Your Return on Home Improvements

Charyn — Fri, 20 Aug 2010 12:09:03 +0000

All home sellers are concerned with justifying spending money on home improvements when they are just about to move. Some of my clients need a lot of convincing that you need to invest money to make money when it comes to maximising the return on your largest investment. So it is always a bonus when you can quantify the return on your home improvement investment.

I certainly measure all the results I get with my clients using “as is” appraisals before any renovation and home staging improvement begin. Then after the house is sold I compare the gain that has been made – usually in the tens of thousands!

I recently came across a survey that had been done by HomeGain.com that measures the average cost of a range of home improvements done pre-sale, the average increase in sales and finally the average return on investment for that particular home improvement. The survey demonstrates that you don’t need to spend a large sum of money on improvements to get some really great returns.

HomeGain 2009 Top 11 DIY Home Improvements For Sellers (National)

Improvement	Typical Cost	Increase in Sales	Average Return
Lighten and Brighten	$200 – $300	$1000 – $1500	572%
Clean and De-Clutter	$100 – $200	$1,505 – $1,937	872%
Landscape Front/Back Yards	$300 – $400	$1,500- $2,000	473%
Repair Plumbing	$300 – $400	$1000 – $1500	327%
Update Electrical	$300-$400	$1000 – $1500	309%
Repair Damaged Flooring	$500 – $750	$1500 – $2000	250%
Update Kitchen	$1000 -$1500	$2000 – $3000	237%
Update Bathroom	$750 – $1000	$1000 – $1500	172%
Replace or Shampoo Carpets	$400 – $500	$1000 – $1500	295%
Paint Exterior Walls	$750 – $1000	$1500 – $2000	201%
Paint Interior Walls	$500 – $750	$1500 – $2000	250%

Bonus – Houses To Impress

Your Return on Home Improvements