In the past month, several contractors and architects have told me that their remodeling projects are on the rise and, actually, are on a higher level than in the heady days of real estate before the recession.
Who's engaging all this work? Two markets: home owners who have decided to stay put for a while and want to upgrade for themselves, and home sellers who want to beat out the considerable competition in getting their homes sold.
Of help to those in either category is an annual survey that ranks those remodeling projects that are most preferred for their resale value, making the greatest sense in terms of recouping costs. Conducted by Remodeling Magazine among realtors in 80 cities, the results are reported in the January issue of Realtor Magazine, published by the National Association of Realtors.
This year, the five top ranked projects among a list of 35 possibilities, including those of both midrange and upscale costs, prove that first impressions still matter most. That is, those features that hit buyers from the moment they step from their cars.
At the top of the list is a midrange front door replacement, capturing the highest payback at a national average of 102.1 percent, followed by a midrange garage door replacement, with an 83.9 percent return. Third place is replacement siding, with a return of 80 percent of its cost, followed by a midrange kitchen remodel that recoups an average of 72.8 percent of costs. Fifth place goes to a wood deck addition that generates a 72.8 percent return.
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Bill Primavera is a realtor with Coldwell Banker in New York, representing all of beautiful Westchester and Putnam Counties. He is also a newspaper columnist, known as The Home Guru, writing about a broad variety of subjects pertaining to the home, garden and community. To review an index of his articles, visit: www.PrimaveraRealEstate.com or, for more information about buying or selling homes in his area, call him directly at 914-522-2076.
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