The best thing about building a custom home is that you get to design it to be exactly what you want. You choose the floor plan that is ideal for your family and you can invest in the upgrades that matter most to you, not to someone else. You get to be in control—with the help of your home builder—and make your dream home cater to your particular preferences.
Some people build a home expecting to sell the custom home in three to five years. These home buyers sometimes do sell when they originally planned, other times, they end up staying for decades.
Others plan to live in their new custom built home forever. Sometimes that works out, and sometimes plans change.
It’s wise to think about resale value
Regardless of your plan, take some time to think about future sell-ability and potential future home buyers during the design process. None of us can truly know the future. We want to be able to be flexible if necessary. Sometimes people have to relocate for their job. Parents or adult children need to move in. Or the house that was once perfect simply no longer meets the family’s needs.
Your custom home builder (or a trusted real estate agent) can help guide you through many of the decisions about how appealing certain house plans and amenities might be to potential buyers. Of course, no one can accurately predict what trends might be hot in the real estate market many years from now.
However, it is reasonable to assume that very extreme customization may create some difficulty for potential buyers. If you find yourself in a position where you suddenly need to sell your home, how important will the resale value of your custom home be to you then? And how important might it be that the home could sell fairly quickly?
17 investments that may improve your home’s resale value
- Lots of high quality windows and natural light.
- Universal design.
- Energy efficient appliances, (ENERGY STA® rated) windows, and a tankless hot water heater.
- A floor plan that can meet the needs of people of all different ages.
- An open floor plan.
- A kitchen island with the sink facing toward the living area.
- Hardwood floors and other long-lasting flooring options.
- Low maintenance exterior materials.
- A spacious master ensuite.
- Large, spacious closets.
- Plenty of storage areas around the home.
- A separate tub and shower for the master bathroom.
- Using similar materials to other homes in the same neighborhood.
- Having a small-medium sized house in the neighborhood, not the biggest or most luxurious home.
- Plenty of space, storage, light, and updated amenities in the kitchen.
- Make sure the floor plan makes sense and is practical (with easy access from the garage to the kitchen, for example).
- Consider having the master suite on the ground floor, if possible. Or have a room that can become a bedroom near a bathroom on the ground floor.
5 investments that may not improve your home’s resale value
Some things won’t necessarily improve your resale value but may be worth it to have because it is really important to you. Just keep in mind that these things may not pay off financially in the future if you need to sell:
- A built-in hot tub
- Extremely major professional landscaping
- Media rooms or theater rooms
- Very high end luxury kitchens or bathrooms
- Jetted tubs
8 investments that may lower your home’s resale value
Some investments actually lower your ability to sell your house and even the home’s value. It still may be worth it to you to have these features in your home as long as you know that it is an investment for your family to enjoy. And you don’t expect this feature to help you attract a sale later. Potential buyers may see liability, time-consuming maintenance, or extra expenses to get rid of things like:
- A swimming pool
- Solar panels
- Outdoor water features
- Wall-to-wall carpeting
- High maintenance gardens and landscaping
- Wallpaper
- Textured walls or ceilings
- Built-in electronics (that can become dated quickly)
If resale value is important to you, especially if you plan to try to sell the house in just a few years and you really want to try to recoup all of your investment, do your research. Find out what sells and what doesn’t add value to a home before you build. Perhaps you may want to tweak your plans accordingly to create a home that you and your family love but one that is also going to be easy for another family to love, too.
Related
How Would You Build Your Custom Dream Home?
Top Six Reasons to Choose a Custom Home Builder
What Are the Steps to Building a Home?
