According to the statistics and Denver Business Journal, about 1 million home owners improve the basements of their houses every year, because this action has two advantages – it gives more of the valuable storage space that lacks in so many houses and, in addition, is a very important investment that can put up the market value of your home and make it more competitive. However, it is important to understand what the relation features-price is, because this will help you determine the budget you will put in your improvements.
Expenses
The money you will need to spend on a basement improvement depends on the current state of the home and on the features you want to add. According to Remodeling, in 2010-2011 the home owners have spent averagely $64,519 on basement improvements. This sum is on the base of a 600 sq. ft. room and includes the addition of more space for shelving, a bathroom and, in some cases, a wet bar. However, if you don’t have this sum, do not worry – your project may be funded with much less. If your home is not very aged, This Old House suggests that the remodeling may cost you about $20p per sq. ft., provided that the basement is already supplied with wiring and plumbing and the improvements are carried out with middle class materials.
Return of Investments
Remodeling claims that in 2010-2011 basement improvements returned 70% of the funds spent on the projects. In other words, the market values of the improved homes (as we already mentioned the improvement sum was $65,519 on the average) went up with about $45,186 – a certain decline from earlier. The data shows that in 2009-2010 the improvements increased the market value with 75.4%, not only 70%.
The Importance of the Area
According to the specialists, the market value of your home will be affected differently depending on the region where the home is located. It is calculated that in New England the percent of returned investments is 61.4%, while the West Coast owners recoup 82.6%. However, the highest return comes in the Texas region and the area – 84.3% on the average.
What features are worth adding?
Before you decide to remodel your basement, you will need to check which new features would add to its market value. Denver Business Journal claims it is important to make sure that after the project, your basement will look and feel like a part of the rest of the house when it comes to quality of the work, the design and style and the used materials. If you decide to carry out a DIY project and use materials of low quality, you risk to actually decrease the market value of your home. Have in mind that rooms designed for a specific hobby or interest like sports areas or dark rooms may not increase the market value at all.