How Remodeling Pays Off

Chosen carefully, with an eye to local market conditions, home improvements can add most of their cost to the resale value of a home immediately. And rather than depreciate with time and use, well-maintained improvements hold their value, appreciating along with local property values.

However, as real estate professionals emphatically point out, the price range of the homes in your neighborhood will affect the return on your construction costs. Here is a general guideline:

Cost Recouped, National Average 

Predictions based on resale value within one year of project completion.

*Compiled 1999 from Consumer Reports, Consumers Digest and Remodeling Magazine.