Are you like many homeowners, slowly making improvements and upgrades to your home? Have you been investing in granite countertops, replacing windows, and upgrading floors to enhance your comfort and enjoyment, or even increase your home’s resale value? What if we told you that electrical upgrades, often overlooked, can have a major impact on your home’s value?
While electrical systems are mostly out of sight, their condition affects the overall safety, efficiency, and functionality of your home. In the real estate market, where every detail matters, the electrical system can raise or lower your home’s value and appeal to buyers. In fact, more than 50% of home buyers say they would pay more for a home with an updated electrical system.
Keep reading and explore exactly how electrical upgrades can influence home value. By explaining what “home value” really means and defining what electrical upgrades are, we’ll show you how to make your home safer, more modern, and more attractive to buyers. We will also examine how an outdated system can harm your property’s value and discuss why investing in electrical upgrades is a smart decision for both your comfort and your wallet. Let’s get started.
Understanding Home Value
Home value is the monetary value given to a home and property at a given time. When it comes to home value, many factors influence a property’s overall worth. Factors that contribute to the estimated worth of a property in the real estate market are:
- Location
- Current condition
- Size
- Features of the property
- Current real estate market trends
For homeowners, home value is important when trying to determine the return on investment for upgrades, securing good refinancing options, and determining a selling price for the property. But why do buyers care about the features of a home?
When looking for a new home, most buyers are looking for safety, functionality, and the home’s ability to support modern living. A modern electrical system can greatly influence a buyer’s perception of the home, guaranteeing that it will support modern appliances while providing safety and reducing the potential for future repair costs, making a modern electrical system a leading feature in their decision-making.
Having your home appraised for value requires an inspection where the electrical system is closely scrutinized. If the electrical system is found to be outdated or unsafe, it can significantly lower the home’s value and scare potential buyers away. Read below and find out what qualifies as an electrical upgrade and the most common types.
What Are Electrical Upgrades?
Any improvements made to a home’s electrical system by replacing components or the entire system itself in order to enhance safety, efficiency, and functionality would be considered an electrical upgrade. Unlike basic repairs, such as fixing a broken outlet or fixing loose wires, electrical upgrades involve improving the electrical system for improved safety, increased capacity, and the addition of modern features. The following are some of the most common types of electrical upgrades available to boost the value of your home.
Full Electrical Upgrade: A full electrical system upgrade includes installing a new panel to increase capacity, completely rewiring the home, replacing all outlets and switches, installing new circuits, upgrading lighting systems, and ensuring the home is up to current safety standards and codes. A modern electrical system for a residential home is a 200-amp system. A full upgrade increases electrical capacity, improves safety, and meets current codes.
Rewiring or Upgrading Wiring: Replacing outdated knob-and-tube wiring or aluminum wiring with copper wire can be done without changing the electrical panel. By doing so, the risk of fire is reduced, modern appliances are supported, and efficiency is increased.
Adding/Upgrading Circuits and Outlets: Adding more outlets to your home, USB outlets for convenience, and installing GFCI outlets in areas like kitchens and bathrooms make your home safer, add convenience for modern-day living, and increase the chance that your home will pass inspection without requiring updates.
Smart Home Integration: Oh, how we love our smart devices. Many modern smart devices are currently available to integrate into our homes. These include smart thermostats, security systems, lighting, smart outlets, and energy monitoring devices. Increasing energy efficiency, convenience, and delivering cost savings, these benefits are highly appealing to the tech-savvy homebuyer.
Lighting Improvements: The addition of modern light fixtures, smart lighting systems, and LED and energy-efficient lighting is all considered electrical upgrades. Environmentally appealing, upgraded lighting not only adds to the aesthetic appeal of the home, but it also lowers the energy costs of the home.
Surge Protection and Grounding Systems: By installing a whole-home surge protector, you can improve the safety of your home and protect sensitive electronic devices from damage.
Electric Vehicle Charging Station: Electric vehicles are becoming increasingly popular as fuel prices rise, and we are becoming more conscious of the environment. Installing an EV charging station in your home adds the convenience of being able to charge your vehicle without leaving your house and adds appeal to the modern home buyer.
At the end of the day, electrical upgrades meet modern building codes and enhance the functionality and safety of your home while boosting its resale value for tomorrow. But how do these upgrades translate into a higher home value? Below, we will explore the specific ways that electrical improvements can increase the worth of your home and appeal to future buyers.
How Electrical Upgrades Increase Home Value
Like most things in life, safety is a priority when it comes to our homes. A modern electrical system helps to reduce the risk of fires and shock, improving the safety of the home and providing peace of mind to potential buyers. Having a home that meets local standards and codes reassures the homeowner, appraisers, and future buyers that the home is compliant and safe.
Beyond safety, residential electrical upgrades enhance the functionality of a home and provide conveniences that support modern appliances, home offices, and smart devices. For the homebuyer looking to move into a home that is future-ready with minimal need for future upgrades, an updated electrical system is appealing.
Energy-efficient upgrades like LED lighting or smart systems help to lower utility bills and save the homeowner money. As we become more environmentally conscious and look for long-term savings, an energy-efficient home becomes a top priority and is a desired feature for home buyers.
Overall, electrical upgrades will increase the value of your home and make it more marketable when you want to sell. Over half of those looking to purchase a home are willing to pay more for a home with an updated electrical system, which can set your home apart from others on the market. With inspectors less likely to find issues during inspection, upgrading your electrical system can increase your home’s resale value and boost its appeal to future buyers.
Now that you are familiar with what electrical upgrades are and how they can increase your home’s value, let’s look at the risks of an outdated system and how it can lower the value of your home.
The Risks of an Outdated Electrical System
An outdated electrical system comes with many safety risks that are not just a concern to future buyers, but an immediate risk to the current occupants of the home. Outdated wiring, overloaded circuits, or old electrical panels increase the chances of an electrical fire or shock. These issues not only cause immediate safety hazards to the homeowner, but they can also cause issues with insurance coverage. Lenders may also require electrical updates before approving a mortgage for a buyer.
Home value can be negatively impacted by an outdated electrical system by lowering the appraisal due to safety concerns or the need for repairs. Buyers will be reluctant to purchase a home that requires electrical fixes or puts them in danger. Choosing not to upgrade your electrical system may even cause your home to be on the market longer with lower offers than desired. If you are curious whether residential electrical upgrades in Northborough are worth the investment or not, read below.
Why Electrical Upgrades Are a Smart Investment
Regardless of your desire to sell or not, electrical upgrades provide immediate benefits to the home. Safety is immediately improved, along with energy savings and modern conveniences that benefit the current homeowner and future buyers. For current homeowners, home value is increased and will most likely sell quicker and for a higher price than others on the market without the upgrades.
Common upgrades can range from several hundred dollars to around $5000 for a full upgrade (depending on age, size, and complexity of the home). Compared to the increase in home value, the cost of upgrading is minimal.
Future-proofing your home and preparing for rapidly evolving technology will not only provide convenience to you, but it will also help meet the expectations of the younger, more tech-savvy homebuyers.
Safe, Modern, Valuable
In today’s modern-tech world and competitive housing market, investing in electrical upgrades for your home is one of the smartest choices a homeowner can make. A safe home protects your family and meets modern building codes. Not only that, a modern electrical system supports the technology and conveniences that buyers want, while energy-efficient upgrades help to lower utility costs. Overall, these improvements make your home more valuable to you now, and when it comes time to sell. Don’t ignore what you can’t see; the electrical system in your walls truly makes your home safe, modern, and valuable.
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