What is the Best Flooring for Flipping Houses?
Well, that depends on a lot of things. There are A LOT of questions to consider before choosing a flooring, but let me break it down a bit for you.
- What neighborhood is the house in?: This may not seem important, but it is! If the average market price of your neighborhood is, say, $200,000, investing a ton of money into the flip and trying to sell your remodeled house for $300,000 might be near impossible.
- What is your market-value goal?: Like before, find reasonable expectations for the market-value of your purchased flip. What do you hope to resell it for? That will help determine what flooring you want to invest in.
- What is your budget?: The thing about flipping is the more you spend, the less ROI you might get. You want to establish a budget and look for flooring that falls within it. It might be worth it to splurge on flooring, though. More on that later!
- What rooms do you plan on flipping?: Realtors say the two most important rooms for buyers are the kitchen and the bathrooms. Think about it, when you start a house tour where does it start and end? Usually in the kitchen. If you can’t afford to flip the whole house and want to focus on two places, those might be the best places to start.
Hardwood Floors for House Flipping
Does your flip already have hardwood? Is there hardwood hidden underneath the carpet? If so, you struck a gold mine! Everyone wants hardwood in their home. If you have it already, even better. Your best bet would be the sand and refinish the hardwood to make it beautiful again.
If you don’t have hardwood, is it worth it to invest in it? Maybe.
Whether or not you want to buy hardwood for your house flip depends on the answers above. The truth is, hardwood will always raise the value of your flip and will make buyers more keen to make an offer; however, hardwood flooring is expensive.
If your budget doesn’t allow for it, or if hardwood floors are uncommon in the area you are flipping, it may not be worth the investment.
Cost of Hardwood Flooring
For your convenience, I did some math for you. Hardwood flooring comes in a range of prices depending on the species of wood and thickness, so I lowballed the number a bit with $8.00 a square foot. Keep in mind, this does not include installation cost, but it will give you an idea of what fits into your budget.
Average Cost by Sqft
500 sqft
1000 sqft
2000 sqft
$8.00$4,000$8,000$16,000
Carpet for House Flipping
Carpet is a big no-no in the house flipping world. Adding carpet to a flipped house probably won’t increase your ROI. Truth is, not a lot of people want carpets in their houses anymore. Those buyers that are going to view your flip? Yeah, they’re just thinking about how much it will cost to rip-out your brand new carpet and replace it with something else. Pity.
However, replacing old carpet with new carpet is always better than leaving the old carpet in place. If you can’t afford to upgrade the flooring to something other than carpet, at least replace it and you’ll break even
An exception is bedrooms. Bedrooms are still a popular place for carpet flooring. If you do want to put carpet in a house flip, stick to the bedrooms.
Cost of Carpet
Average Cost by Sqft
500 sqft
1000 sqft
2000 sqft
$2.00$1,000$2,000$4,000
Engineered Wood Floors for House Flipping
If you have the budget for it, engineered wood is great for a house flip. It has a high-end hardwood look because it is real wood! Engineered wood is constructed in layers to offer more durability and moisture resistance. These floors won’t have potential buyers daydreaming about ripping up your floors.
It is often more expensive than say, laminate, so it might be best to choose this for higher-value houses to make sure you earn a good ROI.
Cost of Engineered Wood Flooring
Engineered wood flooring also has a range of prices. You can find engineered wood flooring as low as $2.72 and as high as over $10.00. Of course, price and quality tend to go hand in hand. Here, I’ve averaged the price to $6.00 a sqft.
Average Cost by Sqft
500 sqft
1000 sqft
2000 sqft
$6.00$3,000$6,000$12,000
Laminate for House Flipping
Laminate is very popular among experienced house flippers. One reason being it gives houses an expensive look without the expensive investment. Laminate can also come in a variety of looks, so the choice is yours (though we would recommend more neutral colors if flipping).
Laminate is a great choice if you have a lower budget but still want a good ROI when you sell.
Cost of Laminate Flooring
Laminate is one of the most affordable types of flooring on the market. It’s great for getting you a high ROI. It looks beautiful, and it’s cheap flooring.
Average Cost by Sqft
500 sqft
1000 sqft
2000 sqft
$2.50$3,000$1,250$5,000
Luxury Vinyl Floors for House Flipping
Luxury vinyl flooring is the new flooring of choice for experienced flippers. While laminate is still popular for flipping, high-end vinyl flooring has more perks at close to the same price. You can buy vinyl flooring in planks, tiles, or rolls, so you can control the look of your flip easily. High-end vinyl flooring also comes in a variety of finishes including wood look-alikes and natural stone.
Additionally, you can buy WPC vinyl flooring, which is 100% waterproof. This makes it a great choice for a continual flooring from living room to the kitchen. It can even be used in the bathroom!
Best yet: vinyl offers a great ROI.
Cost of Luxury Vinyl Flooring
The best part of luxury vinyl flooring is that there are so many types. You can get luxury vinyl in tiles and planks of different sizes. Don’t forget luxury vinyl that has a waterproof core! Different options come with different prices, so take a look around to see what works for you.
Average Cost by Sqft
500 sqft
1000 sqft
2000 sqft
$3.00$1,500$3,000$6,000
Tile Floors for House Flipping
Tile has great versatility for flipping. You can use tile anywhere in the house because it is durable and waterproof. Not only that, some tile mimics the looks of planks, wood, or other stones. It also has a great price-point, with ceramic tile being slightly less expensive than porcelain.
Travertine is a popular look right now in the flipping world, and you can find that both as a porcelain and ceramic tile at a low price-point. This earns you a great ROI.
Cost of Tile Flooring
Pricing for tile flooring can be tricky because there are two main types: porcelain tile and ceramic tile. Porcelain tends to be the more expensive tile, but you can still find it for under $3.00 a sqft if you search.
Average Cost by Sqft
500 sqft
1000 sqft
2000 sqft
$3.50$1,750$3,500$7,000