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Salt Lake "Cost vs. Value Report" sheds light on remodeling projects
December 21, 2006

Minor kitchen remodel has highest return

A new report from Remodeling magazine along with your market expertise will help your clients better determine which home improvement projects have the best return on investment. The “2006 Cost vs. Value Report,” published in the December issue of REALTOR® Magazine, analyzes 25 home improvement projects in areas around the nation and shows what percentage of the projects’ cost was recouped when the home was sold.

Of the projects highlighted in REALTOR® Magazine, a minor kitchen remodel had the highest return on investment in the Salt Lake City area, according to the report. At a cost of $16,902 and with a recoup value of $16,107, the project had 95.3 percent of its cost recouped. Coming in second was a basement remodel, which had 85.4 percent of its cost recouped in the Salt Lake area. The basement remodel’s cost was $50,411 and its resale value was $43,030.

Other remodeling projects analyzed in Salt Lake City were a bathroom remodel (84.8 percent recouped), a sunroom addition (66.6 recouped) and a home office remodel (63.3 percent recouped).

Of the 25 remodeling projects analyzed in Remodeling magazine’s report, the one with the highest rate of return for the Mountain States region was a two-story addition. At a cost of $102,944 and with a resale value of $90,965, a seller would recoup an average of 88.3 percent of the job cost, according to the “2006 Cost vs. Value Report.”

Nationally, the project with the highest return was an upscale fiber cement siding replacement at 88 percent while the lowest return was on a home office remodel at 63.4 percent.

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