This is the Absolute Best Flooring for Increasing Home Value

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“Flooring matters tremendously when selling a home,” Stephan Burke, director of luxury real estate at Cassis Burke Collection with Brown Harris Stevens, told realtor.com. “It immediately influences if the buyer will like the house as they walk into every room and hallway, kitchen, and even exterior patio.”

So, can the right flooring actually increase your home’s value? The answer is, yes.

Wood Flooring

When it comes to increasing your home value with new flooring, wood is your best option. “According to real estate experts, the average ROI (rate on investment) for installing hardwood floors is about 70 percent to 80 percent, and wood floors can boost the sales price of your home as much as 2.5 percent” notes realtor.com.

Wood floors are durable and luxurious, and you have lots of choices—maple, oak, hickory, walnut, pine—so you’re sure to find wood flooring that looks great in your home.

Tile Flooring

If wood is king, tile is queen and in some cases, increases your home value just as much as wood flooring.

Tile works well in bathrooms and kitchens, and also in homes located in tropical climates where wood can warp and grow mold. Alex Biyevetskiy, a home remodeling expert with Remodeling Image, told realtor.com that you can increase your ROI with tile flooring if you install it yourself. “If you can do it and get results that look professional, the return on investment will exceed 100 percent,” Biyevetskiy says.

If tile is your style, Remodeling magazine notes that current trends include plenty of “encaustic, geometric and arabesque decorative tiles.”

The Bottom Line on Flooring

When it comes to increasing your home value with new flooring, the bottom line is to keep it consistent, according to Home Light, a real estate referral company. Real estate agents told Home Light that buyers may walk away when they see a home with disparate flooring.

Ryan Cave, a real estate agent in Texas says the worst thing you can do when it comes to flooring is to have two different types of flooring that meet in a very visible area. “Two different hardwoods touching?” says Cave, “That’s the worst,” he told Home Light.

Carefully consider your options before making any flooring changes in an attempt to increase your home value before selling. If you make the wrong choice, it could have the opposite effect on your selling price.