Denver Fresh

Sinking money into home improvement projects knowing that they’ll payback when it’s time to sell is the biggest mistake a home owner can make.  Not all home improvement projects are created equal so choose to improve wisely. 

The annual Cost vs. Value report in Realtor magazine gives a break down by national regions and Colorado home improvement gets mixed results–expected and a few surprises.  In Colorado an addition of a wood deck topped the charts at an 86.3%  return on investment.  No home improvement project had higher than 86.3% return on job cost to resale value which was comparable to the national average of 85.4% on the same deck project.  Nationally, the top home improvement projects where siding replacement (88%), Deck addition (85.4%), Window replacement (81%) and minor kitchen remodel (83%).

Colorado’s top cost to value home improvement projects where:

• Wood deck addition (86.3%)
• Basement remodels (83.8%)
• Minor kitchen remodels (83.1%)
• Siding replacement (82.6%)

Projects that had the worst return on investment in Colorado’s mountain region:

• Sunroom addition (54.5%)
• Home office remodel (55.1%)
• Garage addition, Upscale (65.2%)

With all this being said it is always important to sit down with your Realtor and home remodeling contractor to discuss your neighborhood’s most valuable home projects.  The projects are going to vary depending on the real estate market, current trends and neighborhood to neighborhood.  According to the article a master bath addition will only 68.7% return  while I have have buyers looking in Washington Park & Congress Park that wouldn’t even consider looking at a home that doesn’t already have a master bath addition.  The same can be said for garage additions, bathroom remodels and new roofs in most of Denver’s city center neighborhoods where homes have been remodeled in some form or another since they were built in earlier Denver days.   

The full article will give you the national scoop, click it out.

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