3 Immediate Ways To Dramatically Increase Your Home's Worth

Every homeowner wants to increase value of their home. In South Pasadena, however, prices have barely budged in the last six months. In this kind of market, it can seem difficult to make the most out of your investment.

Here are 3 tried and true techniques to help you get the most out of your home, quickly:

Update your front door

A front door is instant equity. It sets the tone for buyers because it’s one of the first things a buyer sees. Good first impressions go a long way. According to Remodling Magazine changing your door is the number one upgrade based on return on investment. Even if you’re not up for splurging on a new solid steel door, painting the door a new en-vogue color can do wonders. Tony Soliz, an appraiser at 911 Resoration says, that small fixes such as these to enhance curb appeal is the best bets for home-sellers to increase value. “A new coat of paint will create a huge uplift in the value of a home, and a better first impression. “I’ve seen tear-downs that increased in value with a simple paint job right before they got demolished,” notes Soliz.

Hire a seller’s agent with the best list-to-close success

There is a science and an art to pricing homes. And whether its ending your price with a ‘9’ or pricing just under market for multiple bids, a seasoned agent knows the right strategy suitable for your market. Part of determining the effectiveness of your listing agent is comparing their history of sales to the total number of homes they’ve listed. This ‘list to close’ ratio tells you how many homes they’ve successfully sold, meaning they’ve priced them correctly and didn’t get ‘fired’ by their client before the home sold. A great listing agent will have a list-to-close ration upwards of 85%. With agent matching services like Agent Ace, you’ll get insight about each recommended agent’s list-to-close ratio, along with a number of other key metrics used to evaluate an agent’s service.

Make aesthetic tweaks to your bathroom

Rather than tackling your kitchen, make updates to your bathroom. It’s smaller, and likely will require less work and money out of pocket. To really maximize your dollar, focus on small aesthetic changes – upgrade the light fixture, the vanity mirror, perhaps paint that out-of-date green tile with a fresh new white. Dani Perea of BrightNest notes, that bathroom renovations average a 62% ROI, and even just “re-glazing a tub, rather than getting a brand new one will also save you money and upgrade the look of your bathroom.”

With a few important but quick changes and a great listing agent, you could see a 10% – 20% increase in your home’s sales value depending on your neighborhood.