Job cost, value at sale and the share recouped for each preset, and what your cost would add at each project’s ratio.
Project
National job cost
Value at sale
Recouped
Your cost adds
Garage door replacement
$4,672
$12,507
267.7%
$76,182
Entry door replacement (steel)
$2,435
$5,270
216.4%
$61,591
Manufactured stone veneer
$11,702
$24,328
207.9%
$59,163
Siding replacement (fiber-cement)
$21,485
$24,420
113.7%
$32,346
Minor kitchen remodel (midrange)
$28,458
$32,141
112.9%
$32,141
Siding replacement (vinyl)
$17,950
$17,313
96.5%
$27,448
Backup power generator
$13,534
$12,902
95.3%
$27,129
Deck addition (wood)
$18,263
$17,323
94.9%
$26,993
Deck addition (composite)
$25,096
$22,199
88.5%
$25,173
Grand entrance (fiberglass)
$11,754
$9,959
84.7%
$24,112
Bath remodel (midrange)
$26,138
$20,915
80.0%
$22,771
Window replacement (vinyl)
$22,073
$16,657
75.5%
$21,475
Roofing replacement (asphalt shingles)
$31,871
$21,501
67.5%
$19,199
Major kitchen remodel (midrange)
$82,793
$42,130
50.9%
$14,481
Pick a project and enter what you expect to pay. The value added is your cost times the share the report found buyers pay back for that project; choose Custom to use your own metro area’s figure or an agent’s estimate.
Estimates only — not financial, tax, or professional advice.
Calculated in your browser — the numbers you enter are never sent to our servers.
What it calculates: Value added at sale, Cost not recovered, Cost recouped, Home value after the project.
In the 2025 national averages, replacing a garage door costs $4,672 and adds $12,507 to the sale price, 268% of the cost. A steel entry door recoups 216% and manufactured stone veneer 208%. These are exterior replacements a buyer sees from the street before they see anything else, and they cost little next to the impression they make.
Value added at sale = your cost × (national value at sale ÷ national job cost) | Cost not recovered = your cost − value added
The big interior projects run the other way. A midrange major kitchen remodel costs $82,793 and adds $42,130, 51%; a midrange bath remodel recoups 80%; an asphalt-shingle roof 68%. Buyers value a finished kitchen, but far less than it cost to build, and a new roof is often simply expected.
An estimate of the sale price, not an appraisal
The report pairs typical construction costs with what real estate professionals estimate a project adds to the price if the home sells within a year. The 2025 edition used cost data from Verisk’s XactRemodel with survey responses covering 119 U.S. markets.
That makes it a consistent comparison between projects, which is what this calculator uses it for, rather than a promise about any one house. An appraiser pricing your home will look at comparable sales, and those may or may not reward the work.
Your cost is scaled by the national ratio, and that flatters premium work
The calculator multiplies your cost by the project’s national ratio of value to cost. That is fair when your scope matches the report’s, but it overstates the return on premium finishes: the report’s upscale major kitchen costs $164,104 and recoups 36%, against 51% for the midrange version.
So if your quote is well above the national cost for the same project, read the value added as a ceiling. The Custom option lets you enter a lower share to see how the numbers change.
Resale value is one reason to renovate, not the only one
A roof replacement recouping 68% can still be the right call: a failing roof can stall a sale or a mortgage approval entirely, which is a cost the percentage never shows. A backup generator recoups 95% before counting what it saves during an outage.
If you plan to stay for years, the value you get from living with the work counts for more than a sale estimate a decade away. The figures here are most useful when a sale is near, or when choosing between two projects with the same budget.
Sources & References
Figures on this page are checked against primary, authoritative sources. Links open in a new tab.
The value added is an estimate of what the project contributes to the sale price if the home sells within about a year of the work, as surveyed by the report.
Your cost is scaled by the national ratio, which assumes a similar scope and finish to the report’s specification for that project.
Where it stops
National averages hide wide regional differences; the report publishes figures for 119 metro areas, and a local agent’s view of your street matters more than either.
Value at sale is only one reason to renovate: comfort, energy savings, safety and repairs that buyers expect all count, and none of them is priced here.
Paying more than the national cost for the same scope does not raise the sale price in proportion; premium finishes usually recoup less.
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Results are estimates based on the figures you enter and standard formulas. Rates, fees, taxes, and lender terms vary and change over time, so confirm important numbers with your lender or a qualified professional. This is educational information, not financial advice.
Published the calculator with its formula, worked example, assumptions, limitations and bespoke sections, and added an automated formula test suite covering it.
Presets use the 2025 Cost vs. Value Report national averages for fourteen projects, read at the source on 2026-09-25; Custom takes a metro area’s own figure.
Tested that every preset reproduces the report’s published cost-recouped percentage and that the value added scales with the cost entered.
Show it to your clients, not just tell them
Mortgage brokers, accountants, and advisors embed this to walk clients through the numbers live — nothing they enter ever leaves their browser.