Top five renovation tips to improve the value of your home

New Zealand is one of the few countries in the world where you can pretty much guarantee a return on every dollar you invest in renovating your home. However, as we’ll see, some types of renovations bring far higher returns than others.
A woman is sitting on a couch reading a magazine next to a picture of a house

1. Extend your home

If there’s ONE thing that will maximise the return on your renovation dollar, it’s making a smaller home bigger, according to Gary Caulfield, quantity surveyor and general manager of Construction Cost Consultants. For every dollar you spend turning a three-bedroom home into a four-bedroom home, you’ll usually double your money, he says. In the case below, Pzazz Building Nelson transformed a two-bedroom 1960s cottage into a gorgeous three-bedroom home with twice the living space and million-dollar views over Golden Bay – all in keeping with the character of the original house.
A house with a balcony on the top of it

2. Improve your indoor-outdoor flow

If you have the room, adding a deck and French doors is one of the simplest and best ways to to improve the much-desired indoor-outdoor flow and increase the value of your property. The doors will add light to your home and the deck will enhance your lifestyle and entertainment opportunities.
A group of people are standing around a table in a kitchen.

3. Get a heart transplant

The heart of any home is the kitchen. Prospective buyers know they’re going to spend a lot of time in that heart, so the kitchen’s style, functionality and vibrancy will be an important consideration for them. Because of this, kitchen renovations are a good investment, paying you back around $1.50 for every dollar you spend, according to Gary Caulfield.
A man and woman in a bathroom with the words let us show you what 's hot in bathrooms


4. Find out what’s hot in bathrooms

Bathrooms used to be regarded as purely functional places, but those days are gone. The modern bathroom has become a sanctuary, a haven, a place to relax, unwind and cleanse the spirit as well as the body. Because of this, design, colour, texture and objets d’art are common features in bathrooms today, as you can see from the picture below.

A house with a garage and a driveway in front of it

5. Optimise street appeal

First impressions really do count. The greatest house in the world is still going to be hard to sell if you can’t get people in the door. The Nelson home we featured earlier had almost no street appeal until Pzazz Building Nelson created this dramatic entranceway and windows in the same style as the original home.