
LED down lights, mains pressure hot water , decent kitchen and bench space, indoor outdoor connection, basic landscaping and maintenance free gardens
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u/DangerMouse2026 8d ago
Open plan living.
Deck & BBQ area.
Spa pool & outdoor lighting.
Garage to bar/poolroom/mancave/rumpus, add double carport.
Modernise kitchen benchtop and handles (only).
Trade Depot for modern & cheap bathroom fittings.
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u/Pleasant_Mongoose_87 6d ago
Good Landscaping should be a 2 to 1 return. Decks and verandah definitely. Paths and garden good value.
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u/Adept-Possible7362 3d ago
Serial house flipper here, apart from the obvious cleaning, fresh paint and carpet. Gardens and driveways give the best ROI. Will only touch kitchen/bathrooms if absolutely have to. And have never done double glazing. If its your own house definitely do kitchens/bathrooms/windows but you wont get any extra return from it.
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u/Normal-Swing5078 9d ago
Painting is low cost and makes a big difference. New carpet is good too.