In a report from Zonda, a housing market research and analytics firm, finds that homeowners are only getting a 60% return on their renovation investments. It shows that the projects that offer the greatest returns in resale value aren’t new kitchen and baths, but projects related to a home’s curb appeal. “You have to throw away everything you see on HGTV,” explains Todd Tomalak, Zonda’s principal of building products research.
It turns out, homeowners can only expect a 100% return on investment from a handful of renovations or additions:
- Converting a heating, ventilation and air-conditioning system from a furnace to electric.
- Replacing garage doors
- Replacing siding with stone veneer
- Upgrading to a steel front door.
- Minor kitchen remodeling, like painting and upgrading the backsplash, does bring high returns, but the research from Zonda finds that major kitchen and bathroom renos do not.
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