2002 Cost Vs. Value Report: Family-room addition

2002 Cost vs. Value Report

Family-room Addition
“Anytime you increase space that’s centrally heated and air conditioned,” says San Antonio salesperson Pat Clay of Pat Clay, REALTORS®, “you increase the per-square-foot value of the house.”

Homeowners typically add a family room when their family has grown or because they’re dissatisfied with the configuration or size of their first-floor layout.

The attraction for buyers is not only space but also openness: Many times family rooms transition off kitchens, opening up the lower floor.

Columbus, Ohio, salesperson Mark Abbott, of Mark W. Abbott Realty, often sees such additions in the first-belt suburbs—“places where the homes are 50 years old or older, but the community has integrity, so demand keeps going up.”

At $52,251, our family room addition has a resale value of $41,514, or 79 percent of cost, when taken as a national average.

PROJECT DESCRIPTION

In a style and location appropriate to the style of the house, add a 16-by-25-foot room on a crawl space foundation with wood siding and a fiberglass shingle roof. Include drywall interior with batt insulation, prefinished hardwood floor, and 180 square feet of glass, including windows, atrium-style exterior doors, and two operable skylights. Tie into available heating and cooling.

Market	Job Cost	Resale Value	Cost Recouped
National Average	$52,251	$41,514	79%
Atlanta	46,636	42,664	91
Boston	58,537	69,732	119
Buffalo, N.Y.	50,571	29,300	58
Chicago	60,715	60,218	99
Cincinnati	51,966	31,500	61
Cleveland	54,955	42,489	77
Columbus, Ohio	49,996	16,250	33
Dallas	46,239	26,250	57
Denver	47,791	33,179	69
Detroit	53,623	40,478	75
Houston	47,498	31,300	66
Indianapolis	49,617	27,400	55
Kansas City, Mo.	51,001	32,088	63
Los Angeles area	59,665	69,102	116
Los Angeles	59,807	87,629	147
Orange County, Calif.	59,522	50,575	85
Miami	45,355	33,333	73
Milwaukee	55,099	46,806	85
Minneapolis	62,859	56,383	90
New Orleans	43,948	32,659	74
New York area	56,270	58,964	105
Passaic, N.J.	57,264	37,250	65
Nassau-Suffolk, N.Y.	59,522	56,404	95
Fairfield-New Haven, Conn.	52,024	83,238	160
Norfolk, Va.	39,892	29,100	73
Orlando, Fla.	45,366	25,579	56
Philadelphia	55,216	48,626	88
Phoenix	49,387	25,833	52
Pittsburgh	51,644	29,500	57
Portland, Ore.	51,931	34,500	66
Providence, R.I.	51,749	30,800	60
Sacramento, Calif.	59,066	41,250	70
Salt Lake City	44,668	24,280	54
St. Louis	56,284	33,500	60
San Antonio	44,669	23,667	53
San Diego	60,498	52,638	87
San Francisco area	66,696	73,070	110
San Francisco	66,696	84,000	126
Oakland, Calif.	66,696	62,140	93
Seattle	54,339	47,931	88
Tampa, Fla.	43,416	24,250	56
Washington, D.C., area	45,410	39,119	86
Washington, D.C.	47,884	65,000	136
Baltimore	45,194	29,856	66
Richmond, Va.	43,152	22,500	52