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Location, Location, Location.  

Ask your agent to name the top three factors that determine your home's value and it almost guaranteed, your agent will say, "Location, location, location."  Never a truer statement will be uttered.  If you don't believe it, compare real estate prices in San Francisco, to say, Kansas City. You can't hardly buy a 2-bedroom condo in downtown San Francisco for the price of a 4-bedroom house, with a 2-car garage, sitting on a quarter acre in Kansas City.  That concept applies just as much from one side of town to another.  Values for the same type of home can vary dramatically.

Go Outside and Look Around.

Location will determine the resale value of your house more than any other factor.  No matter how luxurious your home is, and no matter how much money you put into it, if you move to home 100 or so feet from a 24-hour gravel pit, you'll never get back what you paid for when you resell.   On the other hand, backing up against a golf course will boost the value of even the most modest home.

The Principle of Progression and Regression.

And remember this – for resale, it is always better to buy a modest home in an upper-class neighborhood, than an expensive home in a modest neighborhood. You may initially get more house for your dollar in the unpretentious neighborhood, but your equity will grow faster in the affluent neighborhood. The most expensive house in a neighborhood may never pay for itself.  People who could afford to pay for what the house is worth, would most likely choose buy a home in a neighborhood full of similar homes.  

Drive the Neighborhood.

In addition to the condition of the house you are considering, pay attention to the condition of the homes surrounding it. Are the homes well-maintained? Are the yards well-kept?  You don't want a Sanford & Son's junkyard near your home, so avoid neighborhoods with jalopies, beat-up furniture or other useless lawn decorations in the front yards. Those kind of neighbors will decrease the value of your home.