Forbes’ Best Home Renovations List
Forbes produced another list of the best home renovations/improvements in terms of their resale value and I thought it would be interesting to compare this list to lists I’ve seen, and blogged about, in the past. With all of these I looked only at the National Average values, since that’s what I’ve always looked at, and tried to pair them up with comparable renovations in past lists. The data they used is from Remodeling magazine’s yearly assessment/survey/magic but one of the lists I used was from a handyman-type site and not a magazine about remodeling.
Overall, Remodeling Magazine makes it sound like a lot of the renovations you make hold a lot of its material and labor value whereas the handyman site doesn’t paint as rosy of a picture. I’m inclined to believe that Remodeling magazine is at least somewhat biased, knowing nothing about it except that it likely sells advertising space to businesses in the remodeling industry, so I’d mark down their resale values a little bit. From a buyer’s perspective, which I was a year ago, I do know that more bedrooms and bathrooms the better (to a point, I’m only one person… I don’t need 8 bathrooms, I don’t even have 8 friends) but a renovated home office means nothing to me. So again, as I approached the other list, I believe the relative rankings of renovation value retention is likely correct though the actual values are subject to a multitude of factors a simple study can’t capture.
The comparative table is available after the jump. (oh, and if you’re going to replace your windows, you might be able to get a tax credit for it because of the latest energy bill)
The first % column is from Forbes/Remodeling magazine, the second % is from this site. Also, in my last post about home renovations there are some interesting comments worth reading, including about how the handyman site’s prices appear to be too low.
| Renovation | Cost | Resale | % | % |
| Minor Kitchen Remodel | $14,913 | $14,691 | 98.5% | - |
| Midrange Kitchen Remodel | $43,862 | $39,920 | 91.0% | 90% |
| Upscale Kitchen Remodel | $81,552 | $69,194 | 84.8% | 90% |
| Attic Bedroom | $39,188 | $36,649 | 93.5% | 90% |
| Deck | $11,294 | $10,196 | 90.3% | 80% |
| Basement | $51,051 | $46,010 | 90.1% | 15% |
| Midrange Bathroom Remodel | $10,499 | $10,727 | 102.2% | 70% |
| Upscale Bathroom Remodel | $26,052 | $24,286 | 93.2% | - |
| Midrange Bathroom Addition | $22,977 | $19,850 | 86.4% | - |
| Upscale Bathroom Addition | $47,212 | $40,488 | 85.8% | - |
| Midscale Siding Replacement | $7,239 | $6,914 | 95.5% | 60% |
| Upscale Siding Replacement | $10,393 | $10,771 | 103.6% | 60% |
| Window Replacement | $9,684 | $8,681 | 89.6% | - |
| Roofing Replacement | $11,164 | $9,456 | 84.7% | 50% |
| Family Room Addition | $54,773 | $45,458 | 83.0% | - |
| Home Office Remodel | $13,143 | $9,569 | 72.8% | - |
| Midrange Master Suite Addition | $73,370 | $60,460 | 82.4% | - |
| Upscale Master Suite Addition | $137,891 | $110,512 | 80.1% | - |
Print Article
Email Article
Stumble It!
Bookmark
reddit.com
Tags: Forbes, Real Estate, Remodeling
| Related Posts |
Did you like this article? If so, you can get all the latest articles delivered to your email inbox for free each morning by entering your email address in the box below. Your email will only be used to deliver this once-daily subscription and you can unsubscribe at any time.
There are 4 comments, add your thoughts now!
Above, you state that mid-range kitchen remodel at 90% but if you look at the numbers, it’s only about 50%.
Nice catch Debbie, it was a typo on my part. Thanks!
[...] Jim at Blueprint on home improvements. Check out the table of improvement resale values. I find it very interesting as I contemplate a window and roof replacement for my parents. [...]
[...] the 2006 Best Home Renovations List, you had nearly everything on the list come in at above 80% return. Of the eighteen listed [...]
Previous Article: « Student Loan “Dilemma”
Next Article: Emigrant Direct Unveiling New Interface, 5.15% Rate on July 24th »