Homeowners in Central Florida are starting to capitalize on the home equity gains of the past decade. The right home upgrades, including smart residential flooring choices, can help you get the most bang for your buck when it’s time to sell.
When you want to increase home value, flooring is a natural place to start.
Whether you’re in the market to flip homes, convert your home into a rental, or you’re planning to sell your home in the next few years, choosing flooring that enhances your home’s value is a smart way to boost your total investment returns.
Best Residential Flooring For ROI In Central Florida
When the Creative Floors team works with clients, we evaluate real estate flooring trends in Florida as well as which flooring styles make sense for our clients’ lifestyles and long-term goals.
Connecting with experienced local flooring professionals is the first step when choosing the best flooring for resale value.This is not the time to rely on online flooring distributors or deals from a big-box store. If long-term value is your goal, work with experts who can guide you through every step of the decision-making process, ensuring the final installation will support the flooring’s durability – and protect the warranties of all the products used.
Flooring Products That Hold Their Value Over Time
According to the national real estate professionals at Homelight, the best return on investment (ROI) by flooring type is offered by:
- Hardwood (as long as it is an engineered hardwood floor)
- Ceramic or porcelain tiles
- Laminate and Luxury vinyl plank (LVP) flooring
All of these products are considered to have a high- to mid-level ROI based largely on their durability, longevity, and ease of installation. Aesthetics are always a factor, but when the time comes to sell a home, homeowners need to ensure those luxurious looks can withstand wear and tear over time. While we always recommend focusing on a neutral flooring palette for widespread appeal, the material selection is where we start.
In its real estate flooring trends, Florida definitely supports the Homelight data; all of the products listed above work well with Floridians’ unique indoor-outdoor lifestyle. That can even be true of hardwood. Let’s find out more about it.
Hardwood Still Ranks #1 For Flooring That Adds Home Value
Traditional hardwood floors still rank #1 when it comes to optimizing the value of flooring for resale. With the rich, natural, unique character of hardwood floors, nothing beats the beauty of real hardwood floors. However, one must have realistic expectations when deciding on hardwood floors. They will scratch and show “character” over time in homes that live with beloved pets, and hardwood surfaces are prone to scratches from clawed feet, although today’s hardwoods are lower luster surfaces, which help disguise these blemishes.
The great news for many of our out-of-state transplants and investors from drier climates is that engineered hardwood offers all of the luxurious aesthetic benefits of traditional solid hardwood:
- Beautiful wood grains from every species available in solid wood options.
- Seemingly unlimited stain options to match your style and your color palette.
- A softer feel on feet and paws, as well as a softer landing when things are dropped.
Plus, using engineered hardwood products lets you reap the benefits of a water-resistant flooring option that can handle our wet climate far better than a solid hardwood can.
As with any hardwood or wood-look flooring products, professional installation is essential to avoid repeated or poorly laid grain patterns that detract from the flooring’s visual interest.
Luxury Vinyl plank and Laminate plank floors Replicate Wood
Our laminate plank and LVP products are definite winners when homeowners want to increase home value with high-quality flooring choices.
These products are engineered to replicate the appearance of wood products precisely. As a result, homeowners can install “wood” without all the upkeep effort of real wood.
Laminate and LVP products are designed to replicate the appearance of natural wood planks. The result is so realistic that customers often get down on the floor and run their hands over the planks because they can’t believe they’re not “real wood.” However, unlike real wood, customers who install laminate or LVP plank flooring don’t have to worry about stepping onto it from the shower, wet feet walking in from the pool area, or the inevitable spills and accidents that occur in the daily life of a household with kids and pets.
Luxury vinyl plank Selection Note: Keep in mind that there is a difference between LVP options in terms of their interior core and top layers. This creates a variation in thickness to keep in mind whenever there are transitions between rooms, baseboards, and door casings. This is another example of why it’s crucial to schedule consultations with local flooring design professionals rather than relying on employees from big-box stores, who often lack the experience you deserve when ROI is at stake.
Porcelain & Ceramic Tiles: Florida’s Tried & True Tradition
There’s a reason why tile floors are a staple in tropical climates like ours. In the event of humidity, floods, or high water exposure, porcelain and ceramic tiles can weather whatever comes their way.
At first glance, porcelain and ceramic tiles look the same, depending on the glaze or finish you choose. However, there are some differences in how they are made, fired, and finished. You can read more about that in our post about the differences between porcelain and ceramic. Beyond their durability and longevity, tiles are a popular flooring choice because they are manufactured in virtually every color and pattern imaginable, including prints that replicate hardwood and natural stone.
Once installed, you can expect a high-quality tile floor to last a lifetime, with minimal maintenance needed over the years to reseal or replace grout or to replace any tiles that might chip or crack. Tile floor owners often go many years or even decades without having to think about these issues.
When making your decision, keep in mind that tile is one of the hardest and coldest flooring options. While they make a good choice for bathrooms, kitchens, and laundry rooms, you may want to select engineered hardwood or LVP/ laminate for living rooms, bedrooms, and other areas where a softer floor may be wiser.
Flooring Pros’ Recommendations From Room to Room
Most homeowners want to mix up their flooring a bit to add visual interest and match the flooring type to a room’s predictable levels of wear and tear.
You are by no means beholden to these recommendations; we’re here to make sure whatever residential flooring you select honors your lifestyle and goals. However, this guide is a good place to start when considering which residential flooring options have the highest resale value from room to room:
- Kitchen: Tile, LVP, or engineered hardwood.
- Bathrooms: Tile.
- Laundry Room: Tile, LVP, or laminate.
- Living Room & Family Room: LVP, laminate, or engineered hardwood.
- Bedrooms: While it’s tempting to add carpet here, LVP, laminate, or engineered hardwood is the best choice if you’re in the market for flooring that adds home value.
- Craft & Hobby Rooms: Tile works the best, but but Laminate, LVP, or engineered hardwood also make a good choice.
- Spa Room: Tile floors are ideal here, eliminating concerns about moisture or humidity damage.
You may also want to consider whether prospective buyers or renters plan to age in place or already rely on mobility aids, since flooring selections can support safer movement and independence.
When you meet with Creative Floors to begin the flooring selection process, we’ll go room by room and discuss the best options for you. And remember, while hard surface flooring options have the greatest ROI by far due to their durability, you can always use stylish area rugs to soften certain spaces (like a family room floor) so you benefit from the best of both worlds.
Schedule Your Residential Flooring Consultation With Creative Floors
With 2 showrooms conveniently located in Orlando and Casselberry, the Creative Floors team is the area’s premier resource for flooring that adds home value and style for Casselberry, Lake Mary, Orlando, Oviedo, Lake Nona, Dr. Phillips, Belle Isle, Hunters Creek, Winderemere, Waterford Lakes, Eastwood, Avalon, and Winter Park clients, just to name a few. When it comes to the best flooring for resale, Central Florida locals trust us!
Visit one of our showrooms or schedule an in-home flooring consultation, and we’ll guide you through the process of selecting the right flooring for your needs. Whether you plan to put your home on the market, use it as a rental property, or just want to enjoy a beautiful upgrade or refresh for the home you plan to stay in, we help homeowners like you maximize the value of Florida property investments.
