BiggerPockets

Home Improvement ROI

Wednesday, February 15

Home Improvement ROI

What kind of home improvement adds the greatest value to your home?  The National Association of Realtors puts out exactly such a report titled “The Value of Housing Characteristics”.  A recent report showed that:

*  each additional 1,000 square feet of living space increases selling price by about 3.3%
*  central air conditioning adds about 12% to price
*  internal features that add the most value are a family room, a dining room, a whirlpool, and a security system
*  fireplaces have a strong effect on selling price with each fireplace adding about 12%
*  a garage adds about 13% to selling price

 For the full report go to http://bit.ly/yHqaQX

While the improvement may add value to your home does it ever add more than it costs?  Unfortunately no.  You will never recoup more than you put in.  So how much do you get back?

Remodeling Magazine puts out an annual “Cost vs. Value” report.  The report shows the relationship between remodeling costs and resale value.  Here are the 2011-2012 top ten projects in the midrange & upscale projects (National average):

 Midrange Projects  - Cost Recouped
Garage Door Replacement 71.9%
Entry Door Replacement (steel) 73.0%
Deck Addition (wood) 70.1%
Siding Replacement (vinyl) 69.5%
Window Replacement (vinyl) 68.0%
Minor Kitchen Remodel 72.1%
Attic Bedroom 72.5%
Window Replacement (wood) 67.5%
Major Kitchen Remodel 65.7%
Deck Addition (composite) 62.8%

Upscale Projects - Cost Recouped
Garage Door Replacement 71.1%
Siding Replacement (fiber-cement) 78.0%
Siding Replacement (foam-backed vinyl) 69.6%
Window Replacement (vinyl) 69.1%
Window Replacement (wood) 64.1%
Grand Entrance (fiberglass) 60.8%
Major Kitchen Remodel 57.4%
Deck Addition (composite) 54.6%
Roofing Replacement 54.5%
Bathroom Remodel 55.5%

The interesting thing is that the returns fluctuate year to year so check the report yearly before you start any projects.

Here’s the link for the full report: http://bit.ly/AxsDJM

Philip Elias
MatchOne Real Estate
Serving MetroWest Boston
781-964-6034
Philip@MatchOneRE.com
www.MatchOneRE.com
www.Facebook.com/MatchOneRe

Home Inventory

Tuesday, January 31

Protecting your home or investment property with a sound insurance policy is a great way to not only protect your house but also all of your possessions.  The insurance companies usually ask that you itemize certain large dollar items such as engagement rings.  The itemized items are easy to keep track of.  But how about all of your other possessions?  Do you really know everything of value in your home?

I recommend using a great free tool called “What You Own – Home Inventory”.  It is free software that assists you in taking inventory of your possessions.  It lets you organize your inventory by room and category, while adding pictures of your items and rooms.

When you’re done you can print the report, email it to yourself or save it to the cloud (just in case of fire).

I've recommended this to my tenants.

Here’s the link for the free download: www.whatyouown.org. 

Let me know what you or your tenants use to track all of your stuff.

MatchOne Real Estate
Serving MetroWest Boston
781-964-6034
Philip@MatchOneRE.com
www.MatchOneRE.com
www.Facebook.com/MatchOneRe

Where's the Real Estate Market headed?

Thursday, January 12

One always hears different “expert opinions” on the direction of the real estate market.  Usually these stories quote a single expert.  The problem with quoting one expert is that you will have differences of opinion depending on which expert you ask.  Experts usually have a bullish or bearish attitude towards the future.

I prefer to go a different route when trying to gauge the future of the market.  I use the MacroMarkets forecast (http://www.macromarkets.com/real-estate/home-price-survey.asp).  This is a financial company, started by Robert Shiller (co-founded Case-Shiller Weiss real estate index), which aggregates “a panel of over 100 economists, investment strategists, and housing market analysts”.  They are surveyed every quarter regarding the 5-year expectations for future home prices in theUnited States.

 I like this method over the single expert since it averages or smoothes out the individual expectations and gives a better overall direction of the market.

 Based on the latest December 2011 survey we won’t see positive gains until 2013.

 Here is the latest forecast:

• 2011: decrease of 1.97%
• 2012: decrease of 0.18%
• 2013: increase of 1.75%
• 2014: increase of 2.71%
• 2015: increase of 3.23%





MatchOne Real Estate
Serving MetroWest Boston
781-964-6034
Philip@MatchOneRE.com
www.MatchOneRE.com
www.Facebook.com/MatchOneRe