· by Michael Blair, Nashville's Remodeling
Return varies enormously by project, and the projects at the top of the most recent national estimates are not the ones people daydream about. Front doors and a closet renovation topped the cost-recovery estimates, ahead of kitchens and suites, and the work agents most often recommend before a listing is mostly paint and roofing.
Which renovations recover the most at resale?
According to NAR’s release on its 2025 Remodeling Impact Report, the projects with the highest cost recovery were a new steel front door at 100 percent, a closet renovation at 83 percent and a new fiberglass front door at 80 percent. Those numbers are estimates made by members of the National Association of the Remodeling Industry, not prices from actual sales. Where garage doors, siding or a modest kitchen refresh landed sits in the full report on NAR’s Remodeling Impact page, which we haven’t gone through, so we won’t guess at them here.
The same release lists what Realtors most often tell sellers to do before listing: paint the entire home (50 percent), paint a single interior room (41 percent) and put on a new roof (37 percent). Our own rule of thumb, and it is judgment rather than a measured figure, is that fixing something a buyer would flag is a safer place for the money than adding something new. A dated bathroom is a good example, and it’s the kind of job we take on as a standalone kitchen or bath remodel.
What returns poorly
We haven’t found a published recovery figure for a luxury kitchen or a one-of-a-kind feature, so treat this part as our opinion. The spending we’d be most careful with is high-end kitchen and bath work well past what the neighboring houses have, features chosen purely for personal taste, and turning a bedroom into a room that no longer counts as one.
There is a lending reason for that caution. Fannie Mae’s Selling Guide on adjustments to comparable sales says an appraiser’s adjustments must reflect the market’s reaction to the differences between houses, and if those adjustments are large enough to suggest the property may not conform to the neighborhood, the underwriter has to decide whether the value is adequately supported. A house that stands well apart from its street gives an appraisal more to explain.
- Front doors topped the 2025 cost-recovery estimates
- Paint and a new roof lead what agents suggest before listing
- Fix what a buyer would flag before adding a feature
- Stay within what the nearby sales can support
- Think hard before giving up a bedroom
Is there a ceiling on what a renovation can add?
Appraisers value a house against comparable sales, and Fannie Mae’s guide requires the value reached by that comparison to fall within the range of the adjusted sales prices of the comparables in the report. That’s the nearest thing to a written ceiling we know of. Money spent beyond what nearby sales can show is hard for an appraisal to carry, which is why we treat those sales as the practical limit on a project meant to pay for itself.
If your street is changing, with houses being enlarged or replaced, the sales an appraiser would lean on are changing with it. Before a large project like an addition or a whole-home remodel, it’s worth asking an agent which recent nearby sales would count as comparables for your house.
Enjoyment is a legitimate reason
Return matters most if you are selling soon. NAR’s 2025 Remodeling Impact infographic shows the projects people enjoy most and the ones that recover the most as two different lists: an added primary bedroom suite, a kitchen upgrade and new roofing each scored 10 out of 10 for joy, and none of them is among the top three for cost recovery. If you will be in the house ten years, a suite may be the better question to ask than a front door, and our post on adding a primary suite to a Nashville house covers what that involves.
Only 18 percent of the consumers in NAR’s release named getting ready to sell within two years as their reason for remodeling. Decide which kind of project yours is before you look at the numbers, and if you’d like a second opinion on that, book a free estimate with us.
Sources
- National Association of Realtors, Top Remodeling Projects for Homeowner Satisfaction and Cost Recovery Revealed in NAR Report (April 9, 2025) — Top cost recovery as estimated by NARI members: steel front door 100%, closet renovation 83%, fiberglass front door 80%; Realtors’ pre-listing recommendations (paint whole home 50%, one room 41%, new roofing 37%); 18% remodel to sell within two years
- National Association of Realtors, Remodeling Impact report page — Project-by-project cost recovery estimates are in the full report
- Fannie Mae Selling Guide B4-1.3-09, Adjustments to Comparable Sales (06/04/2025) — Adjustments must reflect the market’s reaction; large adjustments may mean the property does not conform to the neighborhood; indicated value must fall within the range of the adjusted comparable prices
- National Association of Realtors, 2025 Remodeling Impact Report infographic — Joy and cost recovery differ; 10/10 Joy Scores for an added primary bedroom suite, a kitchen upgrade and new roofing
FAQ
Which Renovations Return Their Cost — questions
Which home improvement returns the most?
In the 2025 Remodeling Impact Report from NAR and NARI, the highest cost recovery went to a new steel front door at 100 percent, a closet renovation at 83 percent and a new fiberglass front door at 80 percent. Those figures are estimates by NARI members rather than sale prices. Realtors in the same report most often recommended painting the whole house, painting a single room and a new roof before listing.
Does a high-end kitchen add value?
We haven’t seen a published figure that settles this for a Nashville house, so this is our judgment. Appraisers compare a house with nearby sales, and Fannie Mae requires the value they reach to fall within the range of those sales once adjusted. A kitchen far beyond what the neighboring houses have is hard for those sales to support, so the spending past that point is best justified by how much you will use it.
Is it worth renovating if I plan to stay?
Then return is the wrong measure. If you will be in the house ten years, the question is what you will use daily, and paying for a layout or a kitchen you actually want is a legitimate use of money regardless of resale. NAR’s 2025 report found that the projects homeowners enjoyed most were not the ones with the highest estimated cost recovery. Decide which project you are doing before looking at return figures.
Should you remodel your home before selling?
Mostly with paint and repairs rather than new features. In NAR’s 2025 report, the work Realtors most often recommended before listing was painting the whole house, painting a single room and a new roof. Our own judgment is that fixing what a buyer would flag is a safer use of the money than adding a new feature.