Are Laminate And Vinyl Floors Ruining Your Home's Selling Potential?

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Living in a home you might someday sell always involves a tense dance in which homeowners must balance their own preferences, values, and cash flow against those of potential buyers. It's a tricky business and can be frustrating when perfectly serviceable, affordable home upgrades threaten to lower home values, or even to make a home difficult to sell. Hunker spoke exclusively with John Gafford, founder and CEO of luxury real estate firm Simply Vegas and author of Escaping the Drift: How to Make the World Happen For You, Not To You, about the effect of laminate and vinyl flooring on home sales. He was quick to discourage homeowners from making investments based solely on buyers' preferences. "Don't put yourself in debt or stretch yourself thin trying to chase what you think buyers want."

Gafford explains such effects as a matter of perception and audience, rather than gauging the absolute value of a particular flooring. "Laminate and vinyl generally won't cause a drastic drop in a home's value or anything dramatic like that," Gafford said, "but they can influence how buyers perceive the property based on where your house is and who's shopping."

If you're thinking of selling a home, one step you can't skip — even years before you put it on the market — is thinking through who you might be selling to. This is largely a function of where your home is located, and who is (and will be) buying in that area. The expectations and aspirations of those potential buyers will influence some of your renovation decisions, including your choice of flooring. When Hunker had an exclusive conversation with real estate expert and author John Gafford, he summed it up in four words: "Just know your crowd."

"In higher-end areas, buyers tend to expect to see marble, hardwood, or designer tile," Gafford explained. "So, installing basic vinyl in a luxury kitchen will definitely be a red flag for luxury home buyers, raise some concerns, and potentially reduce perceived value — sometimes by tens of thousands, since buyers factor in replacement costs. They'll start tallying up the cost to rip it out. That little misstep can potentially chop tens of thousands off what they'll offer." In purely financial terms, a situation like this would leave you better off if you didn't install new flooring at all, rather than installing something like vinyl or laminate that's perceived as low-quality.

But in most cases, modern versions of both luxury vinyl flooring and laminate are stylish and durable enough that those shopping for mid-range homes won't be inclined to pay less for the home. "So," Gafford said, "it really depends on the market and context."

For most homeowners, vinyl increasingly carries connotations of durability, quality, and desirability that older forms of vinyl flooring couldn't manage. Hunker spoke exclusively with John Gafford, the owner and co-founder of real estate firm Simply Vegas, who encouraged us to think of modern vinyl as "versatile, attractive, and a safe bet" on the whole.

"If you want a good balance of cost and lifespan, check out luxury vinyl plank (LVP)," Gafford elaborated. "It's incredibly resistant to spills and scratches, so it [withstands] active homes or high-traffic areas nicely." Modern, textured LVP also avoids most of the triggers that can create an impression of lower quality among homebuyers. "With the wood-like appearance, it deceives the eye well, and that adds an upscale flair to any room with none of the aggressive maintenance hassle."

All of this matters because LVP is often a reasonably affordable flooring option that can outperform more expensive options and is therefore a practical choice. It can also bolster home value, if you remember to know your crowd. "Home buyers do appreciate that convenience aspect," Gafford said, "and candidly, LVP has much curb appeal that it won't adversely impact resale value as bottom-line laminate occasionally will."

Installing affordable flooring in a situation where you hope to recoup the expense via a higher resale price can be more of an art than a science. Real estate expert John Gafford spoke to Hunker exclusively about vinyl and laminate flooring and had some advice for homeowners looking to install flooring that won't break the bank or tank the home's price. "The real trick is consistency," Gafford said. "If your whole house is vinyl plank and it looks clean, cohesive, and well-installed, buyers will respect it a lot more than if you splurge on hardwood in one room and cut corners everywhere else." In other words, whatever floor you choose, use it everywhere. 

When you're standing in front of a wall of flooring samples, there are some choices you can make that will improve the effect of LVP (and even laminate) on your resale value. "Go for wider planks, more natural tones, and matte finishes," Gafford advised. "Shiny and high-gloss laminate screams 'builder grade' and tends to look inexpensive." Pay attention to the little things as you're installing luxury vinyl plank flooring (or guiding an installer). "Invest a little extra on trim and transition pieces," Gafford said. "All the finished details will elevate the overall look of the flooring and make a difference on how it'll look overall in the home."