Top 5 Home Renovation Trends for Big ROI in Austin
Renovating and flipping houses is big business in Texas. Learn about five upgrades that tend to yield high returns on investment.
Renovating your property can increase its sales prices by significant amounts, but renovations are not only a good idea for house flippers. Renovating a rental property can also increase cash flow by making the home more appealing to renters.
Which specific renovations will bring the best return on investment (ROI) in Austin in 2021? This can be a difficult question to answer with precision, since each property has its own unique needs. But the following are five renovations that have demonstrated a track record of increasing the marketability and sales prices of Austin residential properties.
1. Manufactured stone veneer
Remodeling magazine ranks manufactured stone veneer as having one of the best cost-to-value ratios in Austin, which can also mean it offers a great ROI. It recommends using the veneer on the bottom third of a house’s front façade. The average cost is just over $10,000, but it can easily recoup the cost upon resale.
Photo by Sery Content Development MT on Flickr [Creative Commons]
As the name suggests, manufactured stone veneer is an outer, decorative layer of composite materials made to look and feel like various types of stone. Cement is usually the main component, along with aggregates and iron oxides. Manufactured stone veneer is lighter than real stone and easier to install. It can completely change the look of a home without altering its actual structure.
2. New doors
The front door is often one of the first features of a house that people notice. Because of their size, garage doors have an enormous visual impact. Upgrading the ways you enter your home or your yard can dramatically change your home’s look.
Photo by Zac Gudakov on Unsplash
Replacing front doors, garage doors, and backyard gates is a popular trend in Austin right now, and they can offer an excellent ROI. Steel doors in particular seem to offer a good ROI, while almost any upgrade to a house’s garage doors is likely to pay off. Popular trends in Austin include painted garage doors with vertical windows, front doors with vertical windows and bold accent colors, and tall stained wooden gates and fences to the backyard.
3. Siding replacement
Both fiber-cement and vinyl sidings can improve the resale value of a home, according to Remodeling. They can also make a house more appealing to savvy homebuyers, who are almost certain to ask if there have been any concerns with the siding.
Photo by Brett VA on Flickr [Creative Commons]
Siding has been in the news recently because of various problems that can damage a house. Along with the roof, a house’s siding is its first line of defense against the elements. Water that leaks behind siding can cause wood rot and mold. Good siding needs a water-resistive barrier to prevent as much water from leaking through as possible. New siding reassures buyers, which can raise the sales price.
4. Flex rooms/Large living rooms
Open floor plans are generally very popular. Many house-flippers and remodelers have started knocking down interior walls to create larger spaces within homes. As long as this does not affect structural integrity, it can create a much more inviting atmosphere. High ceilings can add to the open feel, although they are not feasible in some homes.
Photo by Alehandra13 on Pixabay
Similarly, houses with “flex rooms'' have shown improved ROIs. A flex room is any room that can serve multiple purposes. A spare bedroom could become a home office. It could also be a media room, a home gym, an art studio, a soundproof recording studio, a library, a playroom for the kids, or almost anything else.
When staged, a flex room should depict one use in particular, but it should also allow potential buyers to see other possibilities for the room.
According to the real estate website Redfin, homes with flex rooms in Austin sell for an average of 104.7% of the listing price. Large living rooms can lead to sales for 104.4% of the listing price. This may be a case of correlation versus causation, but there seems to be a pattern.
5. Minor Kitchen remodeling
The data suggests that a major overhaul of a kitchen is not as good of an investment as some minor remodeling. It might not be necessary to gut the room and replace everything. Instead, small changes can make all the difference, such as:
Replacing cabinet and drawer fronts and hardware
Installing new, energy-efficient major appliances
Adding stylish, water-saving faucets
Replacing the backsplash
Painting the walls and/or removing wallpaper
Get in Touch with the Hard Money Lender Texans Trust
If you need money for a fix-and-flip real estate project in Austin, a hard money loan can offer quick financing with far more flexibility than a bank. Capstone Capital Partners is here to answer your questions and provide you with friendly service from start to finish!
