7 min read · Last updated July 27, 2026

In this article

– The one report that ranks remodels by what you get back – Only five of 28 projects return more than they cost – The same budget, run both ways – Why this matters more in a cooling market – What the percentages do not tell you – Frequently asked questions

A couple in suburban Ohio planning to list next spring set aside $19,000 and assumed it should go into the kitchen, because that is what everyone told them buyers care about. The national remodeling return data disagrees. That same money spent on a garage door, a steel front door, and stone veneer on the front elevation would leave them roughly $19,600 better off, on a job costing $9,600 less.

That is a genuinely counterintuitive result, and it holds year after year in the same dataset. The projects homeowners are most excited about are usually the ones that give back the least.

The one report that ranks remodels by what you get back

The reference point here is Zonda’s Cost vs. Value report, now in its 38th annual edition, published September 18, 2025. It prices 28 remodeling projects across 115 local markets and pairs each average job cost with the resale value real estate professionals assign to that project.

The report’s own headline finding, in the release announcing it, is that 8 of the top 10 projects are exterior replacements. Clay DeKorne, chief editor of Zonda’s JLC Group, framed it directly: exterior replacement projects remain the clear winners for adding resale value, while large interior remodels often lack the appeal to earn comparable returns.

Note what “cost recouped” means, because the phrasing trips people up. A 267.7% figure does not mean the project pays you 267.7% in cash. It means the resale value attributed to the project is 267.7% of what the project cost.

Only five of 28 projects return more than they cost

Here is the top of the ranking, with the report’s national average job cost, the recouped percentage, and the resale value that percentage implies.

Rank	Project	Average job cost	Cost recouped	Resale value added
1	Garage door replacement	$4,672	267.7%	$12,507
2	Steel entry door replacement	$2,435	216.4%	$5,269
3	Manufactured stone veneer	$11,702	207.9%	$24,328
4	Fiber-cement siding replacement	$21,485	113.7%	$24,428
5	Minor kitchen remodel, midrange	$28,458	112.9%	$32,129
6	Vinyl siding replacement	$17,950	96.5%	$17,322
7	Backup power generator	$13,534	95.3%	$12,898
8	Wood deck addition	$18,263	94.9%	$17,332
9	Composite deck addition	$25,096	88.5%	$22,210
10	Fiberglass grand entrance	$11,754	84.7%	$9,956

Read the sixth row carefully, because it is the real lesson. Vinyl siding, ranked sixth out of 28, recoups 96.5%. Since the list is ordered by return, every project below it returns less than it costs. Only the top five clear 100%, and three of those five clear it by a wide margin.

The minor kitchen remodel at number five is the only interior project in the top group, and even it lands at 112.9%.

The same budget, run both ways

Now put a real budget against it. A homeowner has $19,000 to spend before listing.

Option A, the kitchen. A minor midrange kitchen remodel averages $28,458, which is $9,458 over budget before a single surprise. At 112.9% recouped, it adds about $32,129 in resale value. Net gain over the cash spent: $3,671.

Option B, the top three exterior projects. A garage door at $4,672, a steel entry door at $2,435, and manufactured stone veneer on the front elevation at $11,702 come to $18,809, just under budget. Their combined resale value is $12,507 plus $5,269 plus $24,328, or about $42,105. Net gain over the cash spent: $23,296.

That is a $19,625 swing, and Option B costs $9,649 less to execute.

Against a $19,000 budget	Option A: minor kitchen remodel	Option B: top three exterior projects
Cash cost	$28,458	$18,809
Resale value added	$32,129	$42,105
Net gain over cash spent	$3,671	$23,296
Fits the budget?	No, $9,458 over	Yes, $191 under
Best for	An owner staying several more years who wants to use the kitchen, not sell it	An owner listing within a year who wants the largest return per dollar

Substitute your own quotes for the national averages. Contractor pricing varies widely by market, and the report itself publishes figures for 115 individual metros. What travels is the ranking, not the exact dollar amount.

Why this matters more in a cooling market

Three or four years ago a low-return project got bailed out by price appreciation. That cover is thinner now. The National Association of Realtors reported a median existing-home price of $440,600 in June 2026. Sales ran at a 4.09 million annual pace, down 2.4% from the prior month, with 4.6 months of inventory on the market.

More inventory means buyers have alternatives. They are comparing your house against others on the same street. In that market, the projects that photograph well and show well from the curb do double duty. They add measured resale value, and they get the showing booked in the first place.

What the percentages do not tell you

Three honest caveats before you spend anything.

These are national averages. Your metro, your contractor quotes, and your neighborhood’s price band will all move the numbers. The report publishes market-level data for exactly this reason.

Recouped value assumes you sell reasonably soon. A garage door installed today and sold in eight years is a garage door with eight years of wear on it, not a fresh selling point.

And “resale value” in this report is value estimated by real estate professionals, not a guaranteed increase in your sale price. It is a strong directional signal about what buyers reward. It is not an appraisal.

If your project list runs beyond curb appeal, check it against the things that reliably do not pay back, in home renovations that don’t add value and kitchen remodel ROI. If you are weighing a larger structural project instead, compare a finished basement against a room addition first. And whichever project you pick, confirm the paperwork, because unpermitted work surfaces at closing. We cover that in the permits most homeowners skip.

Frequently asked questions

Which home improvement adds the most value? Garage door replacement, by a wide margin. Zonda’s 2025 Cost vs. Value report puts it at 267.7% of cost recouped on an average national job cost of $4,672. A steel entry door replacement is second at 216.4% on $2,435, and manufactured stone veneer is third at 207.9% on $11,702. All three are exterior replacements.

Does a kitchen remodel pay for itself? A minor midrange kitchen remodel does, barely. It recoups 112.9% at an average cost of $28,458, making it the only interior project in the report’s top five. The problem is scale: it costs six times what a garage door costs to return a much smaller multiple, so the same money spread across exterior projects produces more value.

Why do exterior projects return more than interior ones? Because they set the buyer’s first impression and they are replacements rather than reinventions. A buyer can see a new garage door and a new front door from the street and price them instantly. Interior remodels are judged against personal taste, and a buyer who dislikes your tile does not credit you for the cost of installing it.

Should I renovate at all before selling? Only where the return is clearly positive and the work is visible from the curb. Based on the current report, that means the top five projects. Anything ranked sixth or lower returns less than it costs, so on those the better move is usually to price the house accordingly and let the buyer choose their own finishes.

How current is the Cost vs. Value data? The 38th annual edition was published September 18, 2025 and covers 28 projects across 115 markets. Zonda has released this report in September in recent years, so the next edition is expected around September 2026. Ignore any figure labeled a 2026 report before then, and use current contractor quotes from your own market rather than the national averages for budgeting.