Does using timber within a home effect the value? Real Estate agent Nina Schubert on natural materials and why developers should build properties with heart

Timber adds value

Nina spoke about how she and her team prepare a home for sale and how to maximise the property value. One of the first things she asked is whether there is timber under the carpets, because ripping up the old carpet and polishing the floorboards will significantly increase the value over night.

American studies have found that the average return on investment for installing hardwood floors is about 70% to 80%, and wood floors can boost the sale price of your home as much as 2.5%.

There are many studies that show there is increased levels of indoor dusts, allergens, and microorganisms in carpeted floors as opposed to hard floors, which bring an increased risk of a number of health outcomes including mild cognitive effects, irritative symptoms, and asthma. However Nina said she believes that buyers are attracted to hardwood floors for a different reason, and that is the warmth and natural beauty of the product.

“Timber is perceived to be a very high quality product and certainly levels up a property, it’s a real touch and feel thing. There’s a lot of products now out there that are lookalikes, but when you have real timber, the whole product feels like a really high standard and quality build.”

The emotional pull of a beautifully designed space

 Styling a property is also key to making buyers want to live in a space. The principals of biophilic design, the connecting of people to the natural world driven by human’s innate need to connect with nature, is something that Nina says buyers instinctively respond to.

“Adding soft furnishings and making sure the home is dressed and styled really beautifully [attracts buyers to a home] especially when you’ve got lots of timber, lots of green and plants, it makes [the home] sort of feel alive. I really don’t like fake plants in a home. It’s like having engineered products in there. Timber brings us back to nature, and the beautiful thing about timber is it changes with the light. The hues really change.”

Nina said the majority of people don’t pinpoint the reason why a space feels right. They just feel drawn to it. There is an emotional pull that makes it feel like home, and they want to live there.

“I believe humans like things that are evolving around us and interesting. I love it when you get dappled light on a timber wall or a timber floor and different colours changing throughout the day. It just makes for a really interesting space to live in, which you don’t always get with an engineered product or a white wall.”

A mid-century masterpiece

Nina has been a real estate agent for 8 years and just started her own business Insitu Property. When speaking of some of her favourite properties she has sold over her career one stood out.

“An Edith Emery design. Edith was one of the best mid-century female architects in Australia.

The house had a beautiful butterfly roof, it had its own little jetty and overlooked Berridale. I think the week that we launched it was realestate.com’s most viewed property in Australia… I turned up and did a Sunday open home and I had over a hundred people walking around this property and it was complete madness. It’s just fabulous to see how many people just fall in love with a property like that. And it wasn’t renovated. It was still quite original.”

When asked why so many people fell in love with the property Nina was quick to answer.

“Timber, it was mid-century and they did love and use a lot of timber. It had beautiful timber parquetry flooring… lots of glazing, so lots of natural light. And then, it was almost like the outside was brought in again, that connection to nature because you walked out into the lounge room and it was just huge windows with that beautiful butterfly roof line looking out to the river with lots of green brought into the home. It was just stunning.”

Should you buy with head or heart?

Nina says investors looking for properties look at a house differently to those who are looking for a home for themselves. However when asked if buyers should look with their head or their heart, Nina has some very good advice:

“A lot of investors, people that are just buying purely for investment, try and take the heart out of it. They tick boxes and go, okay, what’s the rental return, et cetera, et cetera, but it doesn’t feel good. Is it a good buy? Because down the track, you want to be able to sell it again. But I genuinely believe that those homes with soul and with heart, will always achieve a much better result down the track. I’ve bought both investments and homes for myself and I always go with heart no matter what.”

 To listen to Nina’s interview on the Original Thinkers Podcast, or other episodes in this fascinating series click here.