Some choices for house flooring include vinyl, laminate, hardwood, and engineered hardwood.
When choosing flooring to increase the value of your Atlanta home when selling, there are traditional choices like solid hardwood as well as more modern solutions like vinyl plank, engineered hardwood, and vinyl. Let’s discuss the pros and cons of each, and which may be right for your home to best appeal to buyers.
Solid wood flooring
As renowned American architect Frank Lloyd Wright said, “Wood is universally beautiful to man. It is the most humanly intimate of all materials.” Wood floors are timeless and warmly elegant. Wood’s natural beauty creates a sense of luxury that appeals to most buyers.
The National Association of Realtors® says, “Wood floors are in high demand among home buyers. In fact, 90 percent of real estate agents say that homes with hardwood floors are easier to sell, and 90 percent also say that homes with hardwood flooring tend to sell for up to 10 percent more than homes that don’t have it, according to the National Wood Flooring Association.”
Since hardwood floors scratch easily, buyers with children or pets may prefer another type of flooring.
- Hardwood floors are aesthetically pleasing.
- The durability of high-quality wood flooring such as oak, maple, or cherry can last for generations with proper care. Hardwood flooring is generally between ½ inch to ¾ inch thick, and can be sanded smooth, stained, and refinished multiple times.
- Atlanta buyers like that wood floors are easy to take care of. Sweeping and occasional polishing of wood floors is all the maintenance they require.
- Houses with hardwood floors fetch a higher price, as they’re considered a premium feature.
Hardwood floors normally cost between $9–$17 per square foot.
Laminate flooring
Believe it or not, laminate floors haven’t been around for very long. The Perstorp Corporation in Sweden came up with high-pressure laminates and began manufacturing floorboards in 1979. It wasn’t until 1985 that a more cost-effective type of laminate was developed, making it more affordable to the public.
The durability of laminate flooring is appealing to many Atlanta house buyers. For active families, this type of flooring may be ideal, since it stands up better than hardwood to moisture issues, stains, spills, and lots of traffic. It also can look like hardwood.
Even high-end laminate will typically be cheaper than solid hardwood. Laminate flooring is typically in the $2–$5 per square foot range, with the top end of laminates around $10 per sq ft. There’s no need to rip up old vinyl flooring—you can just put laminate over it.
Vinyl flooring
Don’t confuse new vinyl with the old sheet vinyl and vinyl tiles favored for kitchens and bathrooms in days past. The new vinyl plank flooring (also called luxury vinyl plank flooring) is much thicker than the old vinyl and is manufactured into planks that look quite a bit like hardwood.
Vinyl flooring is low maintenance, resilient, and doesn’t require polishing. Buyers like the soft, warm feel of it and the way it “gives” a bit when walking on it. It can mimic the look of hardwood while being more durable than the real thing.
Buyers who like the look of light and airy white oak floors often prefer luxury vinyl planking (LVP) for its durability, as it doesn’t scratch like solid white oak. Vinyl flooring is made of PVC and can last 10–20 years. It costs about $3–$8 per square foot. Vinyl flooring has a longer lifespan than laminate.
Engineered hardwood
This type of flooring has a plywood core with a wood veneer on top. Home buyers love that it looks just like solid hardwood but with the advantage of being more resistant to moisture and temperature than solid hardwood.
For environmentally conscious home buyers, the fact that engineered wood floors use less wood than solid wood planks is a big plus, especially in the case of rare or exotic tree species like Brazilian Cherry, Tigerwood, and Kempas. Eco-conscious buyers also appreciate that wood flooring is biodegradable, unlike vinyl and laminate flooring, and absorbs carbon dioxide, which helps reduce greenhouse gases.
Engineered hardwood normally costs $5–$8 a square foot, about half the price of solid hardwood flooring.
Sell your Atlanta house without new flooring.
When you are getting your house ready to sell for the highest possible price, factor in the cost of different kinds of plank flooring against the condition of your house, your neighborhood, and the current housing market. You want to be sure you get a good return on your investment.
If you don’t feel like going through the hassle of choosing which flooring to get and would rather avoid the stress of installing it, consider selling your house to HomeVestors®. We buy houses in all sorts of conditions, including houses with worn, scratched, or warped floors, so that sellers can have a stress-free house sale.
Just contact us for a free, no-obligation consultation at your house. One of our local, friendly Atlanta property buyers will meet you, take a tour of your property, and answer your questions. We can sometimes give you a fast offer the same day. If you accept our offer, we may be able to close in as little as 3 weeks, or longer if you need more time.
Don’t let the state of your floors keep you from selling your Atlanta house. Contact us today to learn more about how we can alleviate the hassles of selling your house the traditional way while helping you avoid commissions and repairs. We have no hidden costs, pay typical closing costs, and do business with a friendly, professional, personal touch.
This blog is for informational purposes only and should not be considered legal advice.
