Smart Remodeling- What are you going to get out of it?
If now is not a good time to move up to another home, even with interest rates at 30 year lows, you may be thinking IMPROVE!. Well most homeowners then any money they sink into renovations gets recovered at selling time. Remodeling Magazine, the voice of the home improvement industry surveys homeowners and contractors every year on their experiences when remodeling. The result is the 2008-2009 Cost vs Value Report. This analysis estimated the percentage of return a homeowner can expect at selling time after recently making modest improvements to their home.
For 2009, the percentage of nearly all improvements lowered in value. This indicates, for example, your home sales price will not go up $40,000 if you put a $40,000 pool in the back yard.
So Smart Improvements? We are not telling you that you should not undertake improvements, the economy will love it. Just that you need to be aware of how the marketplace responds to improvements. Caution is advised not to over improve for the neighborhood you are in. If you undertook a$150,000 improvement project and you live in a $200K neighborhood you might have trouble selling or recouping that investment.
The data below are for average size projects on a national basis. Below the data are links to state and regional data so you can get a local flavor of what the payback on certain improvements. Click on The project title for specs on the project. Remodeling Magazine has been doing this survey for over 10 years.
2008-09 National Averages
| Midrange Projects: For all Projects visit Remodeling Magazine Coverage |
| Project | Job Cost | Resale Value | Cost Recouped | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Attic Bedroom | $48,398 | $35,694 | 73.8% | |
| Basement Remodel | $61,011 | $44,467 | 72.9% | |
| Bathroom Addition | $38,078 | $24,187 | 63.5% | |
| Bathroom Remodel | $15,899 | $11,857 | 74.6% | |
| Deck Addition (composite) | $15,277 | $11,260 | 73.7% | |
| Deck Addition (wood) | $10,601 | $8,676 | 81.8% | |
| Family Room Addition | $81,315 | $53,608 | 65.9% | |
| Garage Addition | $57,272 | $38,161 | 66.6% | |
| Home Office Remodel | $28,094 | $15,329 | 54.6% | |
| Major Kitchen Remodel | $56,611 | $43,030 | 76.0% | |
| Minor Kitchen Remodel | $21,246 | $16,881 | 79.5% | |
| Roofing Replacement | $18,825 | $12,336 | 65.5% | |
| Siding Replacement (vinyl) | $10,256 | $8,274 | 80.7% | |
| Sunroom Addition | $71,745 | $40,715 | 56.7% | |
| Two-Story Addition | $146,538 | $103,553 | 70.7% | |
| Window Replacement (vinyl) | $10,537 | $8,132 | 77.2% | |
| Window Replacement (wood) | $11,512 | $8,946 | 77.7% |
REGIONAL DATA
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East
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South
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Midwest
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West
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