For the past several years I have been one of the local agents that has provided feedback to the national Cost vs. Value Report put together by the REALTOR(R) Association; there is a sister report by a builder’s association. This is a much anticipated yearly report that many use all year long to help in determining what projects to undertake on a house. This is true of traditional homeowner’s but also for those looking to do remodeling for profit (flippers). Today, a pre-release article came out in REALTOR(R) Magazine’s online version: http://www.realtor.org/RMODaily.nsf/pages/News2007101902?OpenDocument
According to the article there is downward trend in how much people get out of the remodeling projects that they take on. Part of this is due to a flattening market but cost vs. value is also impacted by the much higher costs of materials. I was just having this discussion with a friend (an escrow agent) the other day. She is having work done on her home and the cedar siding she was originally expecting suddenly was priced out of the contractor’s original bid because prices had recently gone up close to double.
I know I’ve been seeing the prices too as I am in the midst of my own remodel in a new home I’m in the midst of purchasing. For the most part we’ve been trying to choose environnmentally friendly and/or minimally impacting materials such as floor coverings in cork (renewable) and engineered hard wood (less waste and less wood required) with a water based finish (low toxicity).
