If you search the internet you are going to get a variety of opinions on whether plantation shutters can add a real price increase to your homes appraised value, you will read opinions all the way from they certainly will, to a firm they won’t.

If you google it, you will read that:
Plantation shutters are a custom-designed, measured and built product, unique to each window or door they are installed on and become a permanent fixture in your home since they can’t be moved from home to home. They’re appraised as a valuable addition to your home which translates directly to your home’s assessed value.

I would take that opinion with a grain of salt…
With over twenty years of home improvement experience, most of that working professionally as a remodeling contractor this question was something that I addressed almost on a daily basis with my clients on remodeling projects. 

As I would explain to them, the highest returns on investment are when you take a defect in a home and correct it. The next highest would be certain areas of your home are high return targets such as the kitchen and bathroom.

But what most people don’t realize is that on a per-dollar measurement, few improvements return more than 50-70% of the dollars invested. It’s really never a case of $100 invested in improvements equals a $100 return and certainly not $100 invested equals a $120 return. The thing is that the bathroom is supposed to be nice, everything is supposed to work in it, if it doesn’t it’s a deduct from your appraisal, things being nice just bring you to even.

This brings us to plantation shutters how they affect the value of your home…

Plantation shutters may or may not be an add for your appraisal, the simple truth is there are many different appraisers working in the field and they each see things a little differently. 

Curb appeal & sellability
The missing ingredient in all of this is not discounting the effect of ‘curb appeal’ or sellability when it comes to your home’s value.

A nasty lawn versus a beautiful one won’t affect the value of a home, but it affects the curb appeal the desirability of the home competing in the market. Today’s buyers are very picky, they want exactly what they want without compromise and most don’t want to do anything to their new home, they want everything as perfect as possible. 

The home that shows well, that looks more custom, that looks more upgraded has a big advantage and can resist discounted offers. Plantation shutters give your home this advantage, they say this is a home, not a house, they put that cherry on top of the sundae, they give it a wow factor that buyers notice when they get that all-important first impression.

Final Advice
My advice is plantation shutters might add value to your appraisal, maybe they won’t, but your motivation to have them should be doing it for you, not for a buyer someday. Have them installed to raise your quality of life, raise the perceived value of your home, and enjoy them while you live in it. They will not detract from your home’s value that’s for certain and your enjoyment of your time living in your home is invaluable.

They will add to your home’s curb appeal, to the finished look, the wow factor and will someday set your house just a notch higher than the home who’s owner didn’t invest in them. They will update and set your home apart on the market and increase it’s perceived value. So the bottom line, invest in plantation shutters for yourself and your family not for some buyer down the road in the future.