If you want to sell your house, figure out what to renovate first
Subscribe to enjoy similar stories. You want to sell your home, but the kids have scuffed up the floors and chipped the paint. The kitchen could use a face-lift and the lawn has seen better days.
Every seller has to decide whether to sink money into their house before listing it, and how much. Lately, the stakes have grown as the cost of construction and materials has skyrocketed. Borrowing to pay for those repairs has gotten more expensive, too.
The consensus among the dozen real-estate agents interviewed by The Wall Street Journal: Don’t go overboard. Shelling out small sums to punch up highly-visible parts of the property, particularly outside, increases the curb appeal. Spending large amounts to turn the place into your dream home doesn’t make it someone else’s dream home.
“Sellers should avoid trying to become a general contractor," said Scott Harris, a real-estate agent at Brown Harris Stevens in New York. Replacing a garage door cost $4,513 on average in 2024, but added $8,751 to the resale value, recouping 194% of the cost, according to Zonda, a residential construction-focused research company. That project provided the most value in the firm’s annual cost-value comparison.
Replacing an entry door cost $2,355 on average and added $4,430 to resale value, recouping 188% of the cost. “They will recoup all of that with very low risk, and it’s a low outlay," says Todd Tomalak, principal at Zonda, about exterior doors. Minor exterior work is some of the most likely to pay off.
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