Haha, one benefit of new windows we haven't mentioned: keeping the Florida creepy-crawlies out! 🕷️ Ever since I upgraded, I swear fewer little spiders and palmetto bugs find their way inside. Maybe it’s just luck, but I'll take it! In seriousness, sleeping better at night during storm season and not seeing bugs sneaking in through gaps are two underrated joys of having solid new windows.
As a Tampa Bay real estate agent, I can confirm that listings boasting "new windows" attract extra attention. In our MLS system, there's actually a field for recent upgrades, and whenever I list a home with updated windows (especially impact-rated), I make sure to highlight that in the description and flyers. Buyers notice it.
I've had open house visitors literally tap on the glass and say, "Oh, good, these are the new double-panes."
In the current market, buyers are doing their homework. Many will ask during showings, "How old are the windows?" When I can say, "They were all replaced 2 years ago," you can see relief on their faces. It often becomes a selling point I use to justify a higher listing price versus a comparable home down the street with 20-year-old windows.
My realtor did exactly that. When we listed our St. Pete home, she highlighted "2023: All windows replaced" in the online listing. We even left out a little sign at the open house that said "New Energy-Efficient Impact Windows = Low electric bills and storm protection!" for people touring the home.
Cheesy as that might sound, it definitely got noticed. Several people commented on it, and I'm sure that's one of the reasons we got strong offers quickly. In a market where buyers have options, anything that sets your home apart (and shows it's move-in ready) is huge.
Honestly, in our Tampa summers, any improvement that keeps the house cooler is worth it. Buyers here know how brutal the electric bills can get, so they appreciate things like modern windows even if they don't consciously realize it at first.
One thing I like to remind fellow homeowners: even if you don't get 100% of the window cost back in the sale price, you're not exactly "losing" that money. You're kind of getting paid back in other ways. If you live in the home for a while after the install, you save on utilities and possibly insurance each year. And you get a more comfortable home all that time.
So, say you spent $20k on windows. Maybe you get $15k more on the sale price than you would have otherwise. That "missing" $5k might well have been recouped through, for example, $800/year lower electric bills and $200/year lower insurance over a few years. In five years, that's $5k saved. Boom, the windows paid for themselves in the end.
That's exactly how I justified it to my spouse, haha. In my case, I calculated roughly $50-60/month savings on electricity after new windows (we keep detailed records, yes I'm that nerd). Plus our wind insurance went down about $250 a year. All told, we save around900−
900−
1,000 a year because of the upgrades. We plan to be in our house at least another 5 years, so that's up to ~$5k saved. If we then get maybe 70-80% of the cost back in resale, we're actually coming out ahead or at least breaking even, all while enjoying a nicer home environment in the interim.
That's a great way to look at it, @culture426. It's not just an investment for resale, it's an investment in your home's livability that partially pays you back over time.
Agreed. And there's also the peace of mind factor which is hard to put a price on. Knowing that we can weather a storm safely, or just not having to think about upgrading windows for the next 20+ years, is a huge relief as a homeowner (and definitely a selling point for buyers, too).
Update: I just wanted to circle back and thank everyone for the amazing advice and share how things turned out for us. We went ahead and replaced all our windows (and we even threw in the patio slider and front door too, taking your advice!). We ended up getting quotes from both Karoly Windows and ProTech Windoors – both were excellent and professional. It was a tough choice, but we decided to go with Karoly Windows in the end, mainly because they had an earlier installation slot available and a friend of mine had a great experience with them. Their team was fantastic, exactly as many of you described.
The difference in our home was immediately noticeable. Quieter, cooler, and it just looked great. Fast forward: we actually decided to list the house this spring (a bit sooner than originally planned). And guess what? We had an offer over asking price within a week! 🎉
Every buyer who visited mentioned the new windows as a huge plus. The eventual buyer said the energy-efficient upgrades made our home stand out and gave them peace of mind about future bills and storm seasons.
I truly believe that without these window upgrades, our sale wouldn't have been nearly as smooth or lucrative. So, thank you all once again for convincing me to do it and for the company recommendations. It paid off big time, and we enjoyed a better home while we lived there too. This thread has been a goldmine.