A kitchen remodel or renovation is a great investment for any homeowner. For many, the kitchen is the heart of the home, where we spend time relaxing, preparing meals, and catching up with our loved ones. Kitchen remodels offer about an 81% ROI, meaning that if you spent $20,000, you’d get about $16,200 of it back when you sold your home.
But, while kitchen renovations and remodels will offer you a good return on investment, they don’t come cheap. Today, we’ll guide you through how much you should expect to pay for a kitchen remodel and renovation in 2024.
How much does a kitchen remodel cost in 2023?
How much a kitchen remodel costs depends on how much work needs to be done to get the results you want. The factors that impact the cost include:
- Do you want to change the layout (footprint) of the kitchen?
- Do you want to extend the room or change any internal walls?
- Do you want to use solid wood cabinets?
- What quality of materials do you want to use?
- Do you need or want all-new appliances?
Where you live will also have some impact on how much you pay. For example, Home Depot reports that the same kitchen remodel would cost $56,639 in Titusville, Florida, and $77,460 in San Francisco, California.
We can break down a kitchen remodel into 4 categories:
- Kitchen Renovation – $500 – $10,000
A kitchen renovation is any work you do to the kitchen that does not include replacing the kitchen cabinet carcasses (that’s the boxes that contain your shelves and drawers). This may include replacing the cabinet fronts, repainting or finishing them, repainting the walls, and so on.
Depending on the scale of your kitchen renovation, this could cost you just a couple of hundred dollars for some paint and a new backsplash or several thousand dollars for new cabinet fronts, appliances, paint, and flooring.
- Small Remodel – $7,500 – $25,000
A small remodel is often “small” due to the size of the room but is often small in scale too. You may have a relatively small kitchen or you may be looking at getting at some of the most budget-friendly cabinets. You may DIY all or part of the process. If purchasing all-new cabinetry, they are usually made from cheaper materials that will last 5 – 10 years before needing to be replaced. To keep the budget down, you’ll need to keep your appliances or choose budget models.
- Mid-Scale Remodel – $20,000 – $60,000
If you’re looking for a high-quality kitchen with or without a change to the layout and some higher-quality appliances, your kitchen remodel will cost somewhere in this ballpark. A kitchen remodel of this quality is the kind that will last for 20 years or so, provided it’s looked after.
- Large Remodel – $60,000+
A large remodel will cost a minimum of $60,000 for small kitchens (though very small galley kitchens can be done for less) and can be well over $100,000. This category encompasses large kitchen extensions, fully custom-built kitchens made from solid wood with premium countertops, and more.
How do you budget for a kitchen renovation or remodel?
The two most expensive aspects of any kitchen remodel are the cabinets and the floor, closely followed by the countertops. Let’s break down what you need to budget for:
- Cabinets (41%) – $2,000 – $30,000 or more
- Flooring (18%) – $1,000 – $10,000
- Countertops (14%) – $1,500 – $4,500 or more
- Appliances (5%) – $0 – $5,000 or more
- Lighting (5%) – $500 – $2,000
- Gas line (5%) – $250 – $900
- Electrical (4%) – $520 – $2,000
- Backsplash (4%) – $600 – $1,300
- Paint (2%) – $100 – $3,000
- Plumping (2%) – $1,500 – $15,000
As you can see, the costs quickly add up. While you can DIY a lot yourself, there are certain tasks you’ll need to leave to an expert.
How can I save money on a kitchen remodel?
Here are some ways you can give your kitchen a new look for less:
- Look for secondhand materials – you’d be surprised how many people move into a new home and immediately get the kitchen redone. That means that you can often buy a high-quality kitchen that’s been used for a few years at a big discount.
- Do some of the labor yourself – for every $10,000 you spend, you’ll spend about $2,500 on labor. So, if you’re handy with power tools, you can reduce your financial costs by doing any unskilled work yourself. Just remember that it will cost you in time investment.
- Avoid layout changes – Try to avoid moving the location of your sink and stove, as you’ll be able to save on gas line and plumbing costs.
Do I need to remodel my kitchen to sell my home?
Many homeowners getting ready to sell their homes realize that the current condition of their kitchen is going to be something that turns off many potential buyers. Perhaps some of the drawer fronts are coming off, or the countertop shows obvious signs of use, or it’s extremely out of date.
In most cases, it will not be worth the time and financial investment to remodel the kitchen before you sell. The average ROI on a kitchen is 81%, meaning you’ll still “lose” $4,000 of every $20,000. This may be negated if you also renovate the rest of the home, but of course, those renovations will also incur costs.
Kitchen remodels take 3 weeks to 3 months to complete, with more complex projects (or those you choose to DIY) taking the longest. This is time most people who want to sell do not have, bearing in mind most projects cannot start immediately.
Selling a Massachusetts Home in Need of Renovation
Selling a home that requires renovation isn’t as easy as selling a home that’s move-in ready and decorated to current trends, but it is often the fastest and most budget-friendly way to sell a home. Renovations are costly and time-consuming, and you can’t be sure you’ll get a good return on your investment, especially if the market takes a turn for the worse.
If you need to sell a Massachusetts home in “as-is” condition quickly, we’d love to hear from you. We buy homes in any condition for cash, meaning we can go from offer to closing in just a matter of weeks. To find out more about the process of selling to us, or to get started, click here.