Home Improvements that Appreciate in Value
Dec 21, 20206 Remodeling projects with high roi
Not all remodeling projects are created equal. Choose the ones that will give you the best return when you invest in your most important asset – your home!
If you’re anything like us, New Year’s resolutions always include some home improvements. Unlike other large purchases like vehicles and electronics, your home is an asset that will appreciate in value year over year. Making the right upgrades will extend that value so you’ll love your home as long as you live in it, get the best selling price when it’s time to move, and sometimes even pass that added value along to the next owner.
To start planning some New Year, New Home resolutions, we looked at the 2020 Cost vs. Value Report for national and local projects costs and resale value. Here are six top home improvements from the list that will help boost your home’s value and give you the best year at home yet.
Manufactured Stone Veneer
Stone Veneer is the #1 most valuable home improvement nationally.
There’s a lot to be said for how curb appeal enhances pride in your home. You feel it every time you pull into the driveway, and when friends and neighbors happen by on neighborhood walks. According to the report, adding manufactured stone veneer is the #1 most valuable home improvement nationally, with 95.6% of project costs recouped when the home is sold. That high value holds true across our local markets. Manufactured stone veneer has a return-on-investment (ROI) of 93.9% in Columbus homes, 95.4% in Cincinnati, and could actually earn you money in Louisville with a whopping 105.1% cost recouped!
Vinyl Window Replacement
Practical and beautiful, vinyl window replacement is an affordable option to upgrade curb appeal.
This curb-appeal favorite can also make a huge impact on your home energy costs, giving window replacement a two-for-one ROI benefit. Interestingly, vinyl replacement windows earn a 72.3% ROI nationally, according to the report (even higher for Columbus and Louisville window replacement projects), but wood window replacement only returns 68.9% of the value on average.
When the more affordable, lower-maintenance option gives a better return on investment, it’s easy to see the right choice to get the most bang for your buck. That’s especially true when the windows can save you money on your energy costs too. “I haven’t had an electric bill over $100 even this summer when we had twenty 90-degree days in July,” says Improveit customer Alan Lancaster about his new windows. “And my gas bill in the winter is averaging less than $70 per month.” In the end, he says, the savings adds up!
Ready to do some window shopping? Look for these four characteristics of a top-quality window company, and make sure the manufacturer can provide best-in-class window frames, sashes, spacers, and glass to maximize your investment.
Mid-Range & Universal Design Bathroom Remodels
2020’s most-remodeled room.
Inside the home, bathrooms are a hot remodeling project right now. In fact, Home Advisor recently reported that bathrooms were the most-remodeled room during the 2020 pandemic with 30% of households having remodeled a bathroom in 2020. It was an excellent choice too. Nationally, mid-range bathroom remodels can pull in 63% ROI.* Locally, the numbers are even better. Louisville homeowners can expect a 64.8% cost recouped, while Cincinnati bathroom remodels have a 74.6% return on investment. Columbus bathroom remodels have the highest ROI at 81.3%!
“Some people might go out and buy a new car, but think how much a new car depreciates when you pull it off the lot,” says Melody McCardle, an Improveit bathroom remodeling customer from Etna, Ohio. “The updated bathroom has added so much value to our home and to our life!”
According to the Cost vs. Value report, upscale bathroom remodels can cost nearly three times as much as a mid-range bathroom remodel, but only return 56.6% of the cost at resale. Again, the more affordable option wins the day. When planning a bathroom remodel, be sure to work with a company that will provide the highest-quality materials, complete waterproofing behind your shower walls, and a complete lifetime warranty so your investment is protected.
Midrange Minor Kitchen Remodel
Making small updates to your kitchen could have a big payoff in 2021.
Keeping the kitchen’s footprint but replacing cabinet doors and drawer-fronts, updating the appliances, and upgrading to natural or manufactured-stone countertops are simple projects that turn around a big ROI. Nationally, mid-range minor kitchen remodels offer a 77.6% ROI, but our region fares even better. Columbus homeowners could see an 80.4% return for their upgrades, while Cincinnati residents benefit from an 84.2% ROI, and Louisville homeowners top the resale value with 88.7% of their cost recouped on these small kitchen improvements.
Entry Doors & Garage Doors
Upgrading the entry point to your home and largest door in your house are easy ways to improve curb-appeal.
By taking up so much visual real estate in a home’s front elevation, entry doors and garage doors are two more curb-appeal upgrades with high ROIs. Averaging 68.8% cost recouped nationally, entry doors are actually a home-improvement money-maker in Louisville with a whopping 111.2% cost recouped! Garage door replacement ranked in the top 10 most valuable projects on the Columbus, Cincinnati, and Louisville Cost vs. Value Reports. Columbus homeowners can expect to see a 72.1% ROI on a new garage door, while Cincinnati residents’ ROI climbs to 79.9%, and Louisville homeowners can see a cost recouped of 87.7% on a new garage door.
With these recommendations, you have some great guidelines for remodeling plans that will boost your home’s value this year. Ready to see the how great new windows or a new bathroom can improve your lifestyle and your home value? Give Improveit a call today!
*Bathroom ROI numbers are based on an average of the mid-range bathroom remodel and universal design bathroom remodel numbers from the 2020 Cost vs. Value report. Improveit offers both types of bathroom remodeling products and services to meet all your long-term bathroom remodeling needs. Take our quick quiz to see if a tub-to-shower conversion or a walk-in tub might be updates for you to consider going forward.
