We are continuously asked, “Should I remodel before I sell?”
That depends on what you’re wanting to do–and what you’re wanting to get of the remodel. The National Association of Realtors recently compiled a report of remodeling projects based on their estimated cost recovery at resale. You might find this interesting. The report included 12 categories, ranked highest to lowest in terms of recovery value percentages. These included:
- new steel front door (100 percent)
- closet renovation (83 percent)
- new fiberglass front door (80 percent)
- new vinyl windows (74 percent)
- new wood windows (71 percent)
- basement conversion to living area (71 percent)
- attic conversion to living area (67 percent)
- complete kitchen renovation (60 percent)
- minor kitchen upgrade (60 percent)
- bathroom addition (56 percent)
- new primary suite (54 percent)
- bathroom renovation (50 percent)
What this means is that if you replace the front door, you’ll definitely get that money back when you sell. But if you remodel a bathroom, you’ll only make back half of what you spent. So, the answer to whether you should remodel this or that part of the house before selling is that it depends.
That said, NAR found that the majority of people who participated in their survey of remodeled homes felt either happy or satisfied with the outcome of the project. Additionally, the report found that almost half of the homes that were remodeled led to “increase enjoyment of the home” while less than 20 percent resulted in “decreased enjoyment.” A good portion of the projects were either done in part or in full by the homeowner, but nearly half of those said they’d hire a professional if they remodeled again. You can read the full report here: https://www.nar.realtor/sites/default/files/2025-04/2025-remodeling-impact-report_04-09-2025.pdf
In my next article, I’ll go over what these values in each category mean for you when considering remodeling or renovating a property in order to increase its market value.
