Q. Does a sunroom used as a family room add to the value of my home?
A. According to a recent report on housing in America, 46% of those surveyed want a sunroom. Adding one to your house gives it a desired addition. As to added value, based on reports from national remodeling surveys and internet-posted reports by real estate professionals, adding a room adds value to the home.
Wide variations exist in the percentage of cost or overall dollar amounts a room addition can add to an existing property for appraisal or sale but no one seems to disagree with the fact that, compared to a bath or kitchen remodel that can become outdated, a room addition’s square footage is there for the long haul.
Generally, the value of a room addition or other improvement to a home is expressed by real estate professionals and in national survey results in terms of either:
- the cost of the improvement versus value that can be expected from that investment or
- the overall increase in value of a property after the improvement is made.
The ‘cost versus value’ approach works to express the cost of the improvement in dollars versus the percent of that amount you might expect to receive back against its original cost.
In recent surveys that we have reviewed using this system, family room additions were seen as good bets for increasing value.
According to one report, family room additions in some major metropolitan areas returned in excess of 100% of the cost. In some other cities, the recovery rate was predicted to be lower than 100%.
There is a laundry list of variables attached to this approach as well as to the method of establishing an appraised or market value after a major improvement like a room addition.
One Thing Is Sure
Based on the information generally available for consumers to use as a guide, a room addition adds square footage to a home and that seems to be universally seen as a good road to take to value improvement.
If knowing the re-sale value for your home with a sunroom addition for family room use is part of your decision making, we recommend that you contact a certified real estate appraiser.
An appraiser will look at your sunroom addition plans relative to comparable homes in your neighborhood, the degree of finish you plan to include in your new room, the overall condition of your home, and other important factors.
Not all sunrooms are created equal so you may also want to have the appraiser:
- review information that you have about your contractor
- look at your plans for the room
- how you plan to heat and cool your new room
- how you plan to finish the floor
- lighting
- other custom features you may add
Knowing that the room is a built using quality products, will be custom designed for your home, have year-round usefulness and lifetime warranty benefits, and will provide a professional result can make an important difference in your appraisal.