The average American household spent $9,322 on home improvement projects in 2024, according to Angi’s annual State of Home Spending report. But not every home renovation project will increase the resale value of a home.
Before you invest in a swimming pool or new addition, you should consider whether the project will pay itself off by getting prospective buyers in the door when it’s time to sell. Here are some common home improvement projects that could decrease the value of your home:
— Too much wallpaper
— Built-in electronics
— Wall-to-wall carpeting
— Swimming pool
— Garage conversions
— DIY projects
— Bold colors
— Adding a sunroom
— Textured walls and ceilings
— Overdone landscaping
— Outdoor fire features
— Landscape lighting
[Are Arches the Hot New Home Design?]
1. Too Much Wallpaper
Wallpaper is making a comeback, but a pattern and color scheme that you love may not appeal to a majority of buyers. On average, installing wallpaper costs homeowners $800 to $1,200, but most spend about $1,000 for a 12-foot-by-18-foot room with standard vinyl wallpaper, according to home improvement information site Fixr.
However, this cost likely won’t be recovered when it’s time to sell. Plus, wallpaper removal is a notoriously time-consuming and messy job.
“The quality deteriorates over time and most future owners of your home will want to remove it, which can be a cumbersome process,” says Alex Capozzolo, co-founder of Brotherly Love Real Estate, a company that purchases and flips properties in Philadelphia.
2. Built-In Electronics
While built-in electronics may be perfect for your home theater, they could turn away prospective buyers. Gadgets eventually become outdated or even obsolete, meaning this type of personalization can decrease home value.
3. Wall-To-Wall Carpeting
“If you have existing hardwood floors, don’t cover them with carpet. Most new homeowners prefer to remove carpets if they are of poor quality. Carpeting adds no value to a property,” Capozzolo says.
According to the National Association of Realtors 2022 Remodeling Impact Report, the highest percentage of cost recovered for interior home projects was from refinishing hardwood floors, at 147%, and new hardwood flooring, at 118%.
This means that if you spend $20,000 on new wood flooring, you could see $23,600 added to the sale price of your home. However, this depends on the house and the type and design of the hardwood floors.
4. Swimming Pool
Unless you live somewhere that’s hot for the majority of the year, a swimming pool won’t add much, if any, value to your home. The average cost to build an in-ground pool is around $65,909, according to home services directory and information company Angi, but that doesn’t factor in the cost of ongoing maintenance, which can range from $3,000 to $5,000 per year, and the potential increase to your homeowners insurance policy for increased liability.
At most, a pool could increase your home’s value by somewhere between 5% and 56%, Angi noted. In-ground pools have a higher return on investment than aboveground pools.
[READ: If You Can’t Swim Year-Round, Is a Pool Worth It?]
5. Garage Conversions
Most homeowners spend between $6,002 and $27,705 to convert a garage into a livable space, according to Angi, but this renovation project typically doesn’t add value to the home.
“Keep the garage as is,” Capozzolo says. “As a homeowner, it’s tempting to convert your garage into a studio and rent it out or turn it into a home gym. If you alter the garage layout too much, it can lose its value in the eyes of homebuyers searching for a property with a garage to park their cars in.”
6. DIY Projects
DIY renovation projects can be a great budget-friendly option to add value, but if a buyer notices, it may not always be a good thing. Even simple DIY home improvement projects can go horribly wrong. Spending the extra money to have the job done well could get you a better return on your investment.
[READ: Spruce Up Now, Pay Later: Brokerage Concierge Programs Front the Cost of Upgrading Your Home]
7. Bold Colors
Painting is one of the most common DIY projects for homeowners, with a project cost ranging between $966 and $3,087, according to HomeAdvisor.
A fresh coat of paint is a good way to increase your home’s final sale price, but some buyers tend to stay away from bright, dark or bold colors.
If you’re looking for a cost-effective option to spruce up your home, choose neutral colors to transform the space and give each room a clean, fresh look.
8. Adding a Sunroom
The cost to build a sunroom addition ranges from $5,500 for a smaller, prefabricated sunroom and as much as $120,000 for something on the luxurious side, or $150 per square foot for uninsulated spaces and up to $300 per square foot for a four-season sunroom, according to Angi, making it one of the most expensive home improvement projects.
A sunroom can seem like a good alternative to a larger home addition, but you won’t get the same return on investment. Unlike a full-room addition, sunrooms often aren’t included in a home’s square footage, which appraisers use to determine the value of a home.
9. Textured Walls and Ceilings
Removing texture on walls and ceilings is a difficult project, which can potentially lead to lower offers when it’s time to sell. Removing a popcorn ceiling costs homeowners between $934 and $3,073, or around $6 per square foot, depending on the cost of labor and the size of the room, according to Angi.
However, asbestos, which is common in popcorn ceilings done in the 1980s or before, and structural issues can complicate the project. Asbestos removal will increase the project’s cost to around $5 to $20 per square foot.
10. Overdone Landscaping
Beautiful landscaping can help boost curb appeal and get more prospective buyers in the front door, but costly and overdone landscaping could be a concern.
Not only is the attractiveness of decorative additions subjective, but buyers could see it as too difficult to maintain.
11. Outdoor Fire Features
Outdoor fire features can be great for entertaining and adding character to your property, but they’re probably not going to boost your home’s value enough to recover the cost.
According to NAR’s 2023 outdoor remodeling impact report, a dry stacked fire feature with gas burners and a small flagstone patio would cost about $9,000, but only recover about $5,000 — a cost recovery of just 56%.
12. Landscape Lighting
Lighting up your lawn looks pretty, just don’t expect it to do much for your home’s value. According to NAR’s outdoor report, installing 20 standard outdoor LED lights costs about $6,800, and you’ll only recoup about $4,000 of that, or 59% of the cost.
How to Decide if a Renovation Is Worth the Cost
Before jumping into your next home renovation, Capozzolo says to consider the quality of life payoff as well as the financial impact of the project. “If a renovation genuinely checks one of the boxes, you should consider doing it,” he says.
“For example, painting the interior of your home with a nonneutral color will likely add zero value to your home because there’s a good chance the next owner of the property will repaint it with a different color,” says Capozzolo. “For larger homes, painting the entire interior of your home can cost over $1,000. However, if this renovation increases your quality of life by a lot, you should highly consider it.”
More from U.S. News
8 Home Renovations Under $20,000
What to Know About Home Improvement Loans
How Long Does a Kitchen Remodel Take?
12 Home Improvements That Don’t Add Value originally appeared on usnews.com
Update 04/16/25: This story was published at an earlier date and has been updated with new information.
