It’s dinnertime. The kids are starving. Is your kitchen organized in a manner, which allows you to quickly and easily prepare dinner? Is it a pleasant room to spend time in? Is there proper lighting in the places that you need it? How does the traffic flow in your kitchen? Are your appliances old and outdated? If you have some extra cash stowed away for home improvement projects, this spring you may want to consider remodeling your kitchen.
Real estate experts say kitchens and bathrooms are the top two areas in which remodeling dollars will pay off at resale time. “Buyers are looking at the kitchen and the bath. Those are the two areas that will increase the value of a home,” said John Schaefer, general manager at ReMax Team 2000 in Palos Heights.
The numbers back it up. According to Remodeling Magazine’s 2003 Cost versus Value Report, a major kitchen remodel in the Chicago market recouped 97.8 percent at resale time. That’s much higher than the national average of 74.0 percent recouped at sale time.
With so many dual-working families these days, home buyers simply don’t have the time to remodel themselves. Real estate experts say that buyers are looking for move-in condition and want updates and newer features in the kitchen.
“People are looking for homes they don’t have to do much to,” said Joan Berngen, branch manager at Coldwell Banker residential brokerage in Oak Lawn. “When families are looking at two homes, which are similarly priced, buyers will spend the extra money for the home that has been remodeled,” she said.
So what exactly are buyers looking for these days in a kitchen? Does your kitchen still boast those old dark cabinets? They are out. “People like nicer new cabinets – in cherry and oak,” said Schaefer. Stainless steel appliances are still popular among home buyers, including dishwashers and refrigerators. However, one trend in refrigerators is that “you are seeing more and more fronts on refrigerators, so it looks like a piece of cabinetry,” noted Julea Joseph, owner of Reinventing Space in Palos Park.
What About the Floor?
Pergo made a big hit, but is on its way out,” said Berngen. “Buyers get excited about good strong ceramic flooring and even like the look of hardwood floors,” she added. In higher-end homes, granite countertops are all the rage, but lower-cost Formica is “acceptable, if in good condition,” Berngen added. Corian style surfaces are still popular.
Did you think concrete was just for your driveway? Think again. A new trend in countertops is concrete, according to Joseph. She points to the “look and durability” as two attractive features of a concrete countertop. Also, an added benefit is that “it can curve and shape in different ways,” she noted.
Homeowners have become more aware of lighting in recent years, and buyers are looking for the extras, such as under-cabinet lighting or canned lighting overhead. Sliding
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