A front porch offers a place to relax on summer and fall days, somewhere to put the grill and a built-in retreat if you need a breath of fresh air from feeling too cooped up in the house. However, if you're just adding a porch because you want to increase your home's value, you'll have to look at a few other factors before you determine whether the investment will pay off.
Dollars and Cents
As an example, a $10,300 deck addition to a home means an additional value of $8,800 added to the value of the home in 2007, according to the Chicago Tribune. Does that mean adding a porch to your home isn't worth the cost? Not necessarily. According to Parade Magazine, American homeowners tend to make back only 80 to 90 cents for every dollar they put into a home improvement project when they sell their home. However, a porch project could earn you much more depending on a few factors, such as location and the status of the homes around you.
Location
According to Parade Magazine, if you live in an area where the real estate market is good, making an improvement to your home could dramatically increase the value of your home. In fact, it is possible to actually make a few thousand dollars on your improvement project when people are looking to buy. However, if the real estate market in your area is not good, then your improvement could end up adding far less to your home. In this case, it might not be worth doing.
Neighborhood
If the homes in your neighborhood all have porches, then you might need to add a front porch to keep your home's value competitive. Parade Magazine notes that the trick is to make your home look just as nice, if not slightly better than, your neighbors' homes. However, having a vastly better home won't help matters much, the magazine reports. In addition, some improvements, like an extra bathroom, might be more profitable than a porch. Consult a Realtor to determine the best improvement for you.
Selling
A home's exterior is one of the most important factors in whether it gets shown and eventually sold. For this reason, a porch might be a good idea even if you don't live in an area where adding a porch is likely to add several thousand dollars to the value of your home.
References
Writer Bio
Miranda Morley is an educator, business consultant and owner of a copywriting/social-media management company. Her work has been featured in the "Boston Literary Magazine," "Subversify Magazine" and "American Builder's Quarterly." Morley has a B.A. in English, political science and international relations. She is completing her M.A. in rhetoric and composition from Purdue University Calumet.