What Upgrades Increase Home Value? 25 High-ROI Improvements Buyers Love

As you plan your next renovation project, it’s more critical than ever to know what upgrades increase home value. The world looks much different in 2024 than it did a couple of years ago, and our homes have been at the center of massive change and re-evaluation.

Home offices and outdoor spaces, for example, are now extremely coveted features. Our newest list of home improvements that add value takes these recent trends into account and incorporates specific product suggestions, updated for 2024.

Using extensive surveys of HomeLight agents, expert data from the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB), and out-in-the-field expertise from top agents such as Gina Baum of northern Maryland, we’ve put together this list of 25 home upgrade recommendations so you can make better decisions about where to invest your money.

Home renovation trend overview

Harvard researchers estimate Americans’ total spending on home remodeling projects could reach $466 billion in 2025.

The Federal Reserve remains cautious as it weighs rate adjustments due to high inflation. Annual inflation of 3.0% as of June 2024 is making everything more expensive, including the cost to put in new floors or refresh your dated bathroom.

But that doesn’t mean you should stop investing in your home. According to a survey of real estate professionals by Remodeling magazine, the average cost recouped on 23 popular remodeling projects in 2024 shows an increase compared to last year.

Real estate values have also performed well in recent years. CoreLogic found an overall increase in homeowner equity of 9.6% year-over-year in Q1 2024.

Upgrades that add physical square footage or make the house feel like home

1. Convert or build a home office

An Upwork study projects that 22% of the workforce will be working remotely by 2025.

Buyers care about a home office more than they care about whether the home is move-in ready or is of a minimum square footage. In some cases, buyers are seeking out multiple home offices.

Creating new space or dedicating existing space to a home office is likely going to be a good investment if you’re in a market with a decent amount of people who telecommute.

Creative options could be converting a walk-in closet into a functioning office or, on the more expensive end, building a backyard ADU (accessory dwelling unit) or extension to make room for one.

2. Finish your basement

If you have an unfinished basement, you might have room for storage, but you’re missing out on livable space for future buyers to enjoy — whether as a home office or space for entertaining.

Finishing a basement has a potential ROI of 70% to 75%, according to data from Angi.com.

“You’re adding more heated square footage,” explains top Atlanta real estate agent Leighann Russell, bumping your house into another price bracket.

Even among homes ranging from $250,000 to $400,000 in Georgia, Russell says an unfinished basement can add about $15,000 to $20,000. If finished, a basement can add even more — up to $40,000 or $50,000 to the asking price.

Finishing a basement will run you $18,400 on average but can cost up to $34,000, depending on your square footage. This project involves installing flooring, drywall, and paint, but it creates a “valuable blank canvas” for potential buyers.

3. Open up the floor plan to show design possibilities

Homebuyers want to feel like their home has been customized for them. While they are going for smaller homes, according to NAHB, they still want each square footage to reflect their personality and make it appear different from their neighbor’s house.

While an open layout allows the new homeowner to customize to their heart’s content, our experts recommend consulting with a contractor or interior designer before swinging a sledgehammer. The NAHB points out that a home still needs structural support and definition between spaces. (Plus, some architectural styles, such as a two-story or Colonial house, aren’t agreeable to this change.)

Upgrades that enhance your home’s curb appeal

Curb appeal entices buyers before they even enter your home. For starters, attractive landscaping implies that you maintain your home. You don’t have to invest a lot, either. Standard lawn care service, the least expensive outdoor project that improves curb appeal, had the highest cost recovery estimate from Realtors® — as high as 217%, a report from the National Association of Realtors (NAR) said. Meanwhile, an overall landscape upgrade can recoup 100% of the cost.

Here are a few other ways to make the outside of your home stand out.

4. Add stone veneer to the front of your house

Replacing 1,250 square feet of existing siding with new vinyl siding costs an average of $17,410 but recovers about 80.2% of that at resale, according to the Remodeling 2024 Cost vs. Value Report.

Try the rounded texture of Nottingham Tumbled Ledge by Coronado Stone Products, or consider the slim lines and dynamic colors of Chisel Gray Stacked Stone by Glen-Gery.

5. Get a door of steel

Statistics show that replacing an existing entry door with a steel one costs $2,355 and can recover 188.1% at resale. Buyers appreciate metal’s energy efficiency, low maintenance, and cold-blocking powers.

Try the highly rated JELD-WEN Lite Craftsman Primed Steel Front Door with high-definition panels and a polystyrene core for insulation ($728) or the more elegant Chatam by Stanley Doors with contemporary decorative glass ($818).

6. Replace your garage door

Is the garage door looking a little dingy outside or making strange noises? Or perhaps the style is now dated compared to what your neighbors have? A new garage door is also likely to be worth the investment. Installing a new garage door costs an average of $4,513 but can recoup 193.9% in resale value. You can’t go wrong with a simple upgrade from the best-selling Clopay Classic Collection ($638).

7. Update your mailbox and house numbers

Believe it or not, small touches like this grab buyers’ attention, says Baum. “The mailbox kills me. You have a beautiful home, and they have a dented-up old mailbox, so when you pull up, you think, OK, what’s the inside look like if they can’t even replace a mailbox?”

A standard-size steel mailbox from Gibraltar Mailboxes in a durable finish ready to install on an existing post costs about $35. If you need a post, a craftsman mailbox and a post kit from Postal PRO cost about $69.

As for house numbers, black 4-inch nail-on numbers in aluminum start at about $2.93 per digit.

8. Touch up or re-do your exterior paint

You don’t have to repaint your whole house to make it look new again, especially if you’re on a budget. Touch up any flaking or chipped paint, or paint the front door and trim with colors that will not make them look outdated. In 2024, blues and earth tones are in.

If you’d like to redo the whole exterior, the designers at Brick&Batten, a virtual design firm in Atlanta, Georgia, recommend Sherwin Williams’ Peppercorn, a dark gray neutral hue, for the siding. Benjamin Moore’s Blue Nova and Sherwin Williams’ Upward are also shades of blue to consider.

Painting the whole exterior of a home costs an average of $3,155 depending on where you live and the home’s existing condition, Angi says.

Our agents also recommend pressure washing the exterior to remove dirt and mold. Pressure or power wash the sidewalk, driveway, patio, or deck for a complete refresh. This runs about $100 to $260.

9. Add a parking spot

If you’re in a city or more crowded area where street parking is at a premium, look into adding a concrete parking pad for $3,600 to $7,200. In Baum’s area, “That’s a huge upgrade,” she says. “It doesn’t cost that much, but it does bring value.”