Does New Flooring Increase Home Value? The ROI Data

Flooring is the first thing buyers see when they walk through a front door. It’s also the first thing they feel underfoot. In a market where first impressions take seconds, and buyers are comparing multiple properties on the same afternoon, the condition and quality of the floors can be the difference between an offer and a pass.

But does new flooring actually translate to higher sale prices? And if so, which flooring, because the answer varies significantly by material. Here’s what the data says.

Quick Answer: What’s the ROI on New Flooring?

The highest-ROI flooring action in 2026 is refinishing existing hardwood: 147% ROI according to the National Association of Realtors - meaning you recoup more than you spend. New hardwood installation returns 70–80% ROI and increases home value by 3–5% in most markets. LVP returns 65–80%. Tile returns 70–85% in appropriate rooms. Laminate rarely adds resale value and is perceived by buyers as a budget finish. The material you choose matters as much as whether you replace the floor at all.

How Flooring Actually Affects Home Value

Home value is determined by buyer perception. Buyers don’t walk through a property running comps in their head - they feel whether a home is worth the asking price within the first few minutes. Flooring contributes to that feeling at every step, literally.

Two things drive flooring’s impact on perceived value:

• Condition. Worn, scratched, stained, or dated flooring signals to buyers that the home needs work. They mentally discount the asking price for the renovation they’re about to need to do. New or well-maintained flooring removes that mental discount.

• Material quality. Premium materials - hardwood, engineered hardwood, quality LVP - signal that the home has been maintained and invested in. Budget materials - sheet vinyl, low-grade laminate, worn carpet - signal the opposite, even when installed recently.

The ROI question isn’t just “does new flooring add value.” It’s ”does this specific floor, in this specific market, at this specific price point, justify its cost before I sell.” Those are different questions, and the answers differ by material.

ROI by Flooring Material: The 2026 Data

Sources: National Association of Realtors 2025 Remodeling Impact Report, Remodeling Magazine 2025–2026 Cost vs. Value, D&G Floors, Simple Flooring, Floor Boys Flooring ROI Analysis.

The Number That Should Change How You Think About This

The 147% ROI figure on hardwood refinishing deserves more attention than it typically gets.

What it means in practice: the NAR reports that homeowners who refinish existing hardwood floors spend an average of $5,500 and recover an average of $8,000 at resale. That’s not just recouping the cost - that’s a net gain of $2,500 on a $5,500 investment. A 147% return.

No other flooring action comes close. Not new hardwood. Not high-end tile. Not a kitchen renovation. Refinishing existing hardwood is the single highest-returning flooring move available to a homeowner preparing to sell - and it’s one most people don’t consider because they’re focused on replacement rather than restoration.

If you have hardwood floors that are scratched, dull, or worn but structurally intact: refinish before you do anything else. The ROI is unmatched, the disruption is manageable, and the result - floors that look brand new - delivers the same buyer impression as new installation at a fraction of the cost. McMillan’s guide to hardwood floor repair covers what’s involved at each level of damage.

The Engineered Hardwood Advantage

Premium engineered hardwood and solid hardwood deliver near-identical ROI - and that equivalence is worth understanding.

Buyers cannot reliably distinguish premium engineered hardwood from solid hardwood when they see it installed in a home. The surface is real wood. The grain is real wood. The feel underfoot is essentially the same. A buyer walking through a home with McMillan’s Nevis or Evelyn installed doesn’t think “that’s engineered.” They think “that’s beautiful hardwood.”

The ROI implication: if engineered hardwood delivers equivalent buyer perception at a lower material cost, the net return on investment is often higher. The cost differential between premium engineered and solid hardwood in the same species can be $3–$8/sq. ft. On a 1,000 sq. ft. installation, that’s $3,000–$8,000 less invested for the same perceived value at resale.

The one qualification: engineered hardwood’s ROI advantage over solid depends on veneer thickness. A 4mm veneer floor - which is refinishable, which feels solid underfoot, which looks like real hardwood - delivers the ROI. A 0.5mm budget engineered floor looks different to buyers who look closely, and won’t survive the years of traffic before a sale the way a quality product will. Premium matters here.

LVP: The Best ROI Per Dollar Invested

LVP doesn’t deliver the same headline ROI percentage as hardwood - 65–80% versus 70–80%. But it has a different ROI advantage: the absolute dollar cost is lower, which means the absolute dollar loss at resale is smaller.

A $5,000 LVP installation that delivers 75% ROI loses $1,250 at resale. A $15,000 hardwood installation that delivers 75% ROI loses $3,750. The LVP loses less money in absolute terms, even though the percentage is the same.

More importantly, LVP delivers the highest ROI in replacement scenarios: old carpet to LVP, sheet vinyl to LVP, worn laminate to LVP. In each case, the replacement removes a buyer red flag (worn carpet, dated vinyl, peeling laminate) and replaces it with a material buyers actively want - waterproof, modern, realistic. The ROI in these scenarios consistently exceeds the 70% baseline because the baseline being replaced was actively hurting the home’s perceived value.

Real estate expert perspective (2026): “Modern LVP deceives the eye well, and that adds an upscale flair to any room with none of the aggressive maintenance hassle.” The growing buyer acceptance of LVP as a premium material - not a substitute for hardwood - is shifting the ROI equation in its favor each year.

The Honest Truth About Laminate ROI

Laminate is the one flooring category where the ROI data is consistently unflattering. Buyers perceive laminate as a budget material. That perception hasn’t kept pace with the technical improvements in the category - premium laminate in 2026 is genuinely better than premium LVP was ten years ago - but perception drives resale value, not specs.

The practical implications for pre-sale flooring decisions:

• If your existing laminate is in good condition and neutral in tone: leave it. It won’t add value, but replacing it before selling also won’t dramatically improve the outcome. Clean, intact laminate in a neutral color is acceptable - just not inspiring.

• If your existing laminate is damaged, peeling, or dated (dark tones from the early 2010s): replace it before selling. But replace it with LVP, not laminate. You’ll spend similar money and significantly improve buyer perception.

• If you’re installing new flooring for long-term living (not immediate resale): premium laminate is a different calculation. McMillan’s EVOLVED Series at AC4 and 300-hour waterproof protection is a genuinely excellent floor for a home you’ll live in. The ROI disadvantage at resale is offset by years of performance before the sale is relevant.

What 2026 Buyers Are Looking For

ROI data reflects buyer preferences - which shift. Here’s what the market looks like in 2026 specifically:

• Hardwood still commands a premium. In most markets, homes with hardwood floors are appraised higher and sell faster than equivalent homes without them. Buyer surveys consistently rank hardwood as the most desired floor type.

• LVP is no longer “the vinyl alternative.” The global LVP market is growing at 7.5% annually and buyer acceptance has shifted. Buyers who couldn’t afford hardwood used to settle for LVP. Now buyers actively choose LVP for performance reasons - waterproof, durable, low-maintenance - especially in kitchens and basements.

• Color matters more than material in some markets. Medium-brown, honey, natural wood tones, and warm greige are what sell in 2026. Dark laminate from the 2010s reads as dated. Light, natural tones read as current. A recent, neutral-toned LVP floor can outperform dated hardwood in buyer perception.

• Sheet vinyl and carpet in living areas are active value reducers. These materials don’t just fail to add value - they signal to buyers that the home hasn’t been updated. Buyers mentally apply a renovation discount that often exceeds the cost of replacement.

• Consistency matters. A home with hardwood in the living room, laminate in the hallway, and carpet in the dining room reads as unfinished. Consistent flooring across living areas - especially an open-plan layout - is a meaningful value signal.

The Pre-Sale Flooring Decision Framework

Based on the ROI data, here’s how to think about flooring decisions if you’re preparing a home for sale:

One More Consideration: Living in It vs. Selling It

ROI data is useful when you’re selling soon. It’s less useful when you’re making a floor decision for a home you’ll live in for another ten years.

A floor’s value isn’t only its resale contribution. It’s also the years of enjoyment, reduced maintenance, and daily quality of life before the sale is ever relevant. A premium engineered hardwood floor that costs $5,000 more than the mid-range alternative but delivers ten years of superior performance, durability, and aesthetics is worth more than its resale contribution suggests.

The calculation changes if you’re selling within twelve to eighteen months. In that window, the pre-sale ROI framework above is the right guide. But for a home you’re living in, choose the floor that’s right for the conditions, right for the aesthetic, and right for the life you live there.

The right floor for your home and the highest-ROI floor for resale often overlap - because the things that make a floor great to live on (premium material, real wood surface, durability) are the same things buyers respond to. You don’t have to optimize purely for resale. Optimize for quality, and the resale value follows.

Frequently Asked Questions

Does replacing carpet with hardwood increase home value?

Yes, consistently. Replacing carpet in living areas with hardwood or premium engineered hardwood is one of the highest-impact flooring upgrades for resale. Most real estate agents report that homes with hardwood floors sell faster and at higher prices than equivalent homes with carpet in the main living areas. The premium is most pronounced in owner-occupied homes in competitive markets.

What is the ROI on hardwood floors?

New hardwood installation returns approximately 70–80% ROI at resale, with some premium markets approaching or exceeding 100%. Refinishing existing hardwood delivers a 147% ROI according to the National Association of Realtors - meaning homeowners recover more than they spend. These figures make hardwood and hardwood refinishing the highest-returning flooring investments in most markets.

Does LVP increase home value?

LVP adds measurable value compared to the flooring it replaces - particularly when replacing worn carpet, sheet vinyl, or dated laminate. Its ROI percentage (65–80%) is slightly below hardwood, but its lower upfront cost means the absolute dollar investment at risk is smaller. In 2026, buyer acceptance of quality LVP as a premium material is growing, and the ROI gap versus hardwood has narrowed in most markets.

Should I replace flooring before selling my house?

It depends on what you have. If you have worn carpet, damaged laminate, or sheet vinyl in main living areas: yes, replace before selling - the ROI is positive. If you have existing hardwood that needs refinishing: refinish it, the ROI is exceptional. If you have neutral, intact laminate or tile: leave it. If you have hardwood in good condition: leave it and potentially refinish it. The decision is always material-specific and condition-specific.

What flooring has the highest ROI for home resale?

Hardwood refinishing has the highest ROI of any flooring action at 147% (NAR data). Among new installations, hardwood and engineered hardwood deliver the best returns at 70–80% ROI with a 3–5% increase in home value in most markets. LVP delivers strong absolute returns due to lower upfront cost. Tile delivers 70–85% ROI in appropriate rooms (bathrooms, kitchens). Laminate rarely adds resale value.

The Bottom Line

New flooring increases home value when the right material is chosen, installed in the right conditions, at the right time relative to a sale. The data is clear: hardwood leads on ROI percentage, LVP leads on return per dollar invested, and refinishing existing hardwood leads on net return.

The floor that doesn’t add value - and can actively hurt it - is the one that signals “budget” to a buyer walking through the door. Sheet vinyl, worn carpet, dated laminate, and poor-quality LVP each send that signal. Replacing them before a sale is one of the most cost-efficient improvements available.

And for homes where the sale is years away: choose quality. The floor you live on every day compounds its value in ways the ROI data doesn’t fully capture.

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Read: Hardwood Floor Repair Guide →

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