This Curb Appeal Project Will Nearly Double Its ROI For Your Home

With interest rates remaining high, and the homebuying market significantly slowed, you might be biding your time before putting your property on the market. While playing the waiting game with interest rates might not be your favorite activity, there are ways to make this time work for you. For instance, you might consider using this waiting period to make home improvements to better your eventual return on investment, or ROI. While not all home improvement projects guarantee an ROI, there are some specific projects that could be worth considering, depending on your type of home.

While U.S. home prices will continue rising through the end of 2024 (Fannie Mae predicts a 6.1% increase year over year by December 2024), it never hurts to make some visual improvements to a property in anticipation of selling in the future. This is because something known as curb appeal (aka how aesthetically attractive your property looks) can not only make potential buyers more likely to look at your property but can also fetch higher appraised values and eventual selling prices.

If you're looking to get the most financial bang for your buck, then looking for home improvement projects that both boost your property's overall curb appeal and offer significant ROI is key. It's also important to look at what specific kinds of renovations would best fit with your style of home. Far and away the best home improvement project when comparing cost versus value is replacing your garage door.

Garage doors lead the list of top renovations for increasing home value in 2024. According to the 2024 Cost vs. Value Report from Remodeling by JLC, new garage doors can lead to a 194% ROI. It found that the average cost for a replacement garage door (a four-section door with galvanized steel tracks, not including a new motor for the door opener) was $4,513 compared to an average resale value of $8,751. It's also worth mentioning that this recouped amount is a 91% increase over 2023 numbers.

Clay DeKorne, the chief editor of Zonda's JLC Group (the publisher of this annual report), noted, "When it comes to adding resale value to a home, exterior replacement projects continue to make the most sense." This is partially due to the increased expense in the actual materials required for larger-scale interior projects, as well as the increased cost of borrowing money for such projects thanks to higher interest rates (just look at Home Depot's declining sales). This has pushed would-be sellers to prioritize curb appeal-specific projects with generally lower price tags.

Plus, with money being tight for many Americans, it makes sense homeowners might seek out projects with the potential for significantly higher ROI. With that in mind, high-ROI projects might not always fit with what an owner might want most for their space. Said DeKorne, "Discretionary projects like an upscale bathroom or kitchen remodel will feel valuable to those who make the selections but won't provide nearly as much return to sellers."

For anyone who might live in an apartment, rowhouse, townhome, brownstone, or a freestanding house without a garage, there are several other high-ROI home improvement projects that could be worth investigating, too. For starters, Remodeling by JLC's 2024 Cost vs. Value Report found that replacing your front or entry door with a steel door can result in 188% ROI. With an average cost of $2,355, but a sale value of $4,430, replacing your home's front door provides added curb appeal with a bonus of increased energy efficiency. This is due to the fact that steel doors tend to fit more tightly into door frames, which in turn reduces any leaking of interior air that might occur. This upgrade could help with your A/C and heating bills throughout the year.

Other potential home improvements that check both the curb appeal and high-ROI box include adding stone veneer to your home's front entryway, or even installing a fiberglass door to create a grander entrance, complete with decorative sidelights. The stone veneer boasts a 153% ROI, while the fiberglass grand entrance has a 97% ROI. Perhaps the most important thing to consider before moving forward on any home improvement project is who the project is ultimately for. If you are looking to sell in the near future and want projects geared toward appealing to potential homebuyers, you will have a different set of potential projects than someone looking to improve aspects of their long-term home. Finding the right project for your needs is ultimately more important than any specific ROI rate.