New Kitchen Return on Investment (ROI)
There are many theories on whether building a new kitchen is a worthwhile investment in your home’s value. Most claim that a kitchen remodeling returns more of your investment than other rooms when you sell but few claim that you’ll get all your money back. From our experience, investing in a kitchen must be based on many more factors than return on investment. Your new kitchen should change the way you live on a daily basis, for the better. In today’s fast moving work world, anything that enhances the quality of life and reduces stress has a value that is not measurable by conventional standards.
The value of your kitchen project as an investment is also highly dependent on where you live, the existing kitchen you’re upgrading or replacing, the lifestyle of your neighborhood and many other factors. If you live in an upscale city neighborhood filled with young professionals installing a high tech, glossy kitchen with stainless restaurant appliances and designer lighting may give your house the wow factor you need when you sell in such an area. The same kitchen in a suburban tract area filled with young families may not return the cost.
It may help to consider the cost of your kitchen in relation to the overall market value of your house. For our purposes, market value is defined as what an average buyer will pay for your house, not what you may believe it is worth. It probably doesn’t make sense to put a $50,000 kitchen in a $100,000 house even if you think you’ll be there forever. According to recent estimates the average American will move seven times in their lifetime so there’s no guarantee that your priorities now will be the same a few years into the future.
