Explainer
Which home improvements add the most value at resale
See how much of each common project's cost real estate agents expect to come back when a house sells.
Satisfy+ Editorial · Published August 12, 2026 · 2 min read
This is general education, not individual financial, investment or tax advice.
At a glance
- Most recovered
- A new steel front door, at 100% of its cost
- Least recovered
- A bathroom renovation, at 50%
- Agents' top advice before selling
- Paint the entire home
Only one project in the survey, a steel front door, recovered its full cost at sale. In a 2025 national survey, real estate agents estimated how much value each common project adds to a house, and remodelers estimated what each project costs. Dividing the first by the second gives the share of the cost that comes back at resale.
How the figure is worked out
The survey assumed a 2,300-square-foot house built after 1978, in good condition, with standard-quality materials. The figures are national medians, and your house, your market and your finishes will move them.
The projects that recover the most
| Project | Cost recovered |
|---|---|
| New steel front door | 100% |
| Closet renovation | 83% |
| New fiberglass front door | 80% |
| New vinyl windows | 74% |
| New wood windows | 71% |
| Basement conversion to living area | 71% |
| Attic conversion to living area | 67% |
| Complete kitchen renovation | 60% |
| Minor kitchen upgrade | 60% |
| Add a new bathroom | 56% |
| New primary suite | 54% |
| Bathroom renovation | 50% |
Smaller jobs recovered the most of their cost. The large projects, a new primary suite or a bathroom renovation, recovered about half.
What agents recommend before a sale
Asked which projects they recommend before a sale, half of agents named painting the entire home, and 41% named painting one interior room. New roofing came next at 37%, then a kitchen upgrade at 30% and a bathroom renovation at 24%.
Over the two years before the survey, agents saw the most growth in buyer demand for kitchen upgrades, new roofing and bathroom renovations. They also reported that 46% of buyers were less willing to compromise on a home's condition.
For a house built before 1978, the seller gives the buyer the pamphlet Protect Your Family From Lead in Your Home and discloses any known lead-based paint before the contract is signed.
Resale value and satisfaction
In the same report, a kitchen upgrade and an added primary bedroom suite earned perfect scores from homeowners for how happy the finished work made them. The primary suite recovered 54% of its cost.
An annotated example
What to do next
Find the projects you're weighing in the table, and keep the receipts and permits for each improvement in the house file.
Save the receipts for each improvement in the house file
- Save the receipts for each improvement in the house file
FAQ
Who estimated these values?
Real estate agents, surveyed in summer 2024, with 4,005 responses.
Where did the cost estimates come from?
Member remodelers of the National Association of the Remodeling Industry, surveyed in summer 2024, with 177 responses.
Sources
Checked October 19, 2026
- National Association of REALTORS Research Group and NARI (each a trade association). 2025 Remodeling Impact Report (2025)
- U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. Real estate disclosures about potential lead hazards (2026)
- Living
- Owner
- Selling
