Can Hardwood Flooring Increase the Value of a Home in Sacramento?

This home features brilliant walnut flooring in Lincoln, CA.

It’s difficult for those not in real estate to find precise numbers to answer can hardwood flooring increase the value of a home in Sacramento. That’s partly because when home owners install hardwood flooring, they are also making other types of improvements. It’s rare to find just a hardwood flooring installation to compare a rate of return when selling. However, I can tell you in my experiences, sellers always tend to get their money back and then some. My sellers earn a range of one to 6 times rate of return.

This might not hold true in other parts of the country. But I don’t work in other parts of the country. I sell real estate in Sacramento. Here, not only can hardwood flooring increase the value of a home in Sacramento, but that home is almost guaranteed to sell for much less without it.

How much can hardwood flooring increase the value of a home? It’s subjective and based on neighborhoods, coupled with style of home. But an experienced Sacramento Realtor is a walking fountain of information.

The value of this home in Elk Grove increased $62,000 after installing engineered wood.

Case in point, a seller contacted me last fall about selling her home in Elk Grove. I don’t always launch into remodeling ideas when I take a listing unless the seller requests it. This seller asked if she could make improvements to increase the value of her home. It had been a rental for a long time, and it looked like it.

The floors featured carpeting from the year 2000. Sort of aqua. How do you tell a seller her choice in carpet color is atrocious? Well, you don’t use the word atrocious, for starters. You make her feel OK about the choice when she made it because then was not now. In fact, I suggested she leave it in the upper bedrooms. But changing the flooring options in her entertainment areas on the first floor definitely altered the overall appearance of the home by installing hardwood and removing the aqua carpeting.

Suddenly, it was now inviting, warm, contemporary and desirable. The seller also hired a painter to change the color of her oak cabinets and railings to espresso. I further suggested hanging pendant lights over her kitchen island. Those few improvements bumped this seller’s market value in the spring of 2017 from $425,000 to $475,000. And it sold with multiple offers at $487,000 after 6 days on the market.

Hardwood floors discovered under the carpeting in this 1956 South Land Park home.

Another sale from this year, a beautiful South Land Park home built in 1956 in its original condition. No updates. The home had carpeting throughout. In its present condition, I estimated the value of the home at about $495K. Fortunately, the sellers asked whether they should paint, and that opened a huge discussion about things to do increase value.

I suggested pulling up the carpeting. These were older people about my age selling a home that had belonged to their family for decades. They glanced briefly at each other when I noticed a grin slowly cross their faces. Yes, they could do it. I explained how to remove carpeting because I’ve done my fair share of remodeling jobs. I also know what not to do such as plan your exit before you begin rolling up the carpeting. Otherwise, you could end up like someone I won’t name who had to shove her carpeting out the window.

You’re always taking a chance when you remove carpeting that part of the floor might be plywood or something else. I suggest starting in the corner of a closet or behind a door to check for wood first. Don’t commit to anything until you have removed the carpet. But in the overall scheme of things, a good floor installer can match the hardwood, as I’ve also learned the hard way. An overwatered plant drained into a wool rug over my hardwood floor in Land Park. You can’t tell today where the wood planks were inserted.

In this instance, the floors were perfectly pristine. We pulled a few corners in the closets to check and yes, the entire house, except for the kitchen and baths, had hardwood floors under that old carpeting.

I bumped up my estimate of value after they painted and threw away the carpeting. They did not refinish the floors because the floors didn’t need it. Just painting and disposing of the carpeting, coupled with my, ahem, marvelous marketing efforts, commanded a price of $545K. The home sold at $552,500 after 3 days on the market with multiple offers.

Matching existing hardwood flooring in other rooms increases value.

This home in Curtis Park sold four years ago for a bit under $600K. This year the sellers contacted me to list and sell the home. I recalled when this home sold previously. In fact, I was very surprised that it sold at the price that it did. To pull the amount of money these sellers needed out of the house would take creativity.

I suggested they match the existing hardwood flooring. The living room and dining room featured hardwood floors but the two bedrooms and hallway were carpeted. That seemed odd and out of place to me. It broke the continuity and overall flow. It wasn’t that expensive to install new hardwood, around $5,000 if I recall correctly.

The installer matched it perfectly. You could not tell which part of the house had original flooring and which was brand new, that’s how good it can look. When I first pulled the comparable sales for this home, the reflected value was $630K. There was no way the sellers would agree to sell this home at $630K. Not after 4 years of ownership.

With home staging and the new hardwood floors, this home sold at a list price of $689K. However, the appraisal came in low at $634K. The buyers canceled. Those first set of buyers refused to pay the difference. But I don’t give up. I don’t like to sell a home twice and get paid once, but I will do it. Shortly thereafter, I found a new set of buyers who agreed to pay all cash at $682,500. We adjusted the price to $682,500 and closed escrow without an appraisal.

The difference between my original estimate and the final sales price after installing hardwood flooring amounted to $52,500. Would you spend $7,000 to make $52,500? I surely would.

I hope these three examples from 2017 sales this year have answered can hardwood floors increase the value of a home in Sacramento. Need more stats? I’ve got ’em.  If you are thinking about selling a home in Sacramento, why not call top producer Elizabeth Weintraub at 916.233.6759? Put 43 years of experience to work for you.

And please, I know this doesn’t apply to most people, but please don’t tap a top producer to snag expert home improvement advice and then instead hire some cheap-ass agent. That’s not nice. It is also penny-wise and pound-foolish, as my mother from Minnesota would say if she were still alive.