Homeowners looking to increase their homes’ values sometimes find themselves considering which improvements are the best investments. Major home improvement and remodeling projects aren’t cheap, so realizing the best value for the dollar is vital. As a major home improvement, kitchen remodeling ranks well in terms of delivering a return on investment. Depending on the housing market and the type of improvements made, a kitchen remodel can boost a home’s resale value very nicely.
How Kitchens Fare
Though they’re expensive, major kitchen remodeling projects deliver solid cost-to-value ratios for homeowners. A February 2012 article by United Press International reports a major kitchen remodel tends to fare better than bathroom remodeling when it comes to improving home value. Kitchen remodeling returns nearly 69 percent of its cost vs. 57.2 percent for bathrooms. The National Association of Realtors also ranks a well-designed, sensible kitchen remodel as the best home interior remodeling project for increasing a home’s value.
The Market’s Role
Whether your kitchen remodeling project will substantially improve your home’s resale value depends on your housing market’s strength. Anemic housing markets take their toll on home resale values, while a robust housing market helps home improvement projects deliver a better return on their initial costs. In weaker housing markets, minor kitchen remodeling projects, or those costing just under $20,000 on average, rank near the top in dollar-for-dollar returns among all updates, according to 2011 data from “Remodeling” magazine.
Minor Remodeling
Typically, minor kitchen remodeling includes new cabinet doors and drawer fronts, appliances and countertops. No plumbing is rerouted or created and flooring improvements are very limited. If you’re on a budget but want to improve your kitchen, consider just repainting the walls and cabinets and thoroughly cleaning the flooring. By itself, just replacing tired-looking kitchen cabinets adds immediate home value improvement. Mid-grade painted kitchen cabinets with newer features such as soft-close doors are affordable and may even add value comparable to high-line cabinetry.
No Profit, But Other Benefits
Major kitchen remodeling and other home improvement projects usually don’t return actual profits to homeowners. In fact, it’s unlikely you’ll ever recover all of a project’s initial cost when you sell your home. However, well-done home improvement projects tend to help the homes having them sell quicker. The home improvement website “HomeSavvi.com” interviewed several real estate experts and found that home improvements help homes sell faster. Additionally, home improvements such as kitchen remodels improve homes’ all-around selling prices.