How the Age of Your HVAC System Impacts Your Home’s Resale Value

By Meghan Belnap

When considering what to upgrade before you sell your home, it's just as important to think through your home's mechanical systems as it is your home's aesthetic elements. After all, aesthetic elements are often easier and less expensive to change than mechanical systems.

One of your home's most important mechanical systems is your HVAC system. Even though it's not immediately visible, it can have an outsized impact on your home's resale value. Here are different ways your HVAC system's age can affect your home's resale value:

Comfort During Home Tours

One of the most obvious things to keep in mind is that your HVAC system can provide comfort to potential buyers during home tours. If your system is too old to provide reliable comfort, potential buyers are sure to notice. While some buyers will be able to overlook this issue, it will be a turn-off for other buyers, meaning that you will have less competition for your home, which could then lower the eventual selling price.

Selling Disclosures

To avoid financial mistakes, the home-selling process is regulated to be transparent. One way this happens is through selling disclosures that must be presented to the buyer before the transaction closes. The age of HVAC systems is one component that appears on these seller disclosures, meaning that potential buyers will be fully aware of the age of your HVAC system. Therefore, even if your older HVAC system works well, it could still turn away some buyers once they see how old your system is.

Selling Concessions

Even if a buyer chooses to offer the original asking price for your home, you may still lose out on money when the details are worked out. That's because the buyer may ask for concessions from you, which may include replacing all or part of your HVAC system. Considering the cost of a new HVAC system, this could significantly cut down on your sale proceeds.

Energy-Efficiency

While an older HVAC system could be a liability when it comes to the selling price, a newer one could prove to be an asset that could boost the selling price. This is because you can advertise the energy savings of your newer HVAC system when compared to other similar homes. For a buyer that's looking for the total package, this could be the feature that convinces them to put an offer on your house.

It's important to remember that just because you have an older HVAC system doesn't mean that your home will be hard to sell. While it may affect the value of your home, there will still be buyers who are eager to have your home, even if it means that they'll have to do some work on the HVAC system down the road.