[Too_Many_Tools]

In my opinion, it is worth a lot to someone like me and would be a
deciding factor if I were looking to relocate.

Here is an article that attempts to quantify the return on some home
improvements...

What would you say a home shop would be worth?

TMT

Value of home remodeling projects fall
By Linda Stern | Reuters - 2 hrs 25 mins ago



WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Thinking of a home renovation? Smaller might be
better. Adding a sweet sunroom or luxe master suite sounds great, but
don't expect to recover the costs anytime soon.

On average, U.S. homeowners who made home improvements in 2011 only
picked up 58 cents in home equity on their remodeling dollar,
according to the Cost versus Value survey released on Thursday by
Remodeling Magazine. That's down sharply from the 2005 peak, when a
new project immediately earned back 76 percent of its cost in higher
home prices.

Homeowners who do less costly replacement projects do slightly better
at recouping their costs than do those who spend big bucks on
additions and new construction, with projects like replacement roofs
and front doors earning 64 percent of their costs back in resale
value. Remodeling projects earn back 57 percent, on average.

"The numbers are telling us that price is becoming a more and more
important determining factor," said Sal Alfano, editorial director for
Remodeling Magazine. "People are doing the things they have to do,
rather than the more discretionary projects."

The average home improvement project cost $44,734 in 2011;

that's down slightly from the $45,593 figure for last year. But resale
values fell more, producing a 3 percent decline in the cost-value
ratio.

The good news for homeowners is that all of those projects continue to
get more affordable, as contractors keep cutting their prices to stay
busy during the ongoing housing slump.

"There is so little new construction," Alfano said. "When commercial
and new construction drop out of the picture, that leaves remodeling.
The competition is there and they are sharpening their pencils."
Prices for materials have remained pretty constant, he said.

Alfano told Reuters that he thinks the slump in home remodeling might
be bottoming out. "We think it might start to pick up at the end of
2012, and 2013 is where we are expecting a much stronger growth rate."

The most popular projects tend to be ones that are more easily
affordable, like replacing a garage door or replacing windows with
more energy-efficient ones, said Alfano. Also popular are projects
that add space without increasing the footprint of a house.

The project with the highest cost-to-value ratio on the list for 2011
was a mid-range replacement of the front door (with, say, a 20-gauge
steel door). That cost an average of $1,238 and raised the average
sales price of a home by $903, or 73 percent of the project's initial
cost. But homeowners who upgraded their front door to an upscale
fiberglass door spent more -- $3,536 -- yet saw, on average, an
increase in home value of only $1,990, or 56.3 percent.

Another project with a relatively high cost-to-value ratio was adding
an attic bedroom. Across the U.S., the average cost for that project
was $50,148, but it added $36,346 to the average selling price of a
house, allowing the homeowner to recoup an average 72.5 percent of the
project's cost. Perhaps, Alfano suggested, that was because there is
greater emphasis on multi-generational living, and people are seeking
additional bedrooms to house their elderly parents or their returning
adult children.

Replacing cabinet doors, spiffing up the hardware and putting in new
appliances costs an average of $19,588 and raises home values by
$14,120, or 72.1 percent, according to the survey.

Upscale kitchen remodeling is less rewarding, however. It cost an
average of $110,938 to do a full-fledged upscale new kitchen, but that
only raised home values by about $63,731 or 57.4 percent.

What about those sought-after man caves? A mid-range basement remodel
costs $63,378 on average, and raised a home's value by 66.8 percent,
or $42,228, in 2011, the survey found. And decks remained pretty
popular; adding a wood deck cost an average of $10,350, but raised
home resale values by 70.1 percent, or $7,259.

Of course, homeowners usually don't go through the hassle and the dust
of a major renovation project just to sell their home, and if they're
trying to decide whether to do a big project, the resale value
shouldn't be the determining factor of a project, Alfano said..

Families should decide how long they want to stay in the home and
whether the new project will improve their lives enough to justify the
expense. For example, if it's going to cost an average of $83,118 to
add a basic family room, and the resell value of that project is just
60.2 percent or $50,004, that means they can expect to spend $33,114
that they will never recoup on that family room. If they think they
are going to stay in the home for 10 years, they can think in terms of
whether or not $3,311 is an affordable and reasonable amount to spend
every year for the pleasures of the extra space.

Put that way, it almost makes the spa room addition seem sensible.

(Editing by Beth Gladstone and Carol Bishopric)