Should I remodel or move? How to decide

When your current home doesn’t meet your needs, you typically have two options as a homeowner – you can sell your house and buy a new one, or you can remodel your current home to make it work for your lifestyle. Both decisions involve major costs and present certain pros and cons that homeowners should weigh before going either route.

You might be wondering if all the construction and inconvenience of remodeling is worth it, or if it would be better to find a new place that suits your needs as-is. Below, you’ll uncover some information you’ll need to determine whether it’s best for you to remodel or move.

How do your goals impact whether you should remodel or move?

Determining whether to move or remodel requires a lot of thought. There’s no one right answer for everyone. When deciding whether you should stay or go, take an honest look at your situation and goals. Then ask yourself the following questions:

• Do I love where I live?
• Am I ready to tackle and manage a long project?
• Am I trying to save money?

Once you know your goals, it’s easier to figure out if it’s a better idea for you to move or remodel your home.

Reasons to move over renovate

First, let’s take a look at some of the potential advantages of moving to a new house rather than taking on a big overhaul of your current one.

You don’t have to live through construction

Remodeling your current home means not having full use of parts of your home for as long as it takes to complete the project.

If you’ve never lived through construction, know it can be tough. Dust may be everywhere, and if you’re tackling a big project, you’ll likely be without your kitchen or bathroom (or both) for an extended period of time. Trying to cook meals on a hot plate in the corner of a room can get old quickly. And because remodels can take anywhere from a few weeks to several months, you may find yourself doing this for longer than you’re comfortable with.

Moving can help you find characteristics you can’t renovate

If you wish your home was in a better neighborhood, had a bigger yard or was in a better school district, remodeling can’t fix that. When you move, you get the chance to start fresh. Pick a new neighborhood, move to a great school district or find a home with your dream yard.

Also, your home simply might not be the best option for a remodel, so moving makes more sense.

You can buy a turnkey home

If you don’t love the thrill of a new home improvement project, moving and finding a turnkey home is probably a better option. You can move in and not have to worry about spending your weekends at home improvement stores.

You won’t need to manage a renovation budget

While home improvement shows may make it look easy to stay on a renovation budget, the truth is you may end up spending more than you expect. In fact, one study by House Method found that 80% of home renovations went at least $500 over budget in 2022. Depending on the length of renovation and the complexity involved, managing your renovation budget can be a difficult and time-consuming activity.

Reasons to renovate over move

Selling a home and moving into a new one is also a big undertaking – not to mention a potentially emotional one. Let’s take a look at why remodeling or renovating your current home might make more sense than moving.

Renovating can be less expensive

While there’s no doubt that remodeling a house is expensive, we often forget the costs that come with selling our old home, buying a new one and moving; and these can be big costs. Aside from prepping your home to sell, you have to pay real estate agent commissions, sales and transfer taxes, closing costs on the home you buy and you have to pay to move from one place to another.

When renovating, you have the flexibility to pick and choose which projects you want to take on, which can provide you with more control over the money you’ll spend, as opposed to the mandatory costs of buying a house.

You can customize everything

When you remodel your home, you have authority over the design. You get to choose all of the finishes, decide where everything should go and pick every color. These decisions may overwhelm some people, but remodeling gives you that creative control if you want to choose everything in your home.

You don’t have to leave an area you love

Love your neighbors, your school and your street? When you choose to remodel, you get to stay and enjoy these highlights. Moving does give you an opportunity to start over, but why leave if you already love where you live?

Renovating can be faster than moving

Depending on where you live, finding your new home might be a time-consuming endeavor. In hot real estate markets where homes go quickly, you could spend months looking for just the right property. According to the National Association of REALTORS^®, the average home buyer spends 10 weeks looking for a home. Add to that the time it takes to find a buyer for your home, get through an inspection, go through the closing process, complete any necessary renovations and move in, and you may be able to save time by renovating instead of moving.

Is it cheaper to renovate or move?

The best way to figure out whether moving or remodeling would be more cost-effective is to get an estimate of what both scenarios would cost and determine if there’s a big difference. Let’s take a look at the finances behind both moving and remodeling.

Cost to sell your current home and buy new

When calculating the cost to sell your house and buy a new one, here are some of the expenses to factor in:

• Agent commissions: You’ll have to pay the people selling your home, and that can get expensive. Plan to spend around 6% of the sales price on agent commissions – 3% for each agent.
• Home repairs: What do you need to spend to get your home sales-ready? This process might include painting, landscaping and any repairs you’ve been putting off. If your home has serious issues that need to be addressed, they could cost quite a bit of money, depending on the type of repair.
• Costs of a new home: How much will your new home cost? Don’t forget to factor in a down payment as well as closing costs, which are typically 3% – 6% of the loan amount.
• Costs to move: How much is it going to cost to pack up your home and move everything you own to a new one? Hiring movers costs around $1,400 on average. If you’re moving a long distance, it’ll cost more.
• Updates to make before moving in: Even if you buy a home mostly move-in ready, you still might want to make small changes like getting it repainted, which will add to the total cost.

Cost to remodel

Alternatively, think about these major costs if you’re leaning toward a remodel instead of moving:

• Materials and labor: The largest chunk of the cost of your remodel is going to be buying the new materials and paying someone to do the work. Databases can provide average costs but getting a few quotes from professionals can help you with a better estimate.If you plan on remodeling your kitchen, for example, the average cost is around $25,000, most of which you’ll spend on materials and labor. This means the type of materials you use will largely determine your costs; high-end materials can very quickly increase your costs.
• Permitting: Depending on the extent of your remodel, you may be required to get a permit, which can add to your total cost (and time). Building permits cost in the $476 to $2,723 range, according to HomeAdvisor.
• Cost of financing: If you’re planning to borrow to finance your remodel, don’t forget to add in the costs of borrowing, such as closing costs and total loan interest. How much you’ll spend exactly will depend on the type of loan you get (common options include personal loans, home equity loans, VA renovation loans and cash-out refinances), the amount you borrow and your interest rate.
• Overage: Remember one of the risks of remodeling – you may have to go over budget. It’s wise to build a little cushion into your budget from the beginning.

Is it cheaper to renovate or move?

The best way to figure out whether moving or remodeling would be more cost-effective is to get an estimate of what both scenarios would cost and determine if there’s a big difference. Let’s take a look at the finances behind both moving and remodeling.

Cost to sell your current home and buy new

When calculating the cost to sell your house and buy a new one, here are some of the expenses to factor in:

• Agent commissions: You’ll have to pay the people selling your home, and that can get expensive. Plan to spend around 6% of the sales price on agent commissions – 3% for each agent.
• Home repairs: What do you need to spend to get your home sales-ready? This process might include painting, landscaping and any repairs you’ve been putting off. If your home has serious issues that need to be addressed, they could cost quite a bit of money, depending on the type of repair.
• Costs of a new home: How much will your new home cost? Don’t forget to factor in a down payment as well as closing costs, which are typically 3% – 6% of the loan amount.
• Costs to move: How much is it going to cost to pack up your home and move everything you own to a new one? Hiring movers costs around $1,400 on average. If you’re moving a long distance, it’ll cost more.
• Updates to make before moving in: Even if you buy a home mostly move-in ready, you still might want to make small changes like getting it repainted, which will add to the total cost.

Cost to remodel

Alternatively, think about these major costs if you’re leaning toward a remodel instead of moving:

• Materials and labor: The largest chunk of the cost of your remodel is going to be buying the new materials and paying someone to do the work. Databases can provide average costs but getting a few quotes from professionals can help you with a better estimate.If you plan on remodeling your kitchen, for example, the average cost is around $25,000, most of which you’ll spend on materials and labor. This means the type of materials you use will largely determine your costs; high-end materials can very quickly increase your costs.
• Permitting: Depending on the extent of your remodel, you may be required to get a permit, which can add to your total cost (and time). Building permits cost in the $476 to $2,723 range, according to HomeAdvisor.
• Cost of financing: If you’re planning to borrow to finance your remodel, don’t forget to add in the costs of borrowing, such as closing costs and total loan interest. How much you’ll spend exactly will depend on the type of loan you get (common options include personal loans, home equity loans, VA renovation loans and cash-out refinances), the amount you borrow and your interest rate.
• Overage: Remember one of the risks of remodeling – you may have to go over budget. It’s wise to build a little cushion into your budget from the beginning.

Should you remodel your home before selling?

If you’ve weighed the pros and cons and decided that selling your home and moving is the better option for you, you may wonder if it’s worth it to remodel it before you sell. Should you finally remodel your bathroom in the hopes that a prospective buyer will pay more?

It depends.

Keep in mind that not all home improvement projects provide a 100% return on investment, so you may not see the total cost of your remodel completely reflected in your sale price.

However, if you can take steps to make your home more competitive and attractive to buyers, those changes could be worth it.You’ll want to get with a real estate agent and dig deeper into the specifics for your area and home before making the final decision.

The bottom line: Run the numbers before deciding to move or remodel

Deciding whether to remodel or buy a new home is a personal decision that can be difficult to make. Give yourself enough time to do the research necessary to come up with the option that works best for you.

When you take an honest look at what’s involved in the remodeling process, you might decide you’d rather avoid all the trouble and just start shopping for a new home – especially if your current home would need extensive work to meet all your needs. On the other hand, if you’re more of a “home is where the heart is” person who can’t imagine parting with your place, the work and inconvenience involved with a remodel might be worth it.

If you decide to sell your home and buy new, connect with a Partner Agent through Rocket Homes^SM. They can guide you through the selling process and help you find the perfect home.