Well, I have a 40 yr. old townhouse in an 8-unit building. Just did my kitchen countertops last week. The price difference between granite (or quartz) vs. laminate is huge. For example, Home Depot and Lowes has pre-made laminate countertops, in stock, that worked just fine for me. The laminate material only cost $165. Plus I paid a carpenter $250 labor to install. We pulled out the old tops, put a new sink in, and end caps, and it looks just fine.
Although it's trendy to use granite or quartz, I would have paid $2,000 for that. To me, it's just not necessary.
And granite will stain! You need to seal granite tops every year or so - more $, time, and work.
When I sell the place, whoever buys it can install granite if they want. I use a cutting board to avoid scratching the formica (duh), and a piece of tile with felt pads for hot pots (duh).