According to The Columbus Dispatch, citing a Harvard University study, homeowners in Ohio continue to increase the amount of money they spend on home renovations every year. We can attribute increased spending to a steady rise in home equity, and other factors such as job growth. Most experts say the average complete home renovation costs between $40,000 and $60,000. An average dollar amount for a kitchen make-over is $17,000, while bathroom remodeling is on average worth approximately $11,000. Ohioans continue to spend 10% more each year for their renovations, while the country spends over $400 billion dollars annually.
Upgrading homes provides homeowners with a sense of joy, improved equity, and usually means they want to spend more time in their homes. If you are considering remodeling, here are the top four ways in which realtors analyze and rank remodeling projects:
- Appeal to buyers. A complete kitchen renovation fits into this classification.
- Expected value at resale. While kitchen renovations are at the top of the list, HVAC replacement and master suites complete it.
- The “Joy Score”. To put this in perspective, a figure (out of 10) is how happy homeowners were with their renovations.
- The dollar value at resale. The likely dollar value of a renovation at resale considers several variables and is calculated according to a Recovered Cost percentage of money spent.
Please read on for a more complete picture of the statistics, and for access to the Remodeling Impact Survey.
Home Improvement Joy
By Elyse Umlauf-Garneau
What home improvement projects bring the greatest joy to homeowners and the best return on their investment?
The 2019 Remodeling Impact Report has answers.
The report, from the National Association of Realtors®, with insights from the National Association of the Remodeling Industry, looked at interior and exterior remodeling projects to determine a cost recovery estimate for representative remodeling projects and how much joy a given project brings to homeowners.
The interior projects that received Joy Scores of 10 – the top possible number – were complete kitchen renovation, closet renovation, full interior and individual room paint, kitchen upgrade, and basement conversion to a living area.
REALTOR® rank of projects’ likely value to the home for resale
(highest to lowest)
- Complete Kitchen Renovation
- Kitchen Upgrade
- HVAC Replacement
- New Master Suite/Owner’s Suite
- Bathroom Renovation
- Basement Conversion to Living Area
- Add New Bathroom
- Add New Bathroom
- New Wood Flooring
- Hardwood Flooring Refinish
- Attic Conversion to Living Area
- Insulation Upgrade
- Closet Renovation
