What recovers at resale per NAR's 2025 report, and what a nine-inch-rain, wildfire-code, gear-heavy town changes about the list. No invented cost ranges.
Renovation advice written for the whole country does not fit a high-desert town where it rains nine inches a year, the sun is strong, winters are cold, and new homes now carry a wildfire code. This guide uses the National Association of Realtors' 2025 Remodeling Impact Report for what projects recover at resale, and Central Oregon's own conditions for what matters here. We do not print cost ranges. Contractor pricing here changes too fast for a page to carry it, and a quote is a phone call.
What the national data says
NAR's 2025 report, published April 2025, estimates the share of project cost recovered at resale for twelve interior projects. The top of the list is a new steel front door at 100%, a closet renovation at 83%, a new fiberglass front door at 80%, new vinyl windows at 74%, new wood windows at 71%, and a basement conversion at 71%. In the middle are an attic conversion at 67% and both a minor kitchen upgrade and a complete kitchen renovation at 60%. At the bottom are adding a bathroom at 56%, a new primary suite at 54%, and a bathroom renovation at 50%.
The lesson is consistent with what we see in Bend showings. Projects that change the first impression, the door, the windows, the entry, recover the most. Big interior rebuilds recover about half to two-thirds of what they cost. No project in the report recovers more than it costs except the steel door, so a renovation is a decision about living in the house, with resale as the second consideration.
What Central Oregon changes
Water. Bend's annual precipitation normal is 9.11 inches, per NOAA's 1991 to 2020 station normals for Bend. Lawn is an irrigation bill. Drought-tolerant landscaping with drip irrigation and native plantings reads as maintained, costs less to run, and photographs well in July. It also pairs with the defensible-space work below.
Temperature swing. The same NOAA normals put July's average high at 82 degrees and January's average low at 24. Windows, insulation, and a heat pump that handles both seasons are the efficiency projects that matter here, and the window projects sit high in NAR's recovery list.
Wildfire. New homes in Bend, Sisters, and Deschutes County are built to Oregon's R327 wildfire code as of spring 2026. On an older home, a non-wood roof, ember-resistant vents, and a noncombustible five-foot zone around the foundation do two things at once: they lower the insurance question a buyer will ask, and they are what the insurer will ask about. Our wildfire code guide covers the rules.
Garages and gear. Buyers here arrive with bikes, skis, boats, and trailers. A finished, organized garage or a shop is a Central Oregon selling point that national data does not measure. RV parking on the east side is another.
Before listing versus for living
If you are selling inside a year, do the projects buyers notice from the door and skip the rest. Paint, the front door, cleaned and repaired decks, working systems, and a landscape that looks tended. Our pre-listing checklist separates the fixes that change the price from the ones that only change the photos. If you are staying five years or more, do the projects you want to live with, in the order that fixes water intrusion, systems, and the envelope before finishes.
Projects that rarely pencil at resale here
- A pool, in a town with a short swim season and a long freeze.
- A high-end kitchen in a mid-price neighborhood, where the comps cap what a buyer will pay.
- Removing a garage bay for living space.
- Any addition that needs a variance or crosses a setback, which stalls at the permit desk.
Accessory dwelling units
Bend allows accessory dwelling units on most residential lots, and the state's middle housing rules widened what a lot can hold. Oregon's House Bill 2001 and middle housing in Bend covers the rules. An ADU adds rentable space and appraises on comparable sales with ADUs, which are still thin in many districts, so build it for use first and value second.
Questions
Which renovations add the most value at resale?
Per NAR's 2025 Remodeling Impact Report, a new steel front door recovers 100% of cost, a closet renovation 83%, a fiberglass front door 80%, and vinyl windows 74%. Kitchen upgrades and full kitchen renovations recover about 60%, and bathroom renovations about 50%.
Does a kitchen remodel pay for itself in Bend?
Not at resale. NAR's 2025 report puts both a minor kitchen upgrade and a complete renovation at about 60% cost recovery. A kitchen is a decision about living in the house, with a partial return when you sell.
What projects matter specifically in Central Oregon?
Drip-irrigated, drought-tolerant landscaping in a nine-inch-rain climate, windows and insulation for a 24-degree January low and 82-degree July high, a non-wood roof and ember-resistant vents for wildfire and insurance, and a finished garage or shop for the gear buyers bring.
What should I do before listing?
The projects a buyer notices from the door: paint, the front door, decks, working systems, and a tended landscape. Skip the big interior rebuilds inside a year of listing. They recover half to two-thirds of cost.
Is a pool a good investment in Bend?
No, at resale. The swim season is short and the freeze is long, and buyers here price the maintenance, not the feature.
Next step
Value my home before you renovate for sale, and we will tell you which projects move the number on your street and which do not.
Matt RyanOwner & Principal Broker at Ryan Realty.
