The bedroom was worth more than they thought

This week, a past client called me with a renovation idea that would make his home “more luxurious.” It involved taking down a wall, combining one of the bedrooms with the primary suite, and adding a larger ensuite. But there was something important I wanted him to consider.

A bigger primary bedroom and a nicer ensuite would absolutely improve the way they live in the home. Where we saw things differently was the impact it might have on the home’s value.

I asked him to consider that a three-bedroom house can work for almost anyone. A family with two kids. A family with one child and a home office. A professional couple who both work from home and need separate offices.

Their current layout gives people options. Their proposed layout gives them fewer.

When you have a larger pool of potential buyers, you’re usually in a stronger position when it’s time to sell. More buyers means more demand, and more demand generally leads to better outcomes.

One thing I’ve learned over the years is that buyers don’t all want the same thing, but they do want flexibility. The challenge with some renovations is that we focus on what we’re adding and forget about what we’re giving up. In this case, they weren’t just adding a larger ensuite. They were removing a bedroom.

That doesn’t automatically make it a bad decision. In fact, I told them they should do whatever best suits their lifestyle. They’re the ones who have to wake up there every day, not the future owner.

But I also wanted them to understand the trade-off.

The money they’d spend on the renovation would likely improve their quality of life more than it would improve the value of the home. That’s an important distinction.

My perspective comes from years of walking through homes with buyers and listening. I’ve heard countless people walk into a home and immediately start figuring out where the kids would sleep, where the office would go, or whether the space could work for their lives.

You may decide the impact on resale doesn’t matter to you, and that’s completely fine. But it’s better to make that decision with a clear understanding of the trade-offs than to discover them years later when it’s time to sell.

If you’re thinking of making changes to your home, happy to chat through it with you any time.