It never fails. When walking through a home with a Seller who is getting a property ready to list on the market for sale, you always see needs that a home has to get it top dollar. When it comes to getting your property ready to list or when remodeling your home, exterior replacement projects continue to offer homeowners the biggest bang for their buck. That’s according to this year’s Cost vs. Value Report, which compares construction costs with resale value for 35 remodeling projects in 100 markets across the country.
Realtors® rated exterior projects, such as entry door, siding and window replacements, among the projects expected to recoup the most upon resale. These types of projects are essential to home maintenance and generally inexpensive. The added bonus is they enhance curb appeal, which is crucial to attracting buyers.
The report also estimated the national average cost-value ratio (resale value as a percentage of construction cost) at 66.1 percent, a jump of 5.5 points over last year and the largest increase since 2005. For the second consecutive year, the value of remodeling has increased for all projects in the survey.
Every market is different, and the desirability and resale value of a particular remodeling project varies. In the Metro Atlanta market for example the report shows that a new deck will add almost 117% of value to the home as compared to the cost! Front door replacement is also huge at adding anywhere from a dollar to dollar increase the value of the home to as much as a 141% increase to value! Siding replacement with cement board siding adds back about 90% of costing to the value of the home. Other big areas are garage door replacement (94%) and basement remodel (84%). The key thing from a "ready to sell" point of view I see is the marketability of the property will go up many times over! A remodeling home will not just increase in value to a degree, but will sell faster than the competition that still looks and feels old and tired!
Surprisingly kitchen remodels only added 75%-79% value per dollars spent back into the value of the home, but there again a remodeling kitchen will help a home sell faster too and so fewer mortgage payments, taxes, interest, utilities, etc.. have to be added back as savings on a home sold with fewer days on market!
What is the worst thing you could spend money on in terms of a home remodel project? Home office remodels only add back about 42% of dollars spent back into the value of the home.
For more information and to get the full report for not just the Metro Atlanta market, but your market as well, please click here for the full report!
