When owning a home, one element to keep an eye on and maintain is your property value. Property values can change quite often. This is usually caused by external factors but there are some ways to aid in maintaining your home’s value over time.
Why property value matters
Several occasions require a formal house valuation in Adelaide. While you may have enlisted a valuation when you first bought the property, other scenarios requiring a valuation include:
- Separating from your partner
- Transferring the home’s ownership to a spouse or relative
- Turning the home into a rental
- Refinancing
- Updating your insurance policy.
The valuation’s results can affect your loan security, insurance premiums, taxes, rental rates, etc.
What affects property value?
A lot can affect the value of your house. In fact, a house valuer will consider more than 200 internal and external elements during their valuation, including:
- Local comparable sales
- The home’s features and size
- Location and nearby amenities
- Age of the building and its current condition.
While many factors are outside your control, you can significantly influence the building’s overall condition.
What you can do to maintain your home’s value
Maintaining your home’s value can be incredibly rewarding. Not only is it a boost when selling but it can make everyday living much more comfortable.
Here are 5 things you can do to maintain the market value of your home.
Keep it clean
Now, we are not simply talking about a regular tidy-up or deep clean here or there. While that can definitely help, we are talking about the occasional full-scale spring clean.
This means that you should try to make an effort to go through your belongings annually. See what has accumulated over the year. Is it all worthy additions, or have you accidentally turned multiple spaces of your home into a “junk drawer”?
Throw out, donate, or recycle. You can even sell some old or unused possessions and make a little extra money. An uncluttered and clean home not only presents well to prospective buyers and tenants but allows you to spot any growing issues easily, such as mould, cracks, leaks, and more. This makes maintenance all the more painless.
Act fast when it comes to repairs
If you have discovered a fault in your home or something isn’t quite right, it is always best to locate the source of the issue and address it as soon as possible. This can be such things as a leaky tap, cracks in the ceiling, a broken lock, etc.
Often minor repairs can grow into more significant issues. The worst may cause health and safety concerns and can be pretty expensive to fix adequately.
Keep an eye on the local market
Even if you are not planning to sell anytime soon, keeping an eye on what’s selling locally doesn't hurt. Review the properties that are selling nearby, their characteristics, and how they compare to your home.
This can give you an idea of the type of features in demand for houses in your area. If you are up for a bit of renovation or home improvement, this can give you some idea of what buyers in your area are looking for and what work would be most worth the effort required to pull it off.
Update along the way
You can make small or large updates to your home over time to keep it looking fresh and comparable to other homes. This is especially important for those that are living in older homes. These will likely have outdated layouts, kitchens, and bathrooms that do not quite fit modern lifestyles or aesthetic tendencies.
See what can be done to update your home. It does not need to be a large project. You can start small by replacing old fixtures such as doorknobs and improving storage capacity.
Repaint
The difference a fresh coat of paint can make when revitalising a home is incredible. If decades have passed since your walls have seen a paintbrush, you may need to repaint, especially if peeling paint is present.
Repainting the interiors and exteriors of the home and touching up when needed is an easy way to have your home looking its best. You don’t have to repaint any imperfection; sometimes, a light spot cleaning is all you need.
Speak to a local valuer for more
Do you want more precise guidance or a report of your home’s current market value? Then contact a local property valuer for a comprehensive examination and assessment of your house value and the local housing market.