It’s easy to feel a bit anxious that a bad choice for kitchen countertops will have homebuyers and realtors avoiding your fix & flip property like the high school wallflower, especially if you’ve seen the latest waves in beautiful kitchen design. On the other hand, following the latest trend in countertops can be a pricey decision, even if you have insider access to discounts. How can real estate investors make attractive choices that sell, at a reasonable cost?

Nowadays countertop manufacturing technology is over-shadowing even granite. Evaluating the pros and cons of quartz, silestone, glass, ceramic tile, marble, wood, as well as new choices in corian, granite, laminate and even stainless steel could overwhelm even an experienced kitchen designer. Many of these options are remarkably affordable, some more so than traditional granite.

Countertops can even be eco-friendly, using recycled glass or reclaimed timber. A number of specialized coatings make it possible to use renewable resources such as bamboo and concrete. Another countertop trend is adding creative backlighting – even a quartz or other stone countertop can glow warmly.

Is your head spinning yet? Are you panicking like a prom queen whose gown doesn’t match her date’s tuxedo?

My advice for any fix & flip project, as I’ve said in other blog posts:

• DON’T overdo it.
  If you have a source of very discounted countertops, you may have a nice upgrade opportunity. Remember that high-cost upgrades rarely pay back, and countertops need to look good next to cabinets that are getting only fresh stain or paint.

• DO know your market and your buyer.
  Does the average sale house in this market have a fancy backlit eco-sustainable countertop – or just a nice ceramic tile? What is your homebuyer willing to pay you for in the purchase price – and what do they think is unnecessary and outside of their budget?

Added to that advice is a tip that Mr. / Ms. Average Homebuyer does not usually have a taste for cutting edge design. In this market, he or she may actually be turned off by a countertop of mixed concrete and glass-chips. And, a couple with lively children may not understand that a countertop of timber with a technical finish honestly won’t show every over-enthusiastic holiday-cookie-cutter impression.

If you’re preparing a high-end home in a very upscale neighborhood, it may well be worthwhile to consider the stones and the glass materials for your countertops, as well as special lighting. It may be that sustainable material will be great marketing and sell it faster. But of course all of the fittings and décor will have to be a fit with the special countertops.

Whatever your homebuying audience, your benchmark should be what is commonly found in the properties that sell the fastest in your price range and market.

Check these links for photos of innovative countertop materials:

Glass

Wood and timber

Creative lighting

“The New Corian”

Stone

What is the most common countertop material for comparables for your current fix & flip project?

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