Wood Still Beats Carpeting
Selling your home? Do you have the original hardwood floors under your old carpeting? If so, increase the value of your home by removing the carpeting and bringing that old wood floor back to life.
Home buyers usually prefer hardwood floors. The National Association of REALTORS® found that the majority of home buyers were willing to pay more for a home with hardwood flooring. (study done in 2016). Further, The National Wood Flooring Association conducted a survey of real estate agents across the United States to determine the impact of hardwood flooring on a home’s appeal, sales potential and overall value. The results revealed that 95 percent of the real estate agents participating believe that homes with hardwood floors are easier to sell.
I am not suggesting that people who want to sell their homes run out and replace the carpeting with hardwood floors. Sometimes the carpeting needs to be replaced and there is hardwood flooring under it. Don’t let that opportunity pass you by. Even hardwood floors that need a little work are better than old carpeting and usually better than new carpeting. While carpeting may costs a lot less, which is one of the reasons why it can be the popular choice, it may not have the result you’re looking for when it comes to selling your home…to increase its value and desirability.
Buyers feedback when asked to choose between two identical homes with hardwood or carpeting:
- Strongly Prefer Carpet: 3%
- Slightly Prefer Carpeting: 7%
- No Preference: 12%
- Slightly Prefer Hardwood: 27%
- Strongly Prefer Hardwood: 51%
It’s no surprise that a new or refinished hardwood floor can dramatically upgrade the overall value of the home and make a big impression on guests and potential buyers. There is something powerful about the way hardwood floors can help define a space, not to mention how it also adds elegance and natural charm to virtually any room in the home. Aside from its genuineness, hardwood floors are visually warmer and radiate an aura of warmth and friendliness within your home…and increase the value.
That’s win, win, win!