When approaching a residential remodel project, homeowners and professionals alike have a variety of options to prioritize depending on the space(s) involved and the anticipated value of the project in terms of increasing equity. While passion projects such as kitchen and bath remodels often require significant time and budgets, other opportunities take less investment and can prove to be more lucrative in recouping costs—including the use of manufactured stone veneer to enhance curb appeal.

According to the Remodeling 2020 Cost vs. Value report, manufactured stone ranks number one for providing the highest ROI (95.6%) nationally, bringing more money back into homeowners’ pockets than any other retrofit investment. The only other project with an ROI above 90% was garage door replacement, ranked second at 94.5% ROI at the national level.

Regional Results

Coast to coast, the addition of manufactured stone offers the highest ROI for all measured categories in five out of nine regions, including:

• an impressive 119.5% return in Pacific states (Alaska, California, Hawaii, Oregon and Washington)
• a 100% return in Mountain states (Arizona, Colorado, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, New Mexico, Utah and Wyoming)
• a 94% return in South Atlantic states (Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Maryland, North Carolina, South Carolina, Virginia and West Virginia)
• a 91.1% return in West South Central states (Arkansas, Louisiana, Oklahoma and Texas)
• an 88% return in East North Central states (Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Ohio and Wisconsin)

Manufactured stone’s top ranking is based on replacing a 300-square-foot continuous band of existing vinyl siding from the bottom third of the street-facing façade with manufactured stone veneer, sills, corners and address block, along with outlining the entry archway and adding a keystone and a soldier course on either side. This representative installation includes two separate layers of water-resistive barrier, corrosion-resistant lath and fasteners and a nominal ½-inch mortar scratch coat.

It’s All About the First Impression

Overall, exterior projects continue to dominate the results of the Cost vs. Value Study, securing a total of nine out of the top ten positions on both the 2019 and 2020 reports. Following manufactured stone and garage door replacement on the exterior, this year’s report ranks the following among the top 10:

• fiber cement siding replacement
• vinyl siding replacement
• vinyl window replacement
• wood deck addition
• wood window replacement
• steel entry door replacement
• composite deck addition
• asphalt roofing replacement

In terms of interior renovations, only minor kitchen remodels ranked as high, tied for third place with 77.6% ROI on the national level.

“The reason for high returns on exterior projects, and especially façade facelifts, stems from the valuations set by the real estate community,” Remodeling reported. “In order to make the best use of the Cost vs. Value tool, a remodeler has to think like a real estate broker. ‘Curb appeal’ and ‘first impressions’ are central to a real-estate professional’s estimation of resale value.”

To read more analysis and see results, including those broken down to metro area, visit the Remodeling 2020 Cost vs. Value portal on Remodeling’s website.

Cost vs. Value Report © 2020 Hanley Wood, LLC. Complete data from the Remodeling 2020 Cost vs. Value Report can be downloaded free at http://www.costvsvalue.com/.