Remodel Cost vs Value Report

Springtime is almost here and it’s time to start thinking about tackling some home improvement projects to increase your home’s value and appearance.  For the second year in a row, the steel entry door is the home-improvement project expected to return the most money on investment, according to the “2015 Remodeling Cost vs. Value Report.”  In fact adding a steel entry door is the one of the least expensive projects (average cost: $1,230), as well as one of the only projects to recoup more than 100 percent of its initial cost.

If you are looking for something more substantial, consider a minor kitchen remodel as another option to improve your functional space. On Average a minor kitchen remodel can recoup 82% of the cost of the initial investment. Not to mention the benefit of having a nice updated kitchen with your own personal touch.

Here in Arizona, insulation is important.  What many homeowners don’t realize is they are losing valuable heating and cooling through their windows.  Even though some older homes have been completely remodeled, they retain the original single pane windows which are inefficient at holding temperatures inside a home. Double pane and other energy efficient windows can not only lower your utility bills, but will provide on average a 79% return on investment of your initial cost.

Whichever project you decide to tackle this spring, consider a home office remodel is among the lowest ROI projects you can tackle.  Coming in at just a 48% ROI, you may want to consider a trip to IKEA before building any custom cabinetry or storage into your home office.

Market Update

Almost 6,000 homes were sold in the Phoenix area in February, up from 4,700 in February.  This dropped the available inventory from 5.4 months of supply, down to 4.5 months of supply.  This still leaves plenty of homes available for all the buyers in the Phoenix market, but expect this number to continue to drop as more and more buyers enter the market this spring.

Wishing you a great start to the Spring season!