Real Estate Rules

5 ways to maximize your DFW home's value — and 5 features that'll cost you

Carpet is a no-no.

Photo courtesy of Opendoor

When it comes to selling a home, one thing is certain: homeowners always want to get top dollar. To boost their home's value, many embark on renovation projects hoping, but not knowing, that those upgrades will significantly increase their bottom line when it comes time to sell. Questions like, "Will I see my money back from that bathroom facelift?" or "Is installing quartz countertops in my kitchen worth it?" abound.

As we head into the slower fall real estate season, when many homeowners opt to stay put and contemplate selling next year, the list of potential projects might be top of mind. So what should you focus on? If you want to tackle just one project this year, what should it be?

Local real estate company Opendoor just launched a Home Improvement Value Calculator that eliminates the mystery by enabling homeowners to see how much certain upgrades can increase their overall home value.

Looking at Opendoor data for homes valued around $300,000 in Dallas-Fort Worth (close to the current median price), here are the five upgrades that typically provide the biggest boost, along with the average increase in value:

Add a pool: $21,350 (7.12 percent increase)
Add 150 square feet of interior living space: $14,850 (4.95 percent)
Add a second or third bedroom: $14,750 (4.92 percent)
Add hardwood flooring: $13,550 (4.52 percent)
Convert existing living space to a second or third bedroom: $8,600 (2.87 percent)

Opendoor also looked at data from the past year to identify which existing home features could be costing homeowners thousands. Here are the top five offenders, along with the average reduction in value for each:

Carpet as a primary floor type: -$5,400
Formica or tile kitchen counters: -$5,000
Carpet in the master bedroom: -$4,100
Located on a busy street: -$2,800
Low-quality cabinetry: -$2,700

As the largest acquirer of single-family homes throughout Dallas-Fort Worth, Opendoor is able to analyze individual home features and understand how they add to (or detract from) the overall value of a home. The company has been keeping Dallas buyers and sellers in the loop on real local estate trends since 2015, and has served over 10,000 local customers.

For sellers not interested in undertaking stressful, pricey renovation projects to get their home "open-house ready," Opendoor is a dream come true. Homeowners can go to opendoor.com to begin the no-obligation process today and Opendoor will provide a competitive, all-cash offer within 24 hours, regardless of whether or not a home has been remodeled.

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Opendoor's calculator is offered for educational purposes and is not a guarantee of return on investment. Individual results may vary.

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Dallas Got Robbed

The richest small town in Texas is surprisingly not in Dallas

Facebook / City of Bellaire, Texas

Houston neighbor Bellaire is the richest town in Texas.

A survey of affluent small towns has found one town in Texas to be at the top of the list, but shockingly, it is not in Dallas. The town of Bellaire, a small enclave within the Houston metro area, has earned the top spot as the richest small town in Texas for 2025. Boo.

The report, "The Richest Small Town in Every State," from GoBankingRates, selected one city from each state, using data from the U.S. Census Bureau's American Community Survey to determine the 50 richest small towns based on their median household income.

Describing Bellaire as a "small town" might be a misnomer. It's located less than 10 miles from downtown Houston and is fully surrounded by the City of Houston. It's really more of a wealthy enclave within Houston, with a population of just over 17,000 residents.

Those affluent citizens earn a median $236,311 in income every year, which GoBankingRates says is the 11th highest household median income out of all 50 cities included in the report.

The average home in this city is worth over $1.12 million, but Bellaire's lavish residential reputation often attracts properties with multi-million-dollar price tags.

Bellaire also earned a shining 81 livability score for its top quality schools, health and safety, commute times, with an abundance of exceptional local amenities.

Those include conveniently located grocery stores, coffee shops, diverse dining options, and spacious parks.

It's not the first time that Bellaire has caught the eye of GoBankingRates, which previously ranked it as the No. 23 wealthiest suburb in America, and it's been named on similar lists comparing the richest American cities.

Dallas can take comfort in the fact that a different survey found Lewisville to be of the cities attracting the most high-income households, meaning those that make more than $200,000. However, census data places the most recent median income in Lewisville at $85,002 — so it's nowhere close to catching up to Bellaire.

suburbs houston bellaire affluent households