Large or small, home improvements are an undertaking that requires some serious consideration. To ensure that you’re maximizing the money spent on house renovations, it’s important to consider the return on investment of varying project types. In this article, we’re going to explore several home renovation options – from those as small as repainting to those as large as a complete kitchen – to determine which makes the most sense for increasing the value of your home and maximizing your investment dollars.
Paint
Before diving into a bathroom remodeling project, you should first consider a few key items.
Painting your home is one of the easiest, most affordable and convenient ways to increase appeal and property value. The often under-appreciated renovation project will do a wonderful job of breathing new life into your living space, and with the help of a professional painter experienced in palette selection and wall repair, a modern, vibrant home aesthetic is only a few brush strokes out of reach.
Although painting doesn’t rank as a renovation project as extravagant as others on this list, it’s an incredibly reliable way to improve the feel of your home and create an inviting space that resonates with buyers. Additionally, as painting is typically a rather quick renovation project to complete, you can increase home value with very minimal time investment.
ROI Breakdown: You should expect a house repainting to generate approximately 60% return on investment. For a house-sized 2,000 square feet, anticipate the complete project cost to range between $10,000-15,000.
Doors & Hardware
When it comes to modernizing your home, there is plenty of value to be found in the finer details.
While considering home renovation options, you shouldn’t overlook the benefits of door and hardware replacements. That said, you should also consider baseboards, door trim, crown moulding, and all other relatively minor, non-invasive improvements that will modernize the appearance of your home. Since these upgrades are relatively inexpensive, you should focus on high quality materials and professional installation to ensure that they are completed correctly and will stand the test of time.
ROI Breakdown: Projects of this size won’t have an incredibly important impact when it comes time to sell your home. That said, you can anticipate a return of 50% of your initial investment. For reference, a new front door and lock system will cost approximately $2,500, with new interior doors and hardware costing approximately $250 per door.
Countertops
As a more efficient, affordable solution to an entire kitchen renovation project, changing the countertops in your home can be an incredibly accessible way of improving the aesthetic and increasing resale value.
Changing out your old countertops for new, quality stones – such as granite or quartz – will work incredibly well for making the kitchen feel new at a project cost of only a few thousand dollars. In addition to counter upgrades, you should consider swapping out old appliances for new stainless-steel alternatives, which can have an incredible impact on perceived home value at a project cost of only $5,000-$10,000.
ROI Breakdown: When compared to the wide variety of home renovations available, kitchen projects will traditionally yield one of the highest returns on investment. You should expect anywhere from 75-100% return on the money you invest in a kitchen renovation project.
Bathroom
Establishing one bathroom in your home will help plenty when it comes time to sell.
For a home renovation project of this sort, you should pay attention to big ticket items such as frameless glass showers and marble countertops. Use of space is incredibly important for creating a welcoming environment in smaller rooms such as bathrooms, and if done correctly, you should expect to generate a more than modest return on the $5,000-15,000 required for the project.
ROI Breakdown: When bathroom renovations are completed with care and detail, the best ROI you can expect from this project type will average 62%.
Flooring
Your home’s flooring will be one of the most worn-out, yet most visible elements to a potential buyer, and it’s incredibly important to replace aging flooring if your hope is to maximize the value at sale.
Deciding on the right kind of flooring for your home can be very difficult, with hardwood flooring looking very poor if gapped and raised due to improper installation, laminate flooring looking cheap if improperly installed, and carpet often looking outdated and dirty. We advise that you go the route of hardwood or laminate with the support of a professional flooring specialist, avoiding carpet at all costs.
ROI Breakdown: When the project is done in a quality manner, flooring stands as one of the best return on investment home improvements available to homeowners, averaging between 100-150% return. You can expect a new hardwood floor installation to cost $4-6 per sq.ft. for material with an additional $2 per sq.ft. for installation. Laminate will cost you closer to $1-3 per sq.ft. for material, with labour running in the range of $1.50 per sq.ft.
Kitchen
As a full-scale extension of the countertop remodeling discussed above, a complete kitchen renovation project will see a change to the entire kitchen space – including counters, flooring, cabinetry, paint, appliances, and more.
As the focal point of many homes, a kitchen renovation will be an integral part of the overall atmosphere, and it’s an incredibly important contributor to the selling price of your home. Although the most expensive of the renovation projects available to you – costs ranging between $25,000-50,000 – a proper kitchen renovation project will almost always provide a handsome return on investment.
One item you’ll need to consider is that kitchen renovations are no small feat, and most projects of this sort will take weeks, if not months, to complete properly. It’s critical to consider the implications of this burden on your home prior to taking on a major renovation project purely for the return on investment potential.
ROI Breakdown: If you’re working with an expert contractor on your kitchen renovations, expect the investment to yield a 75-100% return on the money you put into the project.
At Top Home Builders, we take pride in being an expert home remodeler that San Jose residents can rely on. We are also more than just a construction company – we provide our customers with exceptional home remodeling services to suit their every need. We’re happy to serve many locations across California including Fremont, Hayward, Milpitas, Mountain View, Palo Alto, Pleasanton, Redwood City, San Bruno, San Mateo, Santa Clara, Sunnyvale, Atherton, Cupertino, San Carlos, Belmont, Saratoga and the rest of the Bay Area.
To learn more about our team and services, or to get a project quote, contact us today!