Are We Pushing Renovations Too Far in Today's Tough Real Estate Market?
Gray Houghland • August 1, 2025
How to Determine How Much of Your House to Renovate
It definitely feels like Charlotte’s real estate market and, in fact, the housing market across the nation, is in a bit of a standstill right now. With interest rates high and affordability an issue for many buyers, people are hesitant to make a move. Sellers are reluctant to list their homes because they don’t want to give up their lower mortgage rates, while buyers are wary of paying a premium due to the higher rates.
This current market is leading to some difficult decisions regarding home renovations and additions. Unfortunately, these choices often do not lead to a strong long-term return on investment.
Given the challenges of finding a new home, many homeowners feel forced into renovating, and as a result, they’re not always making wise decisions. Often, they’re simply trying to do too much. This can create significant problems when they eventually try to sell.
For example, a $200,000 kitchen renovation in a $600,000 neighborhood is unlikely to recoup its cost upon resale. Another trend we’re seeing too frequently is the addition of a full second story above a small ranch-style home. The inherent limitations of those 1950s ranch floor plans are difficult, and sometimes impossible, to overcome.
Regardless of your specific housing challenge, we caution clients not to push their renovations too far. If the proposed solution doesn’t pass the “sniff test,” it likely won’t deliver a good ROI in the future.
To help clients think through this dilemma and avoid being driven to poor decisions by the current housing market, we recommend working with a team of professionals. Here are some key steps to take:
- Hire a real estate agent to perform a comparative market analysis (CMA) of your existing home. This will provide an estimate of your home’s current value. While online tools exist, their accuracy is often questionable, especially when the stakes are this high.
- Hire an architect to sketch out one or two design solutions that address your desired improvements.
- Hire a builder to provide a cost estimate for the proposed renovations.
- Hire the real estate agent (again) to run a new comparative market analysis based on your renovation plans.
- Compare the estimated increase in your home’s value to the cost of the renovation to evaluate the wisdom of your project.
Notice the word hire. In my opinion, all of these professionals should be compensated for their time, especially given the purpose of this exercise and the uncertainty of future work.
Armed with a market analysis, a design plan, and a cost estimate, you’ll be equipped with the data needed to make an informed decision. While this process may cost a few thousand dollars, it could save you from losing $100,000 or more on a poorly planned and illogical renovation.
In the past, such a thorough exercise may not have been necessary. The real estate market was fluid enough that homeowners weren’t often backed into corners. But today, with high construction costs and tighter market conditions, the risks are greater.
So, in the words of our parents: Do your homework… do your homework…
Great question! With so many design ideas floating around on Pinterest and Instagram, clients can easily feel overwhelmed. Architects play a crucial role in helping them cut through the noise and refine their vision. Here's how: 1. Theme - Instead of focusing on individual images, architects can guide clients to articulate the mood, function, and overall feel they want. A home isn’t just a collection of cool ideas—it’s a cohesive story. 2. Patterns - Architects can analyze what clients are pinning or saving to find recurring patterns: Are they drawn to open-concept layouts? Natural materials? Dramatic lighting? Spotting trends helps define their true aesthetic. 3. Feasibility - Not everything online translates well in real life due to budget, climate, or structural limitations. Architects can bring practicality to dreamy concepts—offering alternative solutions that achieve similar effects within constraints. 4. Reduce - Instead of presenting an overload of options, architects can curate a shortlist of ideas, helping clients rank priorities—what’s essential, what’s flexible, and what’s purely decorative. 5. Organize - Once ideas are refined, architects can create custom collections that synthesize the client’s style into a cohesive design direction, making it easier to explore options and then make decisions.
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Its time for all of US to step it up…
Houghland Architecture of Charlotte, NC Awarded Best of Houzz 2023 The annual people’s choice award recognizes professionals among the Houzz community who stand out in both talent and customer service Charlotte, NC February 15, 2023 – Houghland Architecture of Charlotte, NC has won a “Best of Houzz” award for Design on Houzz®, the leading platform for home remodeling and design. This is the tenth award Houzz has given the design firm and was chosen by the millions of homeowners that comprise the Houzz community from among more than 3 million active home building, remodeling and design industry professionals. Best of Houzz awards are given annually, in three categories: Design, Customer Service and Photography. Design awards honor professionals whose work was the most popular among the Houzz community. “Best of Houzz 2023” badges appear on winners’ profiles as a sign of their commitment to excellence. These badges help the more than 65 million homeowners and home design enthusiasts on Houzz to identify popular and top-rated home professionals for their projects. "We are thrilled to highlight incredibly talented and customer-driven pros from the Houzz community through the Best of Houzz awards," said Liza Hausman, vice president of Industry Marketing for Houzz. "At Houzz, we strive to support professionals from building their brands and attracting clients, to managing their business efficiently and profitably, and collaborating with clients. The Best of Houzz awards provide a distinctive mark of credibility for homeowners looking for pros on Houzz. We congratulate all the winners for everything they’ve accomplished in 2022 and look forward to seeing their work and positive reviews in the year ahead."
We are honored to announce one of our best clients, Chelsea Building Group, won the Home Builders Association of Greater Charlotte’s 2022 Major Achievement in Marketing Excellence Award for Best Product Design of an Attached Home for our duplex designs at Cityside West!
