Family room additions are the gifts that keep on giving. During the lifetime of your mortage, you have access to a central space to share with your loved ones, and when it comes time to sell your house, there is a good chance that your improvements will have boosted the value of your property.
Family Room Additions: Information on Family Room and Additions
As the name probably implies, the family room is truly the center of your home, since it is where you unwind and relax with loved ones. If you do not already have an area in your house with a nice entertainment center, plenty of sunlight, and comfortable couches, you might consider a family room addition to help balance your home and potentially improve the resale value of your property. As with all major projects, however, proper budgeting and preparation are essential.
How Much Does a Family Room Addition Cost?
Not surprisingly, it depends on the family, home, neighborhood, and personal preference. For example, how many family members do you currently have or expect to have? Will this additional room go in the basement, first floor, or upper level? Do you have enough land to annex a room, or will your family room simply require knock down or erecting walls? Moreover, a large family room addition costs less per square foot than a small one, and a DIY project is usually cheaper than a contractor. All that being said, the national average cost for a family room addition hovers around $80K.
Resale Value of a Family Room Addition
Due to the depressed housing market, the resale value of your improvements is probably not going to be very high right now. Then again, the current market is not really a good indicator of whether or not to move forward. Firstly, the goal of any investment is to buy low and sell high, so it makes sense to make your improvements now when the market is down and labor is cheaper. Secondly, the resale value does not capture the full value of your family room addition. Remember that during the lifetime of your mortgage, you still get to use your family room. So even if the resale value of an $80K room goes down to $70K after 5 years, you will have spent only $10K for the use of a family room that you helped to design.
