Your home is more than the setting for life’s important moments; it’s a significant asset where you grow your wealth through equity over time. But what if your home starts depreciating? You’ll need to discover what hurts property value so you can roll up your sleeves and kick-off the comeback story.

Like any investment, you want your home to appreciate, so you can eventually reap the ultimate reward of ownership: selling your home for more than you purchased it for.

We’ve researched the common culprits squandering property value by pairing reputable studies with expert insight from top real estate agents Jennifer and Andrew Oldham, top Californian real estate agents with over 19 years of experience selling homes in the Bay Area down to Monterey.