A complete kitchen renovation and a new roof were the top interior and exterior projects, respectively, ranked by REALTORS® for their likely value to the home for resale, according to NAR’s 2019 Remodeling Impact Report. 

The report examines how REALTORS® rank projects in terms of their appeal to buyers and their expected value at resale. Also included in the report is a Joy Score for each project, calculated by surveying homeowners who’ve completed it about their satisfaction with the project.

Members of the National Association of the Remodeling Industry provided typical project costs, which were compared to estimates by REALTORS® of the likely dollar value added at resale to reach a recovered project cost—a ratio of typical investment to return for home sellers. For example, new wood flooring has an estimated cost of $4,700 to an estimated cost recovered of $5,000 for a 106% recovered project cost. 

While new wood flooring ranked high for recovered cost, only 5% of REALTORS® said the project helped close a sale. Thirty-three percent of REALTORS® said a new roof helped close a sale—and 107% of the cost was recovered, according to the report. 

Find typical costs, expected value, recovered project costs, and more for 20 common remodeling projects in the full report.