Are you a homeowner looking to maximize your home’s value before selling? Here, I’ll be presenting my handpicked top 10 best remodeling projects to give you the maximum return on your investment. We’ll look at some carefully chosen projects from the National Association of Realtors 2022 Remodeling Impact Report. I’ve balanced the mix with six stunning interior projects and four remarkable exterior upgrades. Click here to follow along with the information I’m highlighting.
You’ll see there are actually seven interior projects in the list because there was a tie between kitchen remodel and attic conversion. I think between the two, I would go with the kitchen remodel, unless your kitchen already looks pretty good. Then, maybe go with an attic conversion. But kitchen remodel seems to be the one that would apply to most people so that would be number six of the six interior projects presented here that I would go with.
As we take a closer look at each type of project I’ll be touching on three data points. The first one will be the average amount of money spent completing that type of project among all of those included in the 2022 report. The second data point will be the estimated amount of money gained on the sale of the home because of the project having been done. The third data point will be the return on investment expressed as a percentage by taking the amount of money gained on the sale of the home after having done the project divided by the cost to do the project.
The first interior project I’m discussing here is hardwood floor refinishing. On average the amount of money spent refinishing hardwood floors was $3,400 but the amount of money estimated to have been gained having done that Improvement was $5,000 for whopping 147% return on investment. Our second project is the installation of new wood flooring. The average cost spent on that project was $5,500 the amount of estimated return on average was $6,500 for a 118% return on investment. Project number three is an upgrade on insulation in the home. The average amount of money spent and the average amount of money gained on the sale of the home was identical at $2,500 each, resulting in 100% return on investment. The next project on our list is the conversion of basement area to living space. On average $57,500 was spent on these projects with a return of $ 49,250 or an ROI of 86%. Next on the list is closet renovation. Average cost for that type of project was $6,000 with a typical return of $5,000 or 83% return on investment. The last of our interior projects that we’ll take a look at here is the kitchen remodel I mentioned earlier. On average in the 2022 report $80,000 was spent on that project with about $60,000 gained back on the sale of the home or 75% return on investment.
Let’s head outside now. Number one on our exterior projects to do before selling your home for best ROI would be a roof replacement. Average cost on that was $12,000 with the same amount recovered in the sale of the home or 100% return on investment. Second on our list of exterior projects also had 100% return on investment and that is the replacement of the garage door. Average cost $2,000 average amount of money realized back on the sale the same $2,000. The last two projects in our exterior list are actually the same type of project, replacing the siding. They were listed separately in the 2022 report because of difference on the return on investment. For vinyl siding, about 82% return on investment while fiber cement siding saw about an 86% return on investment if you replace it. Well there you go, there’s the top 10 best return on investment projects to take on before selling your house.
One more piece of advice I’d like to pass along to you that I discovered in researching the information for this video is that you should not spend more than about 5% of the value of your house making repairs, upgrades and improvements that are not required to sell your house. By required I mean, for example, if your roof is leaking or your hot water tank is not functioning. Those are examples of things you typically would have to repair before selling your house. But if you’re going to take on other projects that are not necessary such as painting, carpet replacement, and landscaping – things you wouldn’t necessarily have to do to sell your house, try to keep that at or below 5% of the value of your home.
Click here to download the information used in this article.