A home theater is certainly not a run-of-the-mill feature in homes and can be a great way to help a home stand out, not to mention the entertainment factor it provides for the owner. However, it’s important to consider whether a home theater is a worthy investment to increase the value of a home.
While a home theater can increase the value of a home in certain areas, it’s unlikely to offer a better return on investment than upgrading more essential spaces such as kitchens or bathrooms or adding an additional bedroom to a home. Home theaters are a personal home improvement that won’t be valuable for every prospective buyer and may not add any value at all.
There are various factors homeowners should keep in mind when deciding whether to install a home theater or not.
Available space
A home theater is an undeniably luxurious addition to a home and it’s important to bear in mind whether the square footage of the home can comfortably accommodate a home theater or not. Homeowners should ask themselves whether adding a home theater will take up room that could be better utilized in a different way, especially for homes that may be lacking other features such as sufficient sleeping space or bathrooms for the number of people living in the home.
With a large home, there may be sufficient space to add a home theater without sacrificing the feel or functionality of the space. However, with a smaller home, taking up vital space for the purposes of entertainment when it could be put to better use (such as creating an additional bedroom or bathroom) won’t be the best use of homeowners’ money.
While a home theater is a luxurious feature that will certainly be appreciated within a home that already covers prospective buyers’ needs, sacrificing valuable real estate for a theater room in a home that may be lacking certain features isn’t going to offer good value to a lot of buyers.
Surrounding homes
It’s important to consider the surrounding homes and the neighborhood when considering installing a home theater. For instance, in an expensive area with large homes, adding a home theater could help a home stand out from others in the area and make it more desirable.
However, in less expensive areas with smaller houses, a home theater won’t hold as much value for prospective buyers and they may prefer other homes in the area with more practical use of space. They’re also unlikely to want to pay more for a luxury feature when surrounding houses may offer better value for money.
Cost versus added value
The cost to install a home theater can range greatly depending on the size and what features it contains. While greater costs should theoretically result in a more impressive home theater that could increase the value of a home more, homeowners run the risk of spending more on their home theater than the value it will add to the home.
In some cases, adding a home theater may not increase the home’s value at all. However, spending money doing other upgrades to the home, such as installing a new kitchen or bathroom or adding an additional bedroom, could result in more value being added to the home than what the upgrade cost to do.
If homeowners do decide to go ahead with installing a home theater, it’s advisable to get a range of quotes for what it will cost to install and to determine and stick to a specific budget. It’s easy to add a variety of extra features that will quickly increase the cost for little to no return, so it’s important to remain within budget to maximize potential value.
Homeowners may want to speak to real estate agents and see if they can provide a rough estimate for how much value a home theater may add to their home. This amount will help determine whether adding a home theater is a good idea or not and if so, what the budget should be to still make a return on that investment.
Personal perceptions versus buyer perceptions
It’s important to remember that homeowners and prospective buyers may not share certain views on what a valuable home addition is. A film enthusiast may love having a home theater to indulge their passion, while someone who spends most of their free time outdoors wouldn’t use the home theater much (if at all) and not find much value in it.
Home theaters are personal home improvements and won’t have as wide an appeal as improvements in areas that are used every day such as bathrooms or kitchens.