Top 5 Home Improvement Projects Based on Cost and ROI
December 4, 2009 by Danilo Bogdanovic
Filed under Seller Resources
People often ask me, “What home improvements can I do to get the most money for my home?” I’ve talked about some of things you should do to get your home ready for the market in past blog posts and would like to add to it by quoting an article that came out the other week…
According to the HomeGain survey, the top five home improvements that Realtors recommend to home sellers based on cost and return on investment (from highest to lowest ROI) are:
1. Cleaning and de-cluttering ($200 cost / $1,700 price increase / 872% ROI)
2. Home staging ($300 cost / $1,780 price increase / 586% ROI)
3. Lightening and brightening ($230 cost / $1,300 price increase / 572% ROI)
4. Landscaping ($320 cost / $1,500 price increase / 473% ROI)
5. Repairing plumbing ($385 cost / $1,250 price increase / 327% ROI)
Cleaning and de-cluttering continues to rank as the top suggested home improvement (since the survey was originally conducted in 2000), recommended by 98% of Realtors, costing less than $200 and returning a value of nearly $1,700 to the home’s sale price, or an 872% return on investment.
“Many Realtors agree, especially in a buyer’s market, that sellers who make these recommended home improvements often get their homes sold faster and at higher prices,” stated Louis Cammarosano, General Manager at HomeGain. “We have customized our Home Sale Maximizer online home improvement tool to help identify and prioritize the projects that can increase the salability and selling price of a home.”
Rounding out the top 12, the list of low cost, do-it-yourself home improvements includes: updating electrical, replacing or shampooing carpets, painting interior walls, repairing damaged floors, updating kitchen, painting outside of home, and updating bathroom/s.
The home improvement projects with the highest price increases to a home’s resale value are updating the kitchen ($1,200 cost / $2,850 price increase), followed by painting the outside of the home ($900 cost / $1,815 price increase) and home staging ($300 cost / $1,780 price increase).
mike@garage floor covering on Sat, 9th Oct 2010 3:58 am
Those projects that you have listed pretty much make sense. I’d have to add that a kitchen remodel can also do wonders for you as well. In my last home I redid my kitchen and it really added a big value to resale price once it was time to resale the place.
Acne Treatment ` on Tue, 12th Oct 2010 1:50 am
home improvement should be done at least once a year if you the budget to do so:`’
Bacchus on Thu, 14th Oct 2010 5:33 pm
I can not keep in mind when i last wrote on a website. principally the communities didn’t grasp what they were talking about. your website has the foremost conversant people on this matter for quite a time. do you have different forums or sites i can post on?
Park Lane Plumbing Limited on Tue, 19th Oct 2010 2:40 pm
Well you are definatly right about the plumbing. People generally care more about cosmetics when buying something rather then the mechanical.
Spray Insulations : on Sat, 23rd Oct 2010 11:03 am
home improvement materials are a bit expensive but i find it always necessary to do some home improvement.,:
Danilo Bogdanovic on Fri, 12th Nov 2010 12:28 pm
Thanks Mike. Glad you got your money out of your kitchen remodel. In some markets, not only are they a plus, it could mean the difference between selling or not selling at all.
Danilo Bogdanovic on Fri, 12th Nov 2010 12:37 pm
Thanks Bacchus. Appreciate you taking the time to read this blog and comment. Aside from this local real estate blog, I am the author/owner of http://LoudounScene.com.