The Simple Kitchen Upgrade Real Estate Agents Say May Be Key To Attracting Buyers

The kitchen is one of the most important spaces in a home for potential buyers. Kitchens lie at the center of a property and act as a kind of meeting and event space in many homes. On top of its utility as a gathering space, the kitchen must remain functional and aesthetically pleasing in order to serve as a cooking and eating area as well.

For this reason, homebuyers are often intensely interested in a grand kitchen — specifically one that is fully finished with a variety of included upgrades and features that add to the space's overall personality. Kitchen storage is one feature that weighs heavily on the quality of a property, but so, too, do installations that are both functional and beautiful. The kitchen backsplash is a feature that can add a depth of beauty to a room, and one that may come to be magnetic in attracting buyers to a property in 2023, according to HomeLight.

In the current real estate market, buyers are looking for big incentives to pull the trigger on a new home purchase. Interest rates remain unfavorable (at 6.36% on January 20, 2023, according to Bankrate), and marketplace inventory is still relatively low. This gives buyers the ability to wait out the market in search of better options in the future, incorporated renovation projects to make existing listings more attractive, and a potentially lower interest rate in the future. Fortunately, tackling the backsplash is something you can do easily and might just make the difference.

The backsplash in your kitchen can form a limited protective barrier behind the cooking space, or it can extend to cover all exposed walls between the countertop and your upper cabinets. Coupled with luxurious kitchen cabinets (perhaps an option that offers fiscally beneficial installation, too), a backsplash can really complete the look of a kitchen. The tiled features make the space feel cleaner, and with light-colored tiles, you can brighten up the space in an instant. There's something magical about a clean and shiny kitchen backsplash that a bare wall can't hold up to — even if it's painted with the best quality paint out there.

HomeLight reports that 37% of real estate agents in the United States project that kitchen backsplash installations will be one of the most important updates for homeowners looking to sell their property in 2023 and even into 2024. A designer backsplash that brings eye-catching color and pattern to the kitchen is a massive hit with buyers. This update makes the cooking space easier to clean (by keeping grime and grease contained to surfaces that are easier to wipe) and improves the visual element of the room immensely.

For a DIYer, installing a fresh backsplash in your kitchen can be a fun and value-adding project in the house. To do this, you'll need to have patience and take the project slow. Fix This Build That offers a streamlined guide for removing old backsplash tiles (if necessary) and installing a new addition in this space.

The removal of any wall material in your kitchen should be done carefully. This is because the kitchen is full of wiring and pipes in these hidden spaces. Using power tools can get the job done faster, but this brings the risk of severing an important utility.

For the installation, you'll need a tile-cutting apparatus (Fix This Build That says a snap cutter makes the cleanest lines for straight edges). As well, using the appropriate adhesive, you simply follow the container's instructions and place your tiles along the wall using spacers to keep the shape. Once the tiles are completed, add your grout and then move on to the cleaning phase to remove any additional debris from the surface of the tiles. Apply sealant to the outer edges and your backsplash is complete and ready to entice potential buyers.