Home Remodeling in 2015: The Best Bang for Your Buck

Home remodeling with fiberglass doors offer the best bang for your buck

We’ve made our predictions about what custom home construction will look like in 2015, but the other side of the coin is home remodeling. Even after homeowners have designed and built their dream house, chances are they will need some kind of post-construction service. Whether it’s for repairs, additions or whole redesigns, these services serve the same function as custom home building: giving homeowners exactly what they want.

The State of Home Remodeling in 2015

More so than in the initial construction process, people are considering resale when they go about the remodeling process. Remodeling is an investment, a means to an end, whereas custom home building is an end in and of itself. This leads to the pertinent question of “which remodeling projects will offer me the best return on my investment?”

The Best Bang for Your Buck

The Chicago Tribune has actually already answered this question. Once home value appreciation, materials, and labor costs are factored in, only 5 home remodeling projects offer the best bang for buck:

  • 20-gauge steel front doors
  • Fiberglass front doors
  • Garage doors
  • Mid-price roof replacements
  • Vinyl siding

The Worst Bang for Your Buck

What about the worst returns on investment (ROI)? In 2015, they are deemed to be:

  • 2-story home additions
  • Bathroom remodeling (57% ROI)
  • Composite decking (72% ROI)
  • Major kitchen remodeling (69% ROI)
  • Master suite remodeling

Why the Difference?

Many will notice something peculiar about this report: the worst returns on investment actually have the highest demand, while the best ones are hardly appealing to the average homeowner. Actually, this is not an anomaly. The cost of these projects — the worst returns, incidentally the most luxury home remodeling projects — has long exceeded their value, and the lack of momentum in the real estate market has only made it worse.

Why don’t housing prices increase with gorgeous, luxury kitchen or bathroom remodeling? People simply aren’t interested in home remodeling without practical value, it seems. Contrast these with garage doors, for instance. Garage doors are a frequently needed home repair, but new ones delay this inevitable cost by a few years. The same can be said for roofing, siding and door replacements.

Doors, roofs and house siding may not be the most luxurious parts of remodeling, but they are the most pragmatic. At the same time, don’t let this discourage you from seeking out the luxury home you desire. You may get only a fraction of your investment back, but you cannot put a price on living in the house of your dreams.