Add value to a home by renovating your bathroom
The property market in Sydney has reached record levels in recent years and so many people are simply priced out of the market. It is no surprise that people are moving to regional areas to seek a more affordable lifestyle. Regional NSW Today reports talk about 90,000 people that have moved in the 2015 / 2016 time period.
Therefore, it is natural for property owners in Sydney to think about ways they can increase the value of their home or generate extra income to help pay the mortgage.
The simplest and most cost effective way of doing this is to renovate your bathroom or kitchen considering they are the most used areas of any house.
Any property investment guide or real estate agent will say the same thing. All of the experts will repeat the same information that the kitchen and bathroom is where we spend most of our daily lives so it makes sense they are the first areas people consider to renovate.
Renovate or extend to create better living spaces
Renovate to profit
Recent statistics from sites like Domain show that the number of bathrooms in properties average just over 2.5 per home. So it becomes a worthwhile area to consider renovating either to enjoy it for yourself, update the property to then put it on the market for sale or renovate now, to then either sell or rent the property later in life.
A modern, spacious bathroom can help attract more potential buyers to your listing, especially when similar properties have older interiors or you want to attract people who can’t be bothered doing it themselves. When it comes to renters, similar principles apply. Your property will appeal to a wider cross section of people and you may even be able to increase your weekly rental price vs competitive properties. Either way a renovation can create a competitive advantage in the marketplace where the investment can become a profitable return either short term if it is being sold or long term via higher rental prices.
Renovate to earn a rental income
In other situations you can renovate an old bathroom in Sydney with the view to creating more living space in the property. A change to your floor plan might create a new bedroom with ensuite & external access, this could create a rental accomodation opportunity. You might already rent out rooms in your property that use a shared bathroom, it might be possible to combine a laundry and bathroom to create a new master plus ensuite or even a 3 way layout that can improve living practicality.
These types of changes can help the chances of increasing the rent, making the rooms more attractive for potential tenants or creating completely new opportunities to use your property to earn an income.
Renovate vs extending
Either of the options outlined above, if done correctly, can add value to a property in the short or long term. The alternative to consider if you don’t have the space available is to extend the property by adding more space to an existing room or adding another level. If you live on a large enough block of land or the property is positioned with enough space in the back yard with the right local zoning, then this can become a viable option.
It is obviously more expensive compared to renovating within the existing structure because you most likely will need an architect or builder, council approvals & the labour with associated materials will cost more. Although the upside is it might create even more unique opportunities to use the existing property.
Build a granny flat
More recently in Sydney, property owners have been building granny flats in their back yards. As small as 60 square metres with a bedroom, bathroom and living area is all you need that can be built from a kit, timber cladding, brick veneer or even double brick construction. These structures can be used as a living space, rental accomodation, outdoor office or even entertaining.
With the Australian lifestyle changing, people don’t use their large backyards as much as they used to, so this becomes wasted space in many situations. Building a granny flat is more expensive than renovating but you have a completely separate structure that you can then use.
So there are lots of options available to improve the value of your home in Sydney. Renovating might cost between $15,000 and $30,000, extending or adding a second story might be between $50,000 and $80,000 while building a granny flat might cost anywhere between $50,000 and $150,000.
Common questions about renovating in Sydney
What products should you choose in your bathroom to maximise value?
Things like vanities, toilet suites, baths, tapware and accessories are the things that generally set the tone and largely determine the cost of a bathroom renovation. It makes the difference between your bathroom renovation being “budget” or “luxury”.
Remember, if your aim is to update your bathroom purely for resale, you wont be the one to enjoy the expensive spa baths, shower massagers or heated toilet seats and other such luxury items.
However, it is important to purchase quality, modern items such as mixer taps, adjustable hand held shower roses and light/fan/heater units as these not only look great, but are standard in all recent bathroom renovations.
So you need to decide on these items based on the purpose of the room and renovation.
Is installing a bath a good way to increase the value of a property
Whilst almost all modern bathrooms have a shower area, your aim is to have your bathroom appeal to as many perspective buyers as possible including families with young children. Not having a bathroom with a bath in the home will inevitably mean an instant “no” from these groups unless they renovate the bathroom themselves which could in reduce the sale price of your home.
There are many ways in which a bath can be incorporated into small bathrooms. Manufacturers have in recent years added smaller sized free standing baths to their product lines and built-in baths can quite easily be included within bathrooms with limited space.
Aim to avoid shower over bath installations as these are considered outdated and a fall hazard to many people, although if necessary, a shower/ bath installation can be safe and have a contemporary appeal.
Can changing the floor plan be a clever way to add value?
The smartest renovators will look at ways to increase the usable space in a property by changing the floor plan. This could mean moving a toilet or shower or even combining the laundry & bathroom.
The money spent could be less than $5,000 in extra costs but add $20,000 or more to the perceived value of the property by having a larger, more funcational space to live in.
Does a vanity with storage increase the appeal of a bathroom?
Choose a vanity with lots of storage; if its good enough for ‘The Block’ then its good enough for everyone. Recent trends have seen vanities wall mounted, streamline and some with little storage space. While these may look great and certainly make the bathroom appear more spacious, some designs are impractical as far as storage goes, so aim to purchase a vanity that is both modern and practical.
What types of mirrors can improve the value of a bathroom?
Recessed mirrors; a design trick here is to add a recessed mirrored wall cabinet that creates more space in the room but also that extra, much valued storage space or “face level storage”.
- Stick with classic and neutral colour schemes when choosing your tiles. Bold and bright colours that appeal to your personal taste and those that may happen to be on trend now, can actually date your bathroom in just a few short years. Remember, you are renovating your bathroom to appeal to as many perspective buyers as possible, not only those who prefer bold colours. White walls with a feature floor or a single feature wall is always a stunning effect creating a light, airy and spacious bathroom with character. Soft neutrals make a bathroom space calming, almost spa like while not overwhelming the room.
- Choose chrome tapware. Whilst black, brass and a variety of other tapware finishes are very much on trend and undeniably look amazing, they are of a particular taste. As with colour schemes, when it comes to resale, tapware is best kept with the classics to appeal to the majority. Chrome is by far the best choice for appealing to the largest percentage of buyers as it is a fabulous finish that does not require special care.
- Hire experienced, licensed professionals. It doesn’t matter how carefully you choose your tiles, fittings and accessories, if they are not fixed, fitted and installed correctly, the end result will ultimately appear cheap and nasty, this is especially true with tiling. Let’s not forget the importance of waterproofing, should the shower leak, it will be picked up on the building inspection. The bathroom is definitely not an area to cut corners by testing your DIY skills. We have been operating since 2009 doing both plumbing and bathroom renovations so we have seen it all. We can help you with your bathroom design will ensure you make the most out of every inch of your bathroom space but more importantly making sure it is done right.
What colours are best to use when trying to sell a bathroom?
Stick with classic and neutral colour schemes when choosing your tiles. Bold and bright colours that appeal to your personal taste and those that may happen to be on trend now, can actually date your bathroom in just a few short years.
Remember, you are renovating your bathroom to appeal to as many perspective buyers as possible, not only those who prefer bold colours.
White walls with a feature floor or a single feature wall is always a stunning effect creating a light, airy and spacious bathroom with character. Soft neutrals make a bathroom space calming, almost spa like while not overwhelming the room.
What is the best tapware to use when selling a bathroom for profit?
Choose chrome tapware. Whilst black, brass and a variety of other tapware finishes are very much on trend and undeniably look amazing, they are of a particular taste. As with colour schemes, when it comes to resale, tapware is best kept with the classics to appeal to the majority. Chrome is by far the best choice for appealing to the largest percentage of buyers as it is a fabulous finish that does not require special care.
- Hire experienced, licensed professionals. It doesn’t matter how carefully you choose your tiles, fittings and accessories, if they are not fixed, fitted and installed correctly, the end result will ultimately appear cheap and nasty, this is especially true with tiling. Let’s not forget the importance of waterproofing, should the shower leak, it will be picked up on the building inspection. The bathroom is definitely not an area to cut corners by testing your DIY skills. We have been operating since 2009 doing both plumbing and bathroom renovations so we have seen it all. We can help you with your bathroom design will ensure you make the most out of every inch of your bathroom space but more importantly making sure it is done right.
Can a DIY bathroom renovation increase its value?
Hire experienced, licensed professionals. It doesn’t matter how carefully you choose your tiles, fittings and accessories, if they are not fixed, fitted and installed correctly, the end result will ultimately appear cheap and nasty, this is especially true with tiling. Let’s not forget the importance of waterproofing, should the shower leak, it will be picked up on the building inspection. The bathroom is definitely not an area to cut corners by testing your DIY skills.
We have been operating since 2009 doing both plumbing and bathroom renovations so we have seen it all.
We can help you with your bathroom design will ensure you make the most out of every inch of your bathroom space but more importantly making sure it is done right.
Here are some of our recent bathroom renovations in Sydney that Nu-Trend has completed. The majority of the projects we are contracted for are complete bathroom renovations where the room is completely stripped so that the flooring, walls, tiling and waterproofing is installed brand new.
Local, licensed & insured
Plumber | Renovator | Drainer | Gas fitter
Nu-Trend is a company in Sydney that has provided plumber and bathroom renovation services since 2009. The Directors Rob and Rick are hands-on, providing a personal service.
Sydney Water
PLUMBER
We work closely with Sydney Water for all plumbing requirements.
STANDARDS AUSTRALIA AS/NZS3500:2018 Compliant
A renovation business that builds new bathrooms to meet Australian Standards.
Experience & a written commitment.
Rick and Rob are the hands-on directors for Nu-Trend. Rather than hire sub-contractors and manage their business from a distant office, they are on the tools, at your site & working towards delivering your bathroom renovation or plumbing service. It means you are talking directly to the owners of the business, the guys who are accountable and responsible rather than via email or through customer service teams.
It is why they are able to provide a written guarantee that demonstrates their confidence in standing by the quality of their workmanship and the service they deliver to every single client.
They have a very single minded commitment to deliver a high level of professionalism and quality, they’ve been doing renovation contracting in Sydney since 2009.
