ᐅ Which features add value for resale?

Unless it’s high-quality hardwood flooring, the type of floor usually doesn’t matter. Whether the tiles are high-end or not is irrelevant if you don’t like them.

Most of the time, it’s very subjective whether a house sells well or not, putting location aside for a moment.

Nowadays, building without underfloor heating shows a lack of understanding. I also think the energy efficiency standard will be important.

A good electrical installation is essential to avoid having to redo it later.

I see a basement as a bonus, but it won’t make up for the costs. Well-maintained outdoor areas are important. Overall condition is key.

Apart from the already mentioned location, building structure, and technical equipment, the visual interior design is ultimately important:

When we were looking for something used on Immoscout and similar platforms, we always noticed negative points right away:

Five different colors of wallpaper.

Bathrooms tiled in Bahama beige or summer green, or with matching sanitary ceramics.

Oppressive wooden paneling on walls and ceilings.

Kitchen fronts in purple or similar colors.

Okay, these were houses that were twenty or more years old. But regarding a modern new build, it might make sense to choose a timeless color scheme.

Then the potential buyer might not say in twenty years:

“Repaint the hallway, remove and retile the bathrooms, replace sanitary ceramics, new kitchen”—which easily costs 30,000 to 50,000 euros (about 32,000 to 53,000 US dollars) and would reduce the purchase price because the house otherwise wouldn't even be considered.

Additionally, the energy standard / energy concept / actual consumption is certainly important and will increasingly come into focus.

Tastes change. If I build now the way I eventually want to sell...

in 10 years, “smart homes” might be everywhere. And your place will look outdated

that’s that

But he is right nonetheless... When I think back to my search for a pre-owned house... Timeless bathrooms retain their value much better than currently trendy bathrooms.

The typical modern tiles with patterns will almost certainly be considered quite unattractive by most people in 10 to 15 years, leading to a full bathroom renovation—similar to what is happening now with the once popular brown, yellow, pink, and green bathrooms. This is not the case with timeless bathrooms. Whether this criterion is important to someone during construction was not the question; the focus was solely on value retention.

I agree. Especially when looking at older used properties, buyers usually don’t expect modern interior finishes but already factor in the costs for a new bathroom, new kitchen, new tiles, new wallpaper, etc. Even if the current style still suits your taste, the new owner might simply want to redo it.

What often really matters are the electrical system, (currently) water supply, wastewater system, energy efficiency, and type of heating...