Improving your home? Look to its exterior first
If you watch cable TV with any regularity, you’d think every homeowner in the country was involved in a major renovation. Home-improvement shows clog the television dial, and you can spend an entire viewing day watching homeowners demolish their garages, rip out their kitchens and build ornate master bathrooms.
But if you want to tackle your own home improvements, what projects should you take on? What projects will pay off the most when it’s time to sell your home?
For the answer to that question, look no further than the National Association of Realtors. The association recently published its newest Remodeling Cost vs. Value Report. The report highlights those home improvements that return the highest percentage of their cost, and those, of course, that return the lowest.
For the second consecutive year, the home improvements that returned the highest percent of project costs upon resale were ones that focused on a home’s exterior. Upscale fiber cement siding returned the highest percentage of costs, with home sellers recouping 86.7 percent of their costs when selling. Wood decks came in next, returning 81.8 percent of costs, followed by mid-range vinyl siding at 80.7 percent and upscale foam-backed vinyl siding at 80.4 percent.
Those remodeling projects that returned the least amount of value were home office remodels, which returned 54.4 percent of the money homeowners put into them, sunroom additions, 56.6 percent, and back-up power generators, 57.1 percent.
Bathroom remodels have traditionally returned a high percentage of costs. That didn’t change this year, though the percent of costs that the project brought back did dip a bit. A mid-range bathroom remodel can be expected to return 74.4 percent of project costs to a seller on resale.
This information is good to know. However, don’t let it be the sole factor in your decision to remodel. If you work from home, you might want to tackle that home-office remodeling project, even though it won’t bring back a ton of dollars when you do sell your home. Remember, you have to live in your home until you sell it. If you plan on living in your residence for several years, it makes sense to renovate it so that it fits the lifestyle of you and your family.
Renovating only for resale value is a mistake. Besides, while that home-office project might not return a high percentage of its cost, it might persuade a buyer to make an offer who otherwise might have passed.
