Home Improvements Getting Greatest ROI

Key Highlights

• Curb appeal matters most
• Garage door replacement generates 94% ROI

Exterior Renovations Generate Most ROI

With many of us inside our homes during 2020, the home renovation market boomed.  Not only were we more at home living and working than ever, we also wanted our homes to work and look better than ever.

In a newly released 2021 Cost vs. Value report from Zonda Media, a housing market research and analytics firm, outdoor home renovations generated the most in terms of return on investment or ROI.

Zonda Media pointed to garage door replacements as being the largest ROI.

National Averages of Renovation Costs and Values

Take a look at Zonda Media’stop ROI generators:

Project                     Cost                  Value      % Recouped

Garage Door             $3,907             $3,663             93.8%

Manu. Stone             $10,386            $9,571            92.1%

Veneer

Kitchen Redo             $26,214           $18,927           72.2%

Minor

Siding                       $19,620           $13,618           69.4%

Replacement – Fiber-Cement

Window                     $19,385           $13,297          68.6%

Replacement – Vinyl

Siding                       $16,576           $11,315          68.3%

Replacement – Vinyl

Window                   $23,219             $15,644          67.4%

Replacement – Wood

Deck Addition          $16,766              $11,038          65.8%

Wood

Entry Door              $2,082                  $1,353           65.0%

Deck Addition          $22,426                $14,169         63.2%

Composite

Roofing replacements, either asphalt shingles or metal, generate between 56% -60% ROI; bathroom remodels or additions generate  60.1% to 53.1%;  and master suite additions generate between 47.4% and 53.9%.  Major kitchen remodels generate 53.9% ROI.

Overall, Renovation Investments Generating Just 60% ROI

Just as supply and labor costs are increasing the costs of new home building, supply and labor costs are eating into returns on home renovation investments.  (Keep in mind that lumber costs are now +300% higher than they were last year.) 2021 ROIs on renovation investments came in at approximately 60%, down from 2020 and substantially lower than the decade-high of 71.2% in 2014.

On top of overall supply and labor costs rising , supply chain disruptions and global trading tariffs have also increased renovation costs.

Exterior Facelifts Make Great First Impression

According to Clayton DeKorne, editor-in-chief of Remodeling and JLC magazines, “Exterior facade facelifts improve the curb appeal and make a great first impression as buyers approach the home.  That translates to real dollars at the closing table, which is why we see such tangible returns on those investments.”