The annual Cost vs. Value Report from  Remodeling Magazine  is a general guide to specific project costs and the amount those projects should add to a home price, if the house is sold a year later. If sold more than a year later, a greater percentage of the remodeling cost should be recouped.

Remodeling isn't cheap, yet it is one of the few products or services that actually yields some kind of return: value added to the home.

Many factors determine what homeowners can expect to recoup from their remodeling investment:

• the value of the home,
• the value of similar homes in the neighborhood,
• the rate at which property values in the neighborhood and the area are rising,
• and the quality of the design and construction performed by the remodeler.

In a neighborhood experiencing a rapid run-up in property values, the return could well be higher than these averages.

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