7 Home Improvements With The Best Return

In the past few years Axe Philly has contributed to the development and sale of over 100 units in Philadelphia (personally building dozens ourselves). We started the business with certain theories of which specific renovations would yield the best return. We had the unique ability to gain real world market feedback for our theories.

Below are our findings of the 7 most cost-effective home improvements that yielded the best “bang for our buck”. . .

1—Addition of a centrally located half bath

The biggest factor with the half bath is that it’s located in an easily accessible spot. People spend most of the time in their kitchen/living area, so having it close by is what creates that “level up” in their lifestyle.

Helpful Anecdote: We flipped a property in south Philly and sold it for $300,000. On the same block another property sold for 288,000 – the biggest difference? Ours had a half bath on the main level. The half bath cost us around $5,000 and added $12,000 to our home value.

ROI in our example: 120%

2—Paint and Accent Walls

We typically pick a feature wall in a room and will accent that wall with paint or wood molding designs. Popular wood designs are wainscoting, shiplap, vertical wooden slats,reclaimed wood, built in shelves, exposed brick and geometric designs with 1” wide wood slats. The accent colors that we choose tend to be deep colors that add some contrast – deep blues, greens, grays or even black. 

We’re adding these accent features to add immediate value as we’re selling the properties right away so we tend to focus on accenting walls with paint and molding that is in alignment with current trends. For your personal property I think the most important thing is to create a feature that you love! The additional value comes from creating a unique feel that turns your property from a house into a home. It’s a relatively inexpensive addition and one that will separate you from the competition if you ever decide to sell.

3—New Hardware and Fixtures

It’s incredible the difference that some new cabinet hardware can make! If you’re looking for an extremely cost-effective way to spruce up your kitchen/bathroom try switching out the old tainted knobs for some cool new pulls of a color that fits your kitchen color palate. You could even add some textured pulls for a little added style!

We’ve been loving a darker wood/gray cabinet (or bathroom vanities) with gold pulls, it’s been a very sleek look for us that buyers have LOVED. And for the cherry on top - now that you have some new metal pulls you can match the plumbing fixtures! We’ve gotten gold or even black/gold mixed faucets to match and it gives the entire kitchen or bathroom a more elegant feel. At as cheap as $1 for pulls, and $100 for a new faucet this is the most cost-effective improvement on this list.

6—New Bathroom Tile and Vanities

Bathroom tile and vanities can give you some of the most bang for your buck. The cost is relatively small, compared to a kitchen or basement, because it’s a relatively small space! Additionally, if you’re not moving the plumbing then you can tie in all the new and beautiful fixtures with the old plumbing – saving time and money! The new material is often more durable and easier to clean than older ones, saving you money on maintenance and repair costs.

We’ve also found many opportunities to add built-in custom shelving once we open the walls, making for a more usable and custom bathroom experience. That takes us to our final improvement, focusing solely on this cabinet/shelving!

7—Built In Cabinets and Shelving

This is one where we’ve become particularly skilled. Most builders switch as quickly as possible from renovations to new construction. Why? Simple – it’s way easier! There are much less unknowns. We actually have developed a love for rehabs. We get so energized when we open walls and see opportunities to add built in shelving that look like they were meant to be there. Seemingly every single house we do we find an opportunity to add open shelving/custom built in cabinets into a space that was awkward and previously unused.

This adds additional storage – and people LOVE these features when they’re looking to buy a house. Everybody always needs more storage and when they see the type of storage that looks custom they lose their minds. It’s tough to place an actual value on this because it’s very subjective, but I can tell you anecdotally that I think we’ve legitimately sold houses based on our custom shelving features. We always try to stand out with our rehabs. I want to always be “the house with the....” For instance: “Oh, I LOVED the house with the secret bookshelf door.” Or “Let’s make an offer on the house with the custom built-in panel ready pantry!”. If you are “The house with the....” Then you’ll get offers in any market!

These home improvements have all added more value than they’ve cost us. Some of them add clear, quantitative value and others are more subjective; however we’ve seen each of these examples add significant value to our homes. The most important thing for your own personal home improvement is that you love it! This is your home after all...you were meant to LOVE where you live! We have found a passion for building people homes that they love and if you’d like to hear more about our process then please reach out.