- 17 May, 2004 -

ARE YOU PLANNING a home-remodeling project for the summer? You're not alone. With interest rates hitting record lows these past few years, millions of homeowners have refinanced their mortgages and spent about a third of the cash on remodeling, says San Alfano, editor in chief of Remodeling magazine. The result: Last year, Americans spent more than $235 billion on home remodeling -- a 30.5% increase since 1999. The returns for homeowners have also been getting higher. The average recovered cost for a remodeling project was 86.4% last year, an 8% increase over 2002, according to Alfano. And while every homeowner knows that certain home improvements pay better than others, a survey conducted recently by Handyman Matters, a national home-improvement and repair company, shows that the amount homeowners will be able to recoup depends greatly on where they live. So before you start your own private extreme-home makeover, it helps to know how much you can expect to get back. In the following tables, we list the most common home-remodeling projects (ranked by return on investment) and the five winners and losers in each category. *DECK ADDITION (Cost/Resale Value/Cost Recouped) National Average $6,304 $6,661 104.20% WINNERS Boston 7,163 18,333 255.9 San Francisco 7,629 17,166 225 Miami 5,260 11,575 220.1 St. Louis 6,874 14,963 217.7 Columbus, Ohio 5,863 10,971 187.1 LOSERS Dallas 5,589 3,000 53.7 Buffalo, N.Y. 6,223 3,333 53.6 Detroit 6,624 3,360 50.7 Denver 6,516 2,900 44.5 Cleveland 6,454 2,283 35.4 *SIDING REPLACEMENT (Cost/Resale Value/Cost Recouped) National Average $7,329 $7,247 98.10% WINNERS Boston 8,110 22,500 277.4 Providence, R.I. 7,080 16,000 226 Houston 6,772 14,270 210.7 Orlando, Fla. 6,305 11,722 185.9 Washington, D.C. 6,451 10,938 169.6 LOSERS Salt Lake City 6,143 3,083 50.2 Portland, Ore. 7,983 3,844 48.1 Dallas 6,114 2,750 45 Denver 6,894 2,700 39.2 Kansas City, Mo. 6,783 2,440 36 *BATHROOM ADDITION (Cost/Resale Value/Cost Recouped) National Average $15,519 $15,418 95.00% WINNERS San Francisco 19,893 33,761 169.7 Miami 13,043 21,450 164.5 Washington, D.C. 13,818 18,403 133.2 New York 18,871 25,050 132.7 Seattle 17,108 22,171 129.6 LOSERS Pittsburgh 15,392 10,151 65.9 Phoenix 14,159 8,727 61.6 Salt Lake City 13,251 8,125 61.3 Cleveland 16,102 9,250 57.4 Buffalo, N.Y. 15,709 7,333 46.7 *BATHROOM REMODELING (Cost/Resale Value/Cost Recouped) National Average $10,088 $9,890 89.30% WINNERS San Francisco 12,619 22,730 180.1 Washington, D.C. 9,054 13,362 147.6 Boston 11,300 16,667 147.5 Los Angeles 11,100 15,429 139 Miami 8,833 11,763 133.2 LOSERS Columbus, Ohio 10,207 5,857 57.4 Portland, Ore. 10,705 5,861 54.8 Buffalo, N.Y. 10,206 5,333 52.3 Cleveland 10,984 5,667 51.6 Phoenix 9,185 4,368 47.6 *WINDOW REPLACEMENT (Cost/Resale Value/Cost Recouped) National Average $9,568 $8,673 84.80% WINNERS San Diego 10,271 16,727 162.9 Providence, R.I. 9,831 15,500 157.7 Milwaukee 9,987 13,488 135.1 Seattle 10,219 13,370 130.8 San Francisco 11,002 14,170 128.8 LOSERS Salt Lake City 8,699 4,750 54.6 Buffalo, N.Y. 9,545 4,833 50.6 Houston 8,957 4,333 48.4 Detroit 10,330 4,860 47 Dallas 8,785 4,000 45.5 *FAMILY-ROOM ADDITION (Cost/Resale Value/Cost Recouped) National Average $53,983 $43,931 80.60% WINNERS Providence, R.I. 54,186 75,750 139.8 San Francisco 68,582 80,137 116.8 Boston 60,202 70,000 116.3 Washington, D.C. 49,508 57,417 116 New York 62,308 67,800 108.8 LOSERS Phoenix 51,466 31,091 60.4 Portland, Ore. 54,318 32,467 59.8 Pittsburgh 53,882 30,725 57 Salt Lake City 47,191 26,125 55.4 Buffalo, N.Y. 52,872 22,000 41.6 *BASEMENT REMODELING (Cost/Resale Value/Cost Recouped) National Average $43,865 $34,801 79.30% WINNERS Washington, D.C. 39,674 57,364 144.6 San Francisco 53,366 68,442 128.3 San Diego 47,481 58,873 124 Providence, R.I. 44,546 54,750 122.9 Boston 48,984 60,000 122.5 LOSERS Columbus, Ohio 42,877 22,000 51.3 Minneapolis 51,237 25,667 50.1 Cincinnati 43,590 21,462 49.2 Cleveland 47,061 20,671 43.9 Buffalo, N.Y. 43,640 14,000 32.1 *MASTER-SUITE REMODELING (Cost/Resale Value/Cost Recouped) National Average $70,760 $54,376 76.40% WINNERS Washington, D.C. 64,257 83,848 130.5 San Francisco 87,775 105,975 120.7 Boston 80,415 92,500 115 Providence, R.I. 72,057 80,000 111 Miami 59,365 63,013 106.1 LOSERS Salt Lake City 60,969 35,813 58.7 Indianapolis 68,409 39,917 58.4 Philadelphia 78,059 43,750 56 Detroit 77,884 40,665 52.2 Buffalo, N.Y. 70,494 18,667 26.5 *KITCHEN REMODELING (Cost/Resale Value/Cost Recouped) National Average $43,804 $33,101 74.90% WINNERS San Francisco 49,962 66,447 133 Miami 40,610 48,700 119.9 Boston 46,664 55,000 117.9 Washington, D.C. 40,605 46,250 113.9 New York 47,592 50,800 106.7 LOSERS Phoenix 42,080 22,909 54.4 Pittsburgh 43,999 22,425 51 Columbus, Ohio 43,004 21,429 49.8 Salt Lake City 40,761 18,456 45.3 Buffalo, N.Y. 43,318 14,000 32.3 Source: Handyman Matters Inc.

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