How Much Does a Kitchen Remodel Increase Home Value?

Remodeling your kitchen can make your home more enjoyable, efficient, and attractive. 

But did you know remodeling your kitchen can also significantly spruce up your home’s resale value?

The kitchen is the most important room in a home for potential buyers. Which means there’s a lot of potential to improve your home’s value by updating it. 

But remodels of any kind can be so expensive, right? Are they worth it? And if you’re just looking to up your resale value, do you really need to remodel the whole room or can you just make a few updates?

We’ll tackle all of these questions and more to help you update your kitchen with style and without breaking the bank.

How Much Does a Kitchen Remodel Cost?

If we’re considering increasing your home’s resale value, and thinking about things from a financial standpoint, we need to consider the investment first before thinking about the potential ROI.

That said, the cost of a kitchen remodel is going to vary widely across the board.

Remodeling Magazine’s 2019 Cost vs. Value Report puts the average kitchen remodel cost at about $66,000.

On the higher side of that average, you’ve got the complete gut, rearrangement, and update which could run you anywhere between $60,000 and $120,000. 

And on the lower end of that average is the less involved update where you’re just replacing countertops, hardware, and/or cabinetry. These kinds of lighter remodels might cost anywhere between $15,000 and $50,000. 

And then of course you have really light updates where you’re just updating hardware or refinishing certain aspects of the kitchen which may only cost you a few thousand dollars.

How Much Resale Value Does a Kitchen Remodel Add to Your Home?

In most cases, you can bank on a kitchen remodel or upgrade to improve your home’s value. 

A recent survey shows that 80% of homebuyers view the kitchen as one of their top 3 most important spaces. Nearly 70% of recent buyers said they would have paid more for updated appliances.

As with the cost of remodeling your kitchen, how much value your remodel adds to the home also varies widely across the board.

Remodeling Magazine’s 2019 Report shows that depending on the size of the job, you’ll probably get back between 60% and 80% of what you paid.

A Homelight report from 2019 showed that an average kitchen upgrade of $23,140 would increase your sale price by almost the exact same amount.

At the end of the day, your ROI is really going to depend on the overall condition of your home, the market, the nature of your remodel, and the price point you’re selling at. 

For example, if your kitchen is incredibly outdated, just updating a few fixtures along with the cabinets might give you a huge ROI when it’s time to sell. But if your kitchen is fairly up with the times and you want to move it across the home based on personal preference, your resale value may or may not increase by much.

Kitchen Upgrades with the Best ROI

If you don’t have the budget for a full kitchen remodel, there are still some upgrades that can drastically improve your kitchen – and likely improve your resale value – that won’t break the bank.

Upgrade your lighting

We’re not talking about installing recessed lighting or rewiring everything – which could be pricey – but just a simple fixture update. Lighting is often the first thing people notice when they walk into the kitchen.

A new, updated fixture that is updated, attracted, and blends into the space will make the whole kitchen feel upgraded.

Add a backsplash

Adding a tile backsplash can bring the whole kitchen together. Much like new lighting, it can make the room feel as if it’s been fully remodeled. 

If you do it yourself, it might only cost a few hundred dollars, but paying for labor won’t cost you too much either.

Paint your cabinets

This is a simple, affordable way to update and modernize your kitchen. The cabinets take up more real estate than anything else in the kitchen, so updating them can go a long way.

As long as they’re in good condition, this is a project you can likely do yourself. But paying for labor will be pretty affordable, as well.

Remodel for Your Own Happiness

We’ve primarily considered your financial investment and return, but there’s certainly something to say about how a remodel can improve your quality of life and help you enjoy your home.

It’s hard to put a price tag on how much joy your home brings you.

After a full kitchen remodel, 90% of homeowners said they wanted to spend more time in their homes. 

Many housing professionals refer to this as the Joy Score – how happy homeowners are with a project scored on a scale of 1-10. Professionally updated kitchens consistently rank at 9.2 on that scale.

So if you’re considering a kitchen remodel, don’t put all your eggs in the financial basket. There’s a good chance your home will likely increase in value. But if you’re going to remodel the kitchen, do it for your own happiness. There are no guarantees on the resale front.