If you have the money, are doing the renovation to please yourself, and plan to live in the home for a long time, then the market conditions don't matter. If you're thinking of doing this to enhance the value of your house, then you really need someone who can advise you.

You can do comparables yourself. Look at real estate listings in comparable neighborhoods. Make a spreadsheet or just jot down notes. How much more do houses with the features you're thinking of adding sell for compared to those without them?

A lot of factors here. How long are you looking to live in it before selling? At this point with the real estate market slowing and will continue to slow, I personally would not spend it if you’re not willing to stay in it another 5+ years, unless you don’t care about getting some of the money back (you’ll most likely never get it all, regardless of the market). We did a whole home renovation, no walls removed or plumbing changed but everything else in 2018, and we spent approximately 50% of our home’s value at that time. We had no intentions of moving but knew we wanted to after our kids left the house (we did the renovations for ourselves to enjoy). It ended up working out for us, as we just sold it this year and “got back” all of the money we spent plus some. But it was just good timing - nobody has a crystal ball to tell you what will happen when and we sure as hell didn’t know Covid would hit and the market would go through the roof. Look at the comps in your neighborhood and look at your own personal picture and then make that decision.

K R - thanks for sharing your experience. We are not planning on moving baring any radical change to our lives. Certainly we will be here 5+ if we significantly expand our living space. Congrats on getting your investment back --- 50% of your home's value, wow! Comps in our neighborhood are difficult because its pretty eclectic. I think I will cold call a long established realtor in the area before we go to much further.

You never mentioned what the major renovation is.

Right, it depends what room, and what you are doing. For example, a full kitchen Reno will get less roi than partial. And bedroom Reno even less.

I'm only a fan of remodeling when I can do it for cash. I'm not a fan of refinancing or borrowing money for cosmetic changes. If the value of houses drops, you could owe more money than the house is worth.

If you plan to stay in the property for a long time and renovation is your top priority, it doesn't make sense to incur additional costs for an expert opinion. Home is the place where your comfort and peace lies, so go ahead and make it an ideal abode according to your taste and preferences.

It depends on many factors.

Where I live the housing marketing is still gang-busters, and house prices are rising as the influx of people continues to arrive here.

I am in the same situation as you, and I plan on renovating my latest house purchase. It will not be 50% of the home's value because I will do all the work myself, but should let me double my homes value in a few years time.

By then? Who knows, if the market slumps... even here... it should recover by then, and by then I will be ready to retire anyway, get rid of this extensive home, and buy a condo or something where I can live out my days in ease.