Remodeling Your Huntsville Home for Sale: Cost vs. Value

When considering a remodeling job for your Huntsville home for sale in an effort to increase value, it's hard to decide what should be done. Well, this isn't exactly true. If your carpet is old, matted and outdated, for instance, you might want to start there. Grungy wooden kitchen cabinets? That's another starting place.

However, if your Huntsville home for sale is in darn good condition (if you do say so yourself) and you're not being noticed by buyers, you just might be asking, "What can I do to improve?"

Well, for frustrated, confused homeowners, there is good news. You don't have to guess. Twenty-two years ago, Remodeling magazine, with cooperation from REALTOR® Magazine, began publishing an annual "Cost vs. Value Report." This report covers 33 possible home remodeling projects over 80 cities.

The recouped cost for many of these projects has been slowly declining since 2006 or, in some cases, rapidly dropping. However, the recently released 2009-10 Cost vs. Value Report for home remodeling shows some surprising increases.

If you just look at the trends from 2008-09 to 2009-10, you might think any type of addition or change would be a waste of money. When looking over the report, though, pay attention to the recouped cost. For instance, a little red arrow says a wooden deck addition is dropping in resale value, while the recouped cost is still 80.6%. Not bad in a hard buyer's market.

If you don't want to look at the report, I understand – it's a lot of numbers. So, I've summarized some of the important bits for you:



Recouped cost of 75% or above

• Attic bedroom – 83% (up from 2008)


• Basement remodel – 75.4% (up)


• Wooden deck addition – 80.6% (up)


• Steel entry door replacement – 128.9% (up)


• Minor kitchen remodel – 78.3% (down)


• Vinyl siding replacement – 79.9% (down)


• Vinyl window replacement – 76.6% (down)


• Foam-backed vinyl siding replacement – 79.0% (down)


• Fiber-cement siding replacement – 83.6% (down)


• Vinyl window replacement – 76.5% (down)

Rising Trends from 2008 – 2009/10

• Fiberglass grand entrance


• Roofing replacement


• Steel entry door replacement


• Fiberglass entry door replacement


• Basement remodel


• Backup power generator


• Attic bedroom

So, where will you get the best bang for your buck for home remodeling? The trends say replacements. Buyers want security (steel doors), shelter (roofing) and energy savers (windows). They want the exterior to look good for less work (siding) and maybe an extra guest or child bedroom (attic). The great thing for you is: they're willing to pay for it.

If you're still wondering whether you're remodeling the right area of your Huntsville home for sale, read the report.

If you'd like to sell your home or are looking for a new home that's already been remodeled (or that you can remodel), I can help. Call me today at 800-803-0053, 256-217-4445 or email me at mike@movetohuntsville.com for more information.

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