Home Improvement...Cost vs. Value (pt.1)

If you’re like Jennie and I (Jennie's the wife), you are always looking for home improvement opportunities.  While we both enjoy the value it adds to our humble abode, we each have ulterior motives.  You see, she enjoys the comfort and better living the home improvement provides in the end, and I love any excuse for a new tool!  My rationale is always that if we include the tools in the cost of the improvements that upon resale the tools will be virtually FREE! HAHA yes! Now I have data to back up my thinking.  Check out the cost vs. value survey done in the Seattle area by Remodeling Magazine.  The survey compares the 11 most common home improvement projects and is based on a resale scenario a year after the project completion.  Please keep in mind that the location of your house plays the most important consideration of appreciation despite what you do to the shack!

Here is part one:  Kitchens.

Minor Kitchen Remodel Project Description:  In a functional but dated 200-square-foot kitchen with 30 linear feet of cabinetry and countertops, refinish existing cabinets, and install new energy efficient wall oven and cook top, laminate countertops, mid-priced sink and faucet, wall covering, and resilient flooring.  Repaint.  Job includes new raised-panel wood doors on cabinets

• Project cost: $16,049                 
• Resale value: $27,500                            
• Cost Recouped: 171.4%

Major Kitchen Remodel - Midrange  Project Description: Update an outmoded 200-square-foot kitchen by designing and installing a functional layout of new cabinets, laminate countertops, and standard double-tub stainless-steel sink with standard single-lever faucet. Include energy-efficient wall oven, cook top, ventilation system, built-in microwave, dishwasher, garbage disposer, and custom lighting. Add new resilient floor. Finish with painted walls, trim, and ceiling. Include 30 linear feet of semi-custom grade wood cabinets, including a 3-by-5-foot island.

• Project cost: $47,404                 
• Resale value: $63,333                
• Cost Recouped: 133.6%

Major Kitchen Remodel - Upscale  Project Description: Update an outmoded 200-square-foot kitchen with 30 linear feet of custom cherry cabinets and stone countertops with imported ceramic tile backsplash. Include built-in refrigerator, cook top, and 36-inch commercial-grade range and vent hood; warming drawer; trash compactor; combination microwave and convection oven; high-end, under mount sink; designer faucets; and water-filtration system. Add new general and task lighting, including low-voltage under cabinet lights. Install cork flooring with cherry trim. Include a 3-by-5-foot island.

• Project cost: $86,652                
• Resale value: $117,917                          
• Cost recouped: 136.1%

Comments

[Jim]

Thank you for this information! I'm going to bookmark this site.

[Lionel]

This website is a great resource. It's important to know that the cost of recovering is easier in some states than others, for example, the cost vs. value in the West Coast or East Coast.