People renovate for lifestyle reasons or to try and make profit.  If you intend to stay in your property for a long time and wish to adjust your home for your needs then it is money well spent.  However if you are considering renovating for profit, then tread carefully.

Some suburbs have a ceiling price.  Potential buyers, no matter how attractive the property, may not go over that ceiling price.  In these areas, if you spend $50,000 - $60,000 on a renovation for example, you may only increase the value of the property by $20,000 or $30,000.  You don’t want to spend money renovating the property and then find that you’ve lost money.

As another example, if you were to take a quality home worth $500,000 in a suburb where the median house price was of that same value, then investing in a new kitchen and bathroom costing $50,000 may not be the best idea, as it is probably more difficult to sell that property at $550,000 - $600,000. This is partly because it is already above the suburb’s median house price.

Of course, there are exceptions to the rule.  When you can add unique and desirable features to your property, in the right area, you can profit from renovation.  

Your money is precious and sometimes you don’t need to spend a lot on your property to get the best price.  You have to know the market and know what potential buyers are prepared to pay for.  Make sure before undertaking any work, get an idea of the likely value of the end product and see if there are comparable sales in the market to sustain your price expectations.  

If you are considering selling your property, talk to a market expert and work out what the achievable end price is for your home in your area.  You don’t want to overcapitalise by spending money you won’t get back.