8 Home Renovations That Increase Value without Breaking the Bank

Home is not only where you live, but the most valuable part of your financial portfolio. If you own a home, its value and how to increase it, has probably crossed your mind more than once. 

If you want your home to be worth more without breaking the bank, here’s a list of simple renovations that may have a big payoff.

Home Renovations for $5K

Fix up Your Kitchen

Kitchen appliances are a good place to start if you have a larger chunk of change to use on home renovations. Stoves, dishwashers, ovens and refrigerators are some of the first things homebuyers and appraisers look at when evaluating a home.

Major appliances can cost anywhere from $500 to $1,000 each, but if you’re a smart shopper, you can get great deals during the fall months and cut costs by nearly 30%. New appliances, a coat of paint and spiffy new countertops may increase the value of your home by up to 7%, according to Consumer Reports. 

Paint the Exterior

One of the quickest ways to spruce up your home and increase its value is to give the outside a fresh coat of paint. A good professional paint job costs about $3,000 on average. If you’re in the mood for DIY, the cost is even less, though you’ll have to spend a bit of time painting carefully around the gutters. 

House painting yields a great return on investment. Choose the right color and trim, and $3,000 worth of paint may easily turn into $6,000 worth of home value. 

Home Renovations for $1K

Refinish Your Hardwood

Hardwood floors are a classic interior design component. They never go out of style, but they do need maintenance. The better they look, the more valuable they are, so if you have about $1,000, put some money into the floorboards instead of stashing it under them. New hardwood costs about $600 for a small room and up to $1,500 for a large one, like a big dining room.

The bigger the room, the more refinishing costs. However, refinishing a bigger room also adds more overall value to the home. Floor refinishing puts nearly 100% of its value back into a home. In other words, the amount you spend on your floor is what you may add to your home’s value. 

Replace Your Shower

A streamlined, high-tech shower with good water pressure and beautiful tile can add immeasurable comfort to any bathroom. It also adds to your net worth.

Replacing an entire shower — fixtures, tile and walls — can be very costly. But choosing one element can add a lot of aesthetic appeal and value. For example, tiling three shower walls and the floor costs about $1,000, and about 70% of that amount may be added to your home’s value. 

Home Renovations for $500

Paint a Room

One of the easiest ways to add on to your home is also one of the cheapest.  Painting one room of your house will only cost you a Saturday and a few gallons of paint, if you choose to DIY. 

Professional jobs cost a bit more, but can be worth it. Generally speaking, painting a room in your house may add double the value of the paint and time to your home’s overall value.  

Change Your Kitchen Backsplash

On average, changing the backsplash behind your kitchen stove only costs between $14 and $40 per square foot. Unless you have a 10-burner stove, that makes the cost of installing a new backsplash pretty low.

Kitchen upgrades are second only to bathroom upgrades when it comes to increasing the value of your home, so a simple backsplash can add its cost onto the value of your home easily. Beyond that, the look of a backsplash adds a lot of aesthetic appeal to any kitchen and makes it a more comfortable, relaxing place to cook. 

Home Renovations for $100

Update Your Light Fixtures

A simple light fixture can make all the difference between dated and daring. Changing your lights can brighten up your home quickly and make a room look brand new. Fixtures cost around $50 on average.

Professional fixture installation is pricy, but changing light shades doesn’t require any electrical know-how and makes a good DIY project. While just changing the light fixtures doesn’t have a huge impact on the selling price of your house, it’s one of many small, inexpensive changes that may add up to cumulative big benefits.

Paint Your Porch

A new coat of paint makes everything look brand new, and the front porch is no exception. Painting your front porch is another DIY project that costs more in time than in money, but pays off big, both in looks and value.

As with most home improvements, you can save a lot of money by opting to do this yourself, if you’re able. Professional porch painting runs hundreds of dollars, but a DIY project only costs the price of the paint. A gallon of outdoor paint for porches costs $30 to $100 on average. A painted porch is another small change that, when added to other small investments in home improvement, may raise the asking price of your home by quite a lot when put together.