10 Value-Adding Home Improvements You Can Do for $1,000 or Less

A farmhouse sink. LED lighting. A pot filler. You might think these relatively low-cost home upgrades wouldn’t add much value, but our research shows that these and other home upgrades with modest price tags could pay for themselves — or even generate big returns — when you sell your home.
A Zillow analysis of more than 350 features in the listing descriptions of more than 2 million homes listed for sale in 2024 found that some home improvements are associated with higher than expected sales prices. The features analyzed won’t guarantee that your home will sell for more if you include them in a for-sale listing. But the following upgrades — gleaned from those listings — offers a good starting point for moderately priced home renovation ideas that could add value to your home while making life a little sweeter.
This article from Zillow lists 4 upgrades uber $500, 5 under $1,000, and 2 over $1,000. Click on more after the second upgrade to read the full article.
Under $500
1. Upgrade your kitchen features

If you’re looking for a place to start, you might want to begin with the kitchen. Sellers poured a lot of love into their kitchens, with special consideration given to cooking and eating outdoors.
Appliances and features for home cooks are among the list of features associated with a price premium in 2024. Among them: new appliances, which ranked among the top 10 improvements, with a potential price premium of 2.2% in listings that mentioned them.
Homes with pizza ovens sell for 2% more than expected. Prices vary wildly for the ovens: a commercial grade oven can run you upwards of $10,000, and a residential kit for an outdoor oven can run about $3,000. But you can find some smaller portable units you can incorporate into an outdoor kitchen for several hundred dollars. Tapping some cold beverages to go with those pizzas can also pay off: Homes with a beverage center — a designated chilling space for drinks — sold for 1.7% more than expected while those with an ice machine brought in 2% more.

2. Entertain outdoors (more…)