If retail customers ask you which remodeling project done by a pro or a dealer's installed sales unit will deliver the biggest bang for the buck, tell them to put in a new steel front door. The latest Cost vs. Value report by Remodeling, a sister publication to ProSales, finds that replacing a steel entry door returns an average of $1.02 in added resale value for every dollar spent on the project. That's the only job on Remodeling's list that turned a profit; the best of the other projects increased a home's value by about 70% to 83% of the project's cost. The report is based on surveys of remodelers regarding project costs and polls of Realtors about post-project resale values. For more, including numbers for 33 markets nationwide, go to www.remodeling.hw.net.
