Bang for Your Buck

These 7 upgrades will add value to your Dallas-Fort Worth home

open concept kitchen with granite countertops & home interior

Don't take it for granite: countertops add serious value.

Taking on a home improvement project soon? You may want to rethink investing in a new fence and consider a new roof instead. That's according to real estate company Opendoor, which has identified the home upgrades that will add value to Dallas-Fort Worth homes, as well as the ones that won't.

There's a "huge difference between what is basic home maintenance and what is a value-adding upgrade," Opendoor says. "Many Dallas homeowners may not know the difference, and often put money into home projects that they think will yield a big return when they sell, but that’s often not the case."

According to Opendoor, these upgrades will add value to local homes:

Installing granite, marble, or quartz countertops in place of formica or tile.
Replacing a standard shingle roof with a tile, slate, or metal roof.
Replacing a standard plaster pool finish with Pebble-tec or redoing the pool with gunite.
Replacing standard appliances with high-end stainless steel appliance brands like Viking, Wolf, and SubZero.
Adding smart home technology.
Professional landscaping with a smart, low-maintenance irrigation system.
Building custom built-ins in key rooms, like the kitchen, master bathroom, and living room.

How much value are we talking? Opendoor's data shows that typically, homes with high-end pool finishes yield 20 percent more than homes without. And upgrading to stainless steel appliances (even basic models) can increase ROI by 42 percent.

The real estate company also outlines the "basic home maintenance" that will not raise the value of your home, including replacing the HVAC system, re-piping the plumbing system, replacing an old fence, and replacing the carpet.

Keep in mind that the return will vary by neighborhood and price point.

"If you see a neighbor’s property sell for a great price after renovations and upgrades, you can typically expect the same," explains Opendoor agent Gayln Ziegler. "If your neighborhood typically doesn’t have upgrades, such as granite countertops or high-end appliances, your return might yield lower results, as you’re going above and beyond what the neighborhood calls for."

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GP News

Grand Prairie expands to the south with new master-planned community

Rendering courtesy of Provident

Goodland Grand Prairie

The City of Grand Prairie is growing fast and expanding to make way for a new master-planned development south of US Highway 287 and along Tollway 360, in Ellis and Johnson counties.

The community development, called Goodland, is the result of Grand Prairie’s recent 1,500-acre annexation extending its southern border toward Mansfield. Overall, with the added land, Goodland will be a 5,000-acre site featuring 15,000 residences including townhomes, custom homes, and gated communities for 50,000 residents.

According to a release, it will be a “city within a city” and a 45-minute drive from Dallas-Fort Worth. Beyond housing, there will be shops, restaurants, schools, public and private event venues, regional sports fields and complexes, dance halls, churches, trail systems, city parks, ponds, and preserved green spaces.

“This is a significant step in our city’s development,” says Grand Prairie Mayor Ron Jensen in a statement. “Unlike many of our neighboring cities, we have the unique advantage of new development opportunities to our south that will drive the growth and prosperity of our city. We recognized the opportunity and took decisive action.”

Leading the development is Provident, a Dallas-based real estate firm that has created other master-planned communities across Dallas-Fort Worth, such as Preston Hollow Village and Hillstead in Collin County. Provident has plans to work nature into the space design with more than 1,600 acres of creek corridors and floodplain land.

Plans are ongoing for a centralized mixed-use walkable Town Center, complete with civic buildings and other commercial development. Further south on the property near Highway 67, light industrial uses and other private employment campuses are already underway, projects that will contribute vital tax dollars for city growth and future expansions.

“This level of placemaking is quite rare, and certainly not easy to execute, especially in a brand-new community," says Provident Managing Director Rylan Yowell in a statement. "We are committed to a long-term vision with a desire to be good stewards of the land."

A new four-lane road called Goodland Parkway will link Goodland to Grand Prairie at Tollway 360 and US Highway 287. It's set to open by December 2025.

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