As a homeowner, there are plenty of projects you can do around the house in order to increase the value of your home. But one of the biggest value-adds? Central air conditioning.
According to Zillow’s most recent Consumer Housing Trends Report, a whopping 62% of buyers list central air conditioning as a required feature in a home; I know I had had clients that make A/C a requirement to even look at a house.. Recent Zillow data also shows that buyers paid, on average, 2.5% more for homes with central A/C—and that number can jump to upwards of 5% in the hot summer months.
So what does that look like? As of February our average priced home in the KAREA board was $366,179. Adding central air to a home at that price would add anywhere from $9000 to $18,000 in value—not to mention make your home a much more enjoyable place to be in the scorching summer months. I realize in Kingston we do have older homes that are radiator or electric heat which means that unless you were willing to go to a lot of effort to put in ducts makes central A/C unfeasible; in that case I would recommend a heat pump, which can cool 1 to 4 rooms and is less obtrusive than the window A/C units.
The Takeaway
If you’ve been thinking about installing central air conditioning to your home, data shows it’s a solid investment. Not only will it add value to your home, but it’s on the top of the “must haves” list for a huge portion of potential buyers.
