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Oct 16, 2023 How to turn your family room into a garage

Gary Sandler

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Published 16 October 2023

According to the National Association of Realtors 2022 Remodeling Impact Report, homeowners spent more than $420 billion on remodeling projects in 2020. Some owners took on projects to prepare their properties for sale. Others made changes purely to increase the quality of their lives at home. Fortunately, none of the owners actually converted their family room into a garage.

The report took an in-depth look at the reasons for both interior and exterior remodeling, the satisfaction derived from the projects, and the increased joy the upgrades provided. Also surveyed were the cost of 20 typical remodeling and replacement projects, how appealing the improvements were to home buyers, and what percentage of the project costs were recovered when the properties were sold. So, which projects were most appealing and generated the highest returns at the time of sale?

The two projects that tied for the number one spot on the exterior return-on-investment list were a new roof and a new garage door, each returning 100 percent of the cost at time of sale. The projects also generated ratings of 9.6 and 9.0 out of 10, respectively, on the joy scale. Achieving a maximum 10.0 on the joy scale was the refinishing of hardwood floors, which provided an impressive 147 percent return on the dollars spent. The installation of new hardwood flooring returned 118 percent of the cost of the upgrade and scored 10.0 on the joy scale, while adding new insulation generated a 100 percent return on investment.

Replacing the front entry door with a new steel or fiberglass version returned 63 and 60 percent of the cost, respectively, with each scoring a 9.5 on the joy scale. While replacing old windows with new wooden models returned 63 percent of the installation cost, new vinyl-clad windows provided a 67 percent return on investment.

Adding a new bathroom scored an 8.2 on the joy scale but returned just sixty-three percent of the cost of the project at time of sale. Remodeling a bathroom returned 71 percent of its cost. Adding vinyl siding or stucco generated an 86 percent return and ranked 8.9 on the satisfaction scale. Adding a new master bedroom was a satisfying experience for homeowners and buyers but returned just over half of the project’s cost. A full kitchen remodel returned 75 percent of the cost of the project and scored 9.8 on the joy scale.

The return on investment varies depending on where in the country a property is located. In markets where properties are in short supply and sales are hot, upgrades typically add value. In markets where inventories are high and sales are sluggish, sellers may not recover the cost of the upgrades but may be chosen over competing properties that have yet to be upgraded.

For more information about the return on investment for other home improvement projects, simply google “2022 Remodeling Impact Report”. You may be surprised by what you find.

See you at closing.

Gary Sandler is a full-time Realtor and president of Gary Sandler Inc., Realtors in Las Cruces, New Mexico. He loves to answer questions and can be reached at 575-642-2292 or Gary@GarySandler.com.

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