Your home isn’t just a place to live; it’s also an investment – and likely a very lucrative investment at that. Home prices nationwide have been steadily climbing. For this reason, it’s important to consider how well home renovations will hold their value when it comes time to sell.
RETURN ON INVESTMENT
While few renovations can be expected to fully pay for themselves come resale time, some clearly hold their value better than others. The Wall Street Journal recently published the national average costs and estimated returns for a number of different home improvement projects. Here’s how they stack up:
KITCHEN REMODELING – The kitchen is the heart of the home for most people, so it’s usually a good place to invest – especially if yours is an older home with outdated kitchen features and appliances. The average spent on a major midrange kitchen remodeling job in the U.S. is $43,804 and returns 75 percent, while $68,962 is spent for a major upscale remodeling and returns 80 percent.
ADDING A DECK – In many areas of the country, buyers no longer consider decks to be upgrades, but rather a standard feature. Decks are also one of the most reliable home improvement values, averaging about $6,300 to build but recouping an impressive 104 percent of their cost at resale time.
WINDOW REPLACEMENTS – Replacing old and drafty windows makes sense from both an energy efficiency and resale standpoint. You’ll see the savings almost immediately on your utility bill, and window replacements are a pretty good investment, too. The average of $15,557 spent on an upscale window replacement job returns 87 percent, and the $9,586 spent on a midrange window replacement job returns 85 percent.
SIDING REPLACEMENT – Replacing old or worn-out siding ranked #2 on the list of highest returns, right behind decks. At an average cost of $7,329, siding replacement returns 98 percent of the investment.
FINISHED BASEMENTS – Finished basements have become one of the most popular home improvements. They’re not a bad investment either. The average basement remodeling job costs $43,865 and returns 79 percent of the investment – not to mention the money saved in movie tickets!
EXTERIOR PAINTING – This is not technically a home improvement, but rather a home maintenance project. In most areas of the country, home exteriors, (wood and siding) should be repainted every 3 – 5 years. So you ned to make a judgement call regarding repainting your home exterior if you’re getting the home ready to sell, since you’ll recoup about 81 percent of the average cost of $3,250. If the home is in obvious need of repainting, you’ll probably need to make the investment if you want to give your home the best chance of selling quickly and at the highest possible price.
Of course, the return on investment is just one factor when considering home renovations. Your primary reason for making renovations should be because you will enjoy them yourself (especially since improvements made in the year before a home’s sale only return an average of 70 to 80 cents on the dollar.)
RETURN ON INVESTMENT
While few renovations can be expected to fully pay for themselves come resale time, some clearly hold their value better than others. The Wall Street Journal recently published the national average costs and estimated returns for a number of different home improvement projects. Here’s how they stack up:
KITCHEN REMODELING – The kitchen is the heart of the home for most people, so it’s usually a good place to invest – especially if yours is an older home with outdated kitchen features and appliances. The average spent on a major midrange kitchen remodeling job in the U.S. is $43,804 and returns 75 percent, while $68,962 is spent for a major upscale remodeling and returns 80 percent.
ADDING A DECK – In many areas of the country, buyers no longer consider decks to be upgrades, but rather a standard feature. Decks are also one of the most reliable home improvement values, averaging about $6,300 to build but recouping an impressive 104 percent of their cost at resale time.
WINDOW REPLACEMENTS – Replacing old and drafty windows makes sense from both an energy efficiency and resale standpoint. You’ll see the savings almost immediately on your utility bill, and window replacements are a pretty good investment, too. The average of $15,557 spent on an upscale window replacement job returns 87 percent, and the $9,586 spent on a midrange window replacement job returns 85 percent.
SIDING REPLACEMENT – Replacing old or worn-out siding ranked #2 on the list of highest returns, right behind decks. At an average cost of $7,329, siding replacement returns 98 percent of the investment.
FINISHED BASEMENTS – Finished basements have become one of the most popular home improvements. They’re not a bad investment either. The average basement remodeling job costs $43,865 and returns 79 percent of the investment – not to mention the money saved in movie tickets!
EXTERIOR PAINTING – This is not technically a home improvement, but rather a home maintenance project. In most areas of the country, home exteriors, (wood and siding) should be repainted every 3 – 5 years. So you ned to make a judgement call regarding repainting your home exterior if you’re getting the home ready to sell, since you’ll recoup about 81 percent of the average cost of $3,250. If the home is in obvious need of repainting, you’ll probably need to make the investment if you want to give your home the best chance of selling quickly and at the highest possible price.
Of course, the return on investment is just one factor when considering home renovations. Your primary reason for making renovations should be because you will enjoy them yourself (especially since improvements made in the year before a home’s sale only return an average of 70 to 80 cents on the dollar.)
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