RISMEDIA, March 15, 2010—Remodeling Magazine recently released its 2009-10 Cost vs. Value Report which covers 80 U.S. cities. On a national level, the project with the biggest improvement from 2008 was the attic bedroom addition, recouping 83.1% of remodeling costs compared to 73.8% in 2008. The only other interior project that landed in the top 10 was a minor kitchen remodel with 78.3% costs recouped.

Other exterior projects in the top 10 include midrange vinyl and upscale foam-backed vinyl sliding replacements, which returned more than 79% of costs. In addition, several types of window replacements–midrange wood, midrange vinyl and upscale vinyl–all returned more than 76% of costs upon sale.

Similar to last year’s report, the least profitable remodeling projects in terms of resale value were home office remodels and sunroom additions, returning only 48.1% and 50.7% of project costs.

Regionally, cities in the Pacific states of Alaska, California, Hawaii, Oregon and Washington once again outperformed the rest of the nation in terms of remodeling costs recouped upon resale. The West South Central region of Arkansas, Louisiana, Oklahoma, and Texas; the East South Central region of Alabama, Kentucky, Mississippi and Tennessee; and the South Atlantic region of the District of Columbia, Florida, Georgia, Maryland, North Carolina, South Carolina, Virginia and West Virginia also performed relatively well.

The regions that generally returned the lowest percentage of costs were New England (Connecticut, Massachusetts, Maine, New Hampshire, Rhode Island and Vermont), East North Central (Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Ohio and Wisconsin), West North Central (Iowa, Kansas, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota and South Dakota) and the Middle Atlantic (New York and Pennsylvania).

Even though they don’t usually return 100% of their cost, a remodeling job that remedies an extremely dated kitchen or bath can make the difference in selling your home. In most cases there will be some easy parts of the job that the homeowner can do on their own to save money. Painting is one example. Don’t look at a remodeling job only from the perspective of resale value. That’s a consideration that belongs in the calculation, but the enjoyment of an improvement is another important factor. If you plan to stay in the same home for the next five years or more, the difference between whether a project that you wanted to enjoy adds 50% or 80% to the resale value becomes less relevant.

Courtesy of the American Homeowners Foundation and the American Homeowners Grassroots Alliance, www.AmericanHomeowners.org.