Increased the value by $X? Oh heavens no, that's far too optimistic. You see, one of the joys of being a homeowner is that you have the option of improving yo

Increased the value by $X? Oh heavens no, that's far too optimistic. You see, one of the joys of being a homeowner is that you have the option of improving your house so it's better to live in...for you. That might mean granite countertops, or that shade of fuchsia you LOVE on the bathroom walls, or a hot and cold running Pepsi, or a built in movie theatre, or a library, or...well, whatever it is you, personally, like. We can assume that - unless you screwed up or got ripped off - that you personally value whatever improvements you make at more than their cost. "Wow, the main hallway is a halfpipe so I can practice my skate moves! I'd have paid $50k for that, but it only cost me $30k to have it built! SCORE!" But, human taste being what it is, the next guy probably doesn't value whatever you built as highly as you do. Pretty much everyone likes stuff like having a closet in every bedroom; that's why houses tend to have them. But not everyone really cares about having a mirrored ceiling in the kitchen (perfect for cake decoration!). The fact that every house doesn't have them is a good sign that most people value this "wonderful" feature as being less valuable than the cost to install it. Which is why, as a general rule, and with a few very specific exceptions, any improvement you make will always add less than $X to the market value. There's a few areas where you might be able to break even or even gain on the deal. If there's a gaping hole in the lounge, fixing that is probably worth it. Sure the next owner could fix it too, but you're going to have a hard time selling it like that. If you have vintage 1970s shag carpets and avacado wallapper, this might also be a good candidate. (Although you might luck into finding a buyer who'll pay more for the nostalgia value, I guess...) But everything else (and especially any remodelling of an otherwise perfectly functional kitchen or bathroom just to add nicer fittings, which is stupidly common mistake) is almost certainly going to lose you money if you're just looking to sell the house. If it costs $X, it will (almost) always add much less than $X to the market value.