College Station home remodels are in your favor.

College Station home remodels are in your favor.

It’s a good time to be a homeowner in College Station and Bryan and a great time to consider remodeling a home you love.

Remodeling decisions may hinge on considerations that are more about the value of your home as a place—that perfect backyard oasis, a warm and welcoming neighborhood, and the great memories your house elicits—than about its value as an asset. However, homes are significant financial investments that require careful protection. As a homeowner, you will want to inspect your investment annually to avoid any degradation . You may also wish to reinvest in your home to keep it fresh and updated.

The good news: our local real estate market is in great health. It’s a great time to remodel and recoup a significant percentage of your costs.

Typical home values strong and getting stronger

Working with our friend Randal Allison, a Keller Williams real estate agent, we examined a few trends in College Station and Bryan for homes similar to the majority of our remodeling clients’. Those are homes:

  • Built between 1955 and 2005;
  • Valued at $250,000 or more;
  • That have at least three bedrooms and two baths; and
  • Are a minimum of 1,800 square feet.

We reviewed 2016 sales and found 220 homes in College Station and 56 homes in Bryan that fit the criteria. The average price of the College Station homes was $349,147 and averaged $309,721 for the Bryan homes. College Station averaged $130.85 per square foot with a maximum of $227.64 per square foot.

The current values for a few of our neighborhoods are below.

 Home trends occurring in College Station. Home trends occurring in College Station.

Lowering price per square foot may mean lowering quality

Although these are interesting statistics and encouraging for homeowners, it’s important to keep the dollar figures in context. Price per square foot is the primary measure that most home-buyers use to evaluate a home purchase. This is a bad way to calculate value.

To get a home’s cost per square foot down, quality is compromised. A quality fixture or appliance will last longer, work better, and reduce operating costs when compared to “builder grade.” Quality options, not price per square foot, is where the real value in a home is found. If you amortize your investment over the next 10, 20 or even 30 years, you will find that an initial investment in quality work and products is much cheaper in the long run.

Price per square foot is also not very useful when considering remodeling. The price per square foot for remodeling a kitchen or bathroom with tile, cabinets, countertops, plumbing and extra electrical work is very different than the square foot price for remodeling a simple bedroom, for example. We invite you to read further on why we think using price per square foot (look up link) alone to calculate a home’s value is unwise.

 Great time to remodel in College Station and Bryan

Overall, the trends shared by our friend Randal Allison means that the homes of our typical College Station and Bryan remodeling clients are increasing in value. They are still very much sought after, making it a great time to consider remodeling and reinvesting in one of your largest assets.

For more information to help you consider your next remodeling project, check out Remodeling Magazines Cost vs. Value for more information.