This math doesn't, generally, lead to an accurate understanding of market value -- but sometimes it is how homeowners start to think about market value...

$250,000 - how much I paid for the house last year

$10,000 - cost of my kitchen remodel

$8,000 - cost of replacing my roof

$4,000 - cost of replacing the carpet in all bedrooms

$2,000 - painting all interior walls

$3,000 - landscaping updates

$2,000 - replacing some of the kitchen appliances

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

$279,000 - the new value of my home this year

Is this home (as described above) now worth $279K?

Maybe -- but if so, it is not likely a direct result of only the $29K of improvements -- but perhaps market improvements as well.

Basically, the cost of most home improvements do not directly increase the value of your home by the amount you spent to make the improvement.

If a home with an older kitchen is worth $250K -- and you spend $10K on a new kitchen -- your home might be worth $255K or $257K -- but not necessarily $260K.

The same goes for almost all improvements you might make to your home - and in some ways, the less someone thinks about a home improvement on a daily basis, the less impact it is likely to have on value.

If you owned a $250K house with an older but not leaky roof yesterday, and you spend $10K on a new roof today, your home is not likely to be worth $260K tomorrow.

So, what then, does this mean for homeowners?

Thinking about making a home improvement but not sure if you should move forward with it based on how long long you might own the home?  Feel free to touch base with me to discuss the decision.