I am curious what kind of impact on home value is typical, if any, for HVAC upgrades. The central air in my '67 North Texas home is older, somewhat inefficient and not quiet. However, it definitely gets the job done and we stay comfortable year-round. We are planing to sell and relocate in 2012 and are looking for some data related to HVAC upgrades and their relationship to home value, market appeal, etc. Are buyers willing to pay more for homes with newer HVAC’s? Is there a premium for homes with super-high efficiency systems vs homes without?
To have a new high efficiency heater/AC unit installed on a 2500 sq ft property is going to run about $9K to $12K depending on brand and some other factors (at least they are the estimates I got when I upgraded a year ago). So…if your HVAC system is at “end of life”, even if it is functional, expect buyers to try to negotiate some reasonable discount based on replacing the system.
jmd_forest
It depends on where it is located. Here in Michigan it would not make any difference,because it would be considered a luxury item not a necessity. In Nevada if the house does not have A/C then it would be hard to sell and only at a big discount. On average how many days a year will you use the A/C. Here where I live anywhere from 5 -10 days a yr.What is it like in your area?
Redhawk
In the DFW area, the A/C is often a necessity May until October. Our old system has never given us any problems and keeps us comfortable. Because we are planning to move in the next couple years, I am weighing taking advantage of the home improvement tax credit ($1,500) with the thought of donating a new system to the next owner. I believe that the current system would/could last a few more years but if a newer system would bring increased return at the sale, I would feel more comfortable going through with it.
The basics are: a new 3.5 ton Trane system (everything but new duct and plenum) on a 2,000 SF single story is $7,056. Tax credit would come back early 2011, making the total $5,556. The savings between a new and old system is estimated at $400-$500 annually, saving me up to $1,000 over two years. That is $4,556 out of pocket by the time a move comes around.
I suppose it depends upon your local market. Around here, houses are selling for less than the cost of building the house, with the land and development thrown in for free.
The cost of a new heating system would certainly not be added back on to the top of the price.
It might make the house easier to sell, and shorter listing period is worth some money.
And who knows? Maybe in 2 years, the market will have improved.
Good comments above.
As a home inspector I would state that the HVAC is at the end of it’s useful life and the buyers should budget for a new one ASAP. In DFW that may be a deal killer.
You have only to consider one thing and that is. What happens if your home does NOT sell? If you install a new unit then at least you get the benefits of a more efficient and quiet system.
Days on market is what you want to know and if you contact your local RE agent they have that info.
Also You shouold check your local energy provider to find out if they do energy audits. Some do them for free and offer comprehensive evaluations to homeowners. You may need to have insulation installed to qualify for their program but they may offer you considerable savings.
To add to what JamesR54 said as a lender once I saw that comment I would advise my customer to renegotiate the sales price to either include an updated HVAC or some repair money to be put in escrow for a new HVAC. It would be devastating for a first time buyer to put all of their money down on a house and then all of the sudden have to come out of pocket for a new HVAC unit.
On the flip side you might be able to just get away with putting in a new condensor and updating the system. That is what I did when I sold my last primary residence. It costs me $1800 total and it came with a 5 year warranty. My buyers were perfectly happy with that.
I seriously doubt that you would recover the cost of a high-efficiency unit.
I seriously doubt that you would recover the cost of a high-efficiency unit if you were going to live there another 15 years, but that’s a different calculation. A/C companies way overstate the cost savings and use “fuzzy” math to sell consumers a bill of goods. But I digress…
You may be able to recover the cost of updating or replacing with a “standard” $4,000 unit.