Home renovation activity may have slowed down from its pandemic-era peak, but homeowners continue to invest in their spaces, especially as the spring housing market heats up.
According to CNBC, and when it comes to the return on investment, some projects now offer the highest return values in history — with a few home upgrades averaging returns of nearly 200% for the first time ever — according to the 2024 Cost vs. Value report from Zonda Media, a housing market research and analytics firm.
Garage door replacements offered the highest average return at 194%, followed by upgrading to a steel front door, with a 188% return on investment — both worth nearly double what they were last year, the report found.
Forget a designer chef’s kitchen, the projects offering the greatest returns in resale value are mostly related to curb appeal rather than more glamorous kitchen and bath remodels, according to Zonda’s report.
In fact, nine out of the top 10 projects with the highest return on investment were exterior improvement projects, the report found.
“When it comes to adding resale value to a home, exterior replacement projects continue to make the most sense,” Clay DeKorne, chief editor of Zonda’s JLC Group, said in a statement.