Annual Cost vs. Value Report Gives Homeowners Insights On How Improvement Projects Will Impact Resale Value Return to Articles
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Many homeowners undertake renovations and improvement projects with a dual purpose. Sure, they want to more fully enjoy their homes while they live there, but they also want to increase the resale value of their properties as well.
Remodeling Magazine's annual Cost vs. Value Report provides homeowners with an overview of how 21 home-improvement and maintenance projects can boost a home's value when it's time to sell.
According to a summary of the 2018 report, which came out earlier this year, "the average payback nationwide for the [21] projects in the 2018 Cost vs. Value report ranges from as high as 98.3 percent to as low as 47.6 percent, depending on the type of project – 98.3 percent for garage door replacement down to 47.6 percent for installation of a backyard patio."
The report also shows how the recouped value of a home improvement project can vary substantially based on the region of the country in which you live.
The highest average payback is found on the Pacific Coast, where the average recouped value of a project is just under 64 cents on the dollar. At the other end of the spectrum, homeowners in the Mid-Atlantic region can expect a payback of just more than 51 cents on the dollar for the average project.
One of the other many tidbits of information from the report: replacement projects carry more bang for the buck than remodeling. "There has always been a gap between remodeling and replacement projects, but this year the payback is a 20-point difference: 76.1 percent for replacement jobs vs. 56.0 percent for remodeling work," the report summary says.
"We think this is for several reasons," saidCraig Webb, editor in chief of Remodeling magazine and manager of the report, in a press release."First, the seven replacement jobs on the list — basically, all the exterior projects except the deck and patio jobs — all are cheaper than the remodeling jobs. And it makes sense that most prospective buyers won’t sign a contract without first demanding that broken stuff get fixed."
To view the entire report and see a breakdown of the results by geography, click here .
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