Selling the Benefit of Increased Home Value
In this issue of the Residential Metal Roofing Executive Report, we are going to continue with our series of looking at how to best present the various benefits of metal roofing to homeowners. In the past, we have looked at benefits including beauty, longevity, wind resistance, low weight, and fire resistance. In this issue, we want to discuss how to help homeowners understand how a quality metal roof will increase their home’s value, and what that will mean to them.
This question of “how much will it increase my home’s value” is pretty common when a homeowner is considering the investment of a metal roof. One thing I like to help guide homeowners to an understanding of is that building materials are always evolving and improving. There are points where, if you do not upgrade your home, it will become very unattractive to a potential buyer.
As example, a home with a recently remodeled kitchen than does not have upgraded countertops and fixtures today will not be of much interest to potential home buyers. If someone who is buying a home is looking at two homes and one has a nice kitchen with granite countertops and the other has a new kitchen but formica countertops, you can well imagine which one will be of more interest to the prospective buyer. There are other “replacement products” in a home where the situation is similar – think of appliances, bathrooms, windows, siding, and etc. All of these examples will help homeowners understand why the roof is an area where they need to consider an upgrade. Metal roofing has increased market share considerably in recent years – from about 2% of the residential market 12 years ago to nearly 10% now. With that continued growth, it will increasingly be “expected” by potential buyers that a nice home will have a nice roof.
Next, I like to talk about how a new standard grade asphalt shingle roof will restore some “lost value” to a home when it is first installed. However, that is not a lasting increase in home value but rather a restoration of value that was lost because the old roof looked old and in need of replacement. Unfortunately, though, that new asphalt shingle roof will look old and in need of replacement in just a few years and that restored value will once again be lost. This puts a home’s value on a sort of roller coaster of a few years of restored value followed by several years where the aged looking roof is detracting from the home’s value and attractiveness to potential buyers.
A metal roof, on the other hand, not only restores value today but adds value and then retains that value for the long term as the roof maintains a fresh, new look and does not become a detraction from the home’s beauty and value as it ages. It seems that everyone who is ever buying a home suddenly is a roofing expert and, if they can look up at the roof and cite its aged look as something that will be a future replacement expense in order to justify a drop in the home’s price, they will do so. However, if the roof always looks new, they can’t do that.
You can also at this time help the homeowner understand that, with the evolution of roofing materials, chances are a metal roof is in their home’s future at some point. It makes sense to invest in it now (the cost will never be lower) and enjoy the metal roof’s beauty, energy efficiency, and freedom from maintenance worries for a longer period of time. This can really support a great “cost per year” analysis comparing the metal roof to other roofing materials.
Finally, when discussing this subject, it’s good to caution homeowners that home value is only of real importance when and if they go to sell their home. If your needs analysis has already revealed that they do not plan to sell their home, then the idea of increased home value from an upgrade to their home is not really meaningful to them. What is meaningful to them are products that make their home more attractive, enjoyable, maintenance-free, and energy efficiency. A metal roof meets those criteria very well.
Additionally, you can explain that, in the “buyers market” world of real estate which has been the norm in most areas for many years now, having a roof that really stands out from the roofs on others homes that are for sale will make their home more desirable to potential buyers. At the end of the day, to sell your home, you need a buyer who wants it. Upgrades to a home will dramatically increase the interest in a home.
As you gain more experience with residential metal roofing, too, you will pick up some anecdotal stories from your past customers which support the idea that the metal roof increased their home’s value. Those will be great stories to share with your prospects.
Thank you very much for your time in reading this edition of the Residential Metal Roofing Executive Report. Twice a month, we strive to bring you solid information to help you increase sales of metal roofing as well as other home improvements. Please feel free to contact me anytime I might be of service. My company has a long history of manufacturing the world’s most beautiful metal roofs and we’d love to support you in your business.
Todd Miller has spent his entire career in the metal building products manufacturing industry. He is president of Isaiah Industries, an organization recognized as one of the world’s leading metal roofing manufacturers. Todd is currently Vice President of the MRA (Metal Roofing Association) and a Past Chair of MCA (Metal Construction Association). Through his website, he strives to raise the bar on standards and practices to provide property owners with the best possible products for successful roofing projects.
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Do you have any videos on the selling of metal roofing? I have been in the industry many years and I want to start selling these systems.
Patrick, thanks for your note. We have a DVD titled Shifted Paradigms that provides training on the in-home sales process for higher end residential metal roofs. I’d love to send you a copy. Please drop me an email at todd.miller@isaiahindustries.com or todd@asktoddmiller.com and send me the best address for sending this to you and we will get it in the mail right away. Congratulations for your long term participation in a great industry!