Jim Guido's Blog

In todays Real Estate Market Do you remodel and stay……. or sell? How do you know if your remodeling dollars are well spent and how much can you expect to recoup from your investment? Well according to the 2009 / 2010 survey published by Remodeling magazine, here’s how it breaks down:
For a mid-range priced home, you can expect the average cost and recoup for the following projects:
Average Cost vs Expected Return on your investment
Bathroom Remodel $19,000
Recoup 60% of your costs

Bathroom Addition $48,000
Recoup 56% of your costs

Garage Addition $72,000
Recoup 63% of your costs

Convert a Bedroom to a Home Office $32,000
Recoup 47% of your costs

Major Kitchen Remodel $65,000
Recoup 72% of your costs

Minor Kitchen Remodel $24,000
Recoup 76% of your costs

Window Replacement (vinyl) $13,000
Recoup 74% of your costs

Backup Power Generator $17,000
Recoup 75% of your costs

Rismedia is reporting that instead of playing the trade up game, more homeowners are staying in their homes. They are upgrading their kitchens and bathrooms and also adding additions to accommodate their needs in-lieu of moving into a larger home. Architects say they’re seeing demand for and inquiries about home-remodeling projects which again include kitchen and bath upgrades and home additions. These upgrades for the most part are for kitchens being upgraded with practical improvements and features to make the space more usable and the same holds true for the bathrooms.
The five most popular kitchen products and features include:
-Recycling center, a designated place to put cans, papers, etc., which could be in the form of a nook or even part of the lower cabinetry
-Larger pantry space
-Renewable flooring materials
-Renewable countertop materials
-Computer area/recharging stations, dedicated to such tasks as recharging laptops, cell phones and PDAs.
The same desire for practicality and less glitz can be found in the bathroom.
The five most popular bathroom products and features include:
-Water-saving toilets
-Radiant heated floors
-Accessibility/universal design, or features that are adaptable and allow homeowners to age in place
-LED lighting
-Doorless showers.