Attic Insulation Gets You a 107.7% Return on Investment

We often update our homes to make ourselves more comfortable or happy. We switch up paint, change out hardware and maybe even tear down a wall or two. But, when it comes to resale value, not all of those things are worth it. So, before you retile the bathroom or paint your kitchen cabinets, there’s one thing that you should consider doing first. It’s one of the only projects that will actually pay you more than what you put in.

Each year Remodeling Magazine’s Cost vs. Value Report compares the average cost of common remodeling projects with the value those projects retain at resale. Cool right? It’s like a Magic 8 Ball, but with a lot less guesswork.

The results are pretty consistent year after year, and one of the most valuable improvements you can make is loose-fill attic insulation, which gives you a 107.7% return. How boring right? It’s one of those grown-up purchases that isn’t exactly fun, because you don’t get to see it every day and gaze upon it with joy. It may not compare to a newly remodeled bathroom, or a freshly tiled backsplash in the kitchen in your eyes, but, it does lower bills in the short term (yay for you) and means money in the pockets of future buyers as well. So, it’s an attractive proposition.

This is in keeping with overall home improvement trends. The most valuable projects aren’t the high profile, high gratification ones that are fun to do. Instead, they are the practical things that keep out wind and cold air. (The next best return was a new steel front door.) So it looks like, more than anything, we all want to be warm, safe and secure. Is that so much to ask for?

If you want to check out all the other repair projects and the returns they yield, you can do so here.