What Home Improvements Do Not Add Value in 2025?
From this expert round-up article, you’ll learn about the home improvements that do not add value.
We asked professional real estate appraisers and salespeople, “Which home improvement is least likely to increase the value of your home?”, and they provided us with their insight.
Read on to learn what projects you shouldn’t waste your time and money on if your goal is increasing the market value of your property.
7 Worst Improvements that May Decrease Your Home’s Value
First of all, let’s define the improvements that may make your house even less attractive for potential buyers.
#1 Personalized Decor
Personalized colors can turn a buyer away; however, most often, buyers will respond favorably to colors if the roof and other infrastructure items are good.
Buyers tend to want to do the ‘fun stuff’ personalizing a property to their taste as opposed to the big-ticket items.
All of these items pertain to one thing: personal taste. Although you may like it, is it what the market wants and perceives to be in vogue at any given time?
Decor finishes that are too personalized may appeal to homeowners, but not necessarily the market.
Interior paint, if not non-neutral, can have a negative impact.
Poor decorations and some paint colors can turn off potential buyers.
#2 Pool
The cost of construction of a pool never outweighs or equals the benefit of a pool in terms of market value.
Different buyers have different views of the influence of a pool. The unknown elements of care and maintenance of a pool can be different for buyers.
A pool needs care and maintenance and many people are pressed for time and will not allow the time to keep a cared look.
This is adverse to even potential pool purchasers. The cost of a pool is never recovered in my marketplace.
All items may indeed ‘add value’ but the cost is not worth it. Swimming pools are the classic example. It may cost up to $80k-$100k to install but only add $50k in value.
Pools can be very expensive and typically, one will not recoup the cost immediately, but if you are doing it to use it, then enjoy it and don’t fret over not getting your money back right away.
Pools sometimes (depending on the market) add no value and are expensive. Some people would rather not have them.
Not everyone wants one and cost exceeds value added.
#3 Removing Original Features in Older or Historic Homes
This is a personal pet peeve of mine. ‘They don’t build them like they used to’ is a phrase that’s overused, but when it comes to original stained wood built-ins, decorative woodwork, original hardwood floors, stained glass, leaded glass, etc.
They don’t build them like that because they can’t. There are people who appreciate and actively look for features like this in older homes for sale.
Old homes need new ‘guts’ like electrical and plumbing. They are also rarely good investments but removing the charm they do have will only hurt.
#4 Poorly Done Remodel
A poorly done remodel or something seen as ‘ugly’ will only be looked at from the viewpoint of ‘I have to factor in the cost of redoing/removing this’.
#5 Removing Mature Trees
There are people who do love trees and a mature tree is something that money cannot replace. Remove trees that are hazards but be sure if it’s not a hazard to leave it alone.
#6 Outbuildings
Large outbuildings on small lots reduce yard and view.
#7 Security Systems Under Contract
Few people want to take over someone else’s security contract.
10 Improvements that Add Little to No Value to a House
Apart from the improvements that will likely hurt your home’s value, there are also the ones that are less harmful yet useless.
Below, our professional real estate appraisers and realtors describe what they are.
#1 Hardwood Flooring
You could spend lots of money on some rare hardwood flooring, but to the typical buyer, it looks just as good as something that might have been 1/4 the cost.
#2 Expensive Appliances
Electronic packages can be very expensive and typically, they can become obsolete in a matter of years.
#3 Overbuilt Decking
Decks can be built over sized and be a problem with care and maintenance and grow into extra deferred maintenance.
The amount of work to keep the decking system in good condition may not fit the potential purchaser.
#4 Carpets
Market participants have matured, and carpeting is no longer popular due to allergies and pets.
#5 Burglar Bars
Burglar bars suggest a prevalence of crime in the area.
#6 Solar Panels
Solar panels are hard to extract impact due to lack of data. Age of panels varies as does output.
Read more on whether or not solar panels increase home value and in which cases they do.
#7 Master Bedroom
The master bathroom is too large and takes up needed space from other items.
#8 Ceiling Fans
Fans are not too expensive, but one can go overboard and buyers are not willing to pay for them.
#9 Artificial Turf
Not good for the environment, unpleasant to walk/play on, ugly (in my humble opinion).
#10 Window Shades
Spending too much on window shades which are personal property and not real property, and are disregarded without thought.
Once you’ve learned what home improvements don’t add value to your property for sale, you may want to learn about the things that add value to your home.
The most popular of them is kitchen renovation. Read more about how much value an updated kitchen adds to your home.
Kristina Morales is both a licensed mortgage loan originator and real estate agent in the State of Ohio. Inspired by her years of working with buyers and sellers and seeing a need for more consumer education, Kristina created loanfully.com, an online educational resource for borrowers and industry professionals. In addition to real estate sales and mortgage lending, Kristina had an extensive corporate career in banking, treasury, and corporate finance. She ended her corporate career as an Assistant Treasurer at a publicly traded oil & gas company in Houston, TX. Kristina obtained her MBA from the Weatherhead School of Management at Case Western Reserve University and her B.A in Business Management from Ursuline College.
Here at Real Estate Bees, we take the content competency, validity and accuracy very seriously. Each piece of content published in our knowledge base containing the "Expertise Verified" trust badge indicates its author's qualified industry expertise and first-hand experience with a given subject matter.
Content authors possessing the "Expertise Verified" trust badge are all active industry experts in their respective field whose professional expertise, qualification and credentials have been thoroughly verified by our editorial team as part of our Expert Contributor Program's onboarding process.
Such fierce editorial standards ensure our content is of the highest possible quality in the industry making it highly competent, credible and trustworthy for you - the reader.