Every year, homeowners pour billions of dollars into improvements that don't move the needle at resale — and skip the ones that do. The 2025 Cost vs. Value Report from Zonda and Remodeling Magazine tracks exactly what buyers pay for and what they don't. The results might surprise you.
Here are the 5 best and 5 worst home improvements you can make — ranked by real resale ROI, with honest numbers so you know where to put your money and where to keep it in your pocket.
📊 ROI data sourced from the 2025 Zonda/JLC Cost vs. Value Report and Remodeling Magazine unless otherwise noted.
Quick Reference: ROI at a Glance
| Project | Avg. Cost | ROI at Resale |
|---|---|---|
| ✅ Garage Door Replacement | $4,672 | 268% |
| ✅ Steel Entry Door Replacement | $2,435 | 216% |
| ✅ Manufactured Stone Veneer | ~$11,000 | 208% |
| ✅ Minor Kitchen Remodel | $28,458 | 113% |
| ✅ Vinyl Siding Replacement | $17,950 | 97% |
| ❌ Major Kitchen Overhaul | $85,000+ | 38–51% |
| ❌ Bathroom Addition | $42,000 | ~56% |
| ❌ Inground Swimming Pool | $50,000–$100,000 | Negative in most markets |
| ❌ Sunroom Addition | $30,000–$75,000 | ~50% |
| ❌ Wallpaper Installation | $800–$1,200/room | Near zero |
✅ The 5 Best Home Improvements for Resale Value
Best #1
🚗 Garage Door Replacement
For the second year in a row, garage door replacement is the single highest-ROI home improvement in the country. A $4,672 investment returns over $12,500 in resale value on average. That's not a typo.
Why? Curb appeal. The garage door is often the largest visual element on the front of a home. A new insulated door modernizes the entire exterior instantly and signals to buyers that the home has been maintained.
This is one of the few projects where hiring a pro makes sense — installation is fast, and the labor cost is already baked into those numbers. That said, if you're replacing hardware, weather seals, or painting an existing door yourself, the ROI gets even better.
Best #2
🚪 Steel Entry Door Replacement
A steel entry door is the cheapest high-ROI project on this entire list. Under $2,500 in materials and installation returns over double that in resale value. It also improves energy efficiency, security, and first impressions — all things buyers care about.
A basic steel door with a polystyrene core blocks cold air far better than most wood doors, and it requires virtually zero maintenance. This is also a solid DIY project for a confident homeowner with basic tool skills.
Best #3
🪨 Manufactured Stone Veneer
Adding manufactured stone veneer to the front façade of a home — typically the lower portion — adds massive curb appeal at a fraction of the cost of real stone. At 208% ROI, it's one of only three projects in the 2025 report to break the 200% mark.
This one is harder to DIY but not impossible if you're comfortable with mortar work. The material itself is lightweight and designed for homeowner installation. A weekend project for an experienced DIYer, or a short hire for a mason if you want it done fast and clean.
Best #4
🍳 Minor Kitchen Remodel
The kitchen is the most important room in the house for buyers — but that doesn't mean you need to gut it. A minor remodel (cabinet refacing, new hardware, updated countertops, modern appliances, fresh backsplash) is the only interior project in 2025 to crack 100% ROI.
Key word: minor. Don't move walls. Don't change the layout. Don't go upscale on everything. Refinish or reface the cabinets, swap the countertops for quartz, and add a peel-and-stick or tile backsplash. The HomePro Hero channel has the full cabinet refinishing walkthrough — it's one of the highest-save videos on the channel for good reason.
Best #5
🏠 Vinyl Siding Replacement
Replacing 1,250 square feet of siding with new vinyl returns nearly 97 cents on every dollar spent at resale. It's also one of the lowest-maintenance exterior upgrades available — vinyl doesn't rot, doesn't need painting, and holds its color for decades.
This is typically a contractor job due to the scale and the need for proper moisture barriers and flashing. But if your existing siding is in poor shape, it's dragging down your home's value every day you delay.
❌ The 5 Worst Home Improvements for Resale Value
Worst #1
🍽️ Major Kitchen Overhaul
Here's the trap most homeowners fall into: they assume a full luxury kitchen remodel will pay for itself. It won't. An $85,000 upscale kitchen overhaul returns only 38–51% of that cost at resale. You could spend $85k and walk away with $32k in added value — burning over $50,000 in the process.
Buyers don't pay dollar-for-dollar for your taste in custom cabinetry or imported tile. They pay for functional, clean, and updated. A minor remodel (see Best #4 above) delivers the same buyer appeal at a fraction of the cost.
Worst #2
🛁 Bathroom Addition
Adding a bathroom sounds like a value play — more bathrooms, more value, right? Not at these numbers. A $42,000 bathroom addition returns roughly $23,000 at resale. You're losing nearly $19,000 before you even negotiate.
The better move? Update the bathrooms you already have. New fixtures, a tile refresh, a modern vanity, and fresh caulk can transform a dated bathroom for $2,000–$5,000 and deliver far better ROI than building a whole new one.
Worst #3
🏊 Inground Swimming Pool
A pool is the single most polarizing feature a home can have. In hot climates like Arizona or Florida, a pool may be expected. In the Midwest, Northeast, or UK, it actively shrinks your buyer pool. Many buyers — especially families with young children — view pools as a liability, not an asset.
Beyond ROI, pools add $3,000–$5,000 per year in maintenance costs and can increase your homeowner's insurance significantly. Unless you're in a warm market where pools are standard, this is money you will not get back.
Worst #4
☀️ Sunroom Addition
Sunrooms don't count as heated square footage in most appraisals, which immediately undermines their value. They're also expensive to build, expensive to heat and cool, and appeal to a narrow slice of buyers. Half your investment walks out the door at closing.
If you want outdoor living space, a quality deck or covered patio delivers similar enjoyment at a fraction of the cost — and with better buyer appeal.
Worst #5
🌸 Wallpaper Installation
Wallpaper is having a style moment — but what you love, buyers may hate. And wallpaper removal is one of the most miserable jobs in home renovation. Buyers know it. When they see wallpaper, they mentally factor in the time and cost to remove it, which works against your sale price.
The fix costs virtually nothing by comparison: neutral paint. A $75–$150 paint job in a warm white or soft gray delivers more buyer appeal than any wallpaper pattern at any price point.
The HomePro Hero Bottom Line
The pattern is clear: exterior, curb appeal, and cosmetic updates win. Over-personalized, luxury, and addition projects lose.
The projects with the highest ROI are almost all ones you can see from the street or in the first 30 seconds of walking through the front door. Buyers make emotional decisions fast, and they pay for first impressions.
Most of the best-ROI exterior projects on this list can be partially or fully DIY'd — which pushes the return even higher. A $2,435 steel door you install yourself becomes a $500 material cost with a 200%+ return. That's the HomePro Hero advantage.
Check out the HomePro Hero YouTube channel for project walkthroughs on many of the best-ROI improvements on this list — including cabinet refinishing, trim work, and curb appeal upgrades done on a real budget.
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