By improvements, I meant things like finishing out a basement (thus adding more usable sq footage), kitchen/bath remodels, decks etc.
Maintenance, at least in my area isn't a large cost over the life of a house. In the last year we've replaced a roof ($8K), furnace/AC ($9K), and the water heater ($800). The water heater we've had to replace twice before, so in total we've had roughly $20K in maintenance costs since we purchased the house. We're getting to a point where we need to repaint both inside and out, and replace some carpet. Probably around another $10K for that. So $30k in maintenance over 18 years is pretty small potatoes.
I don't know that construction costs have gone up much more than the inflation rate; I do know that material costs have gone up in the last 18 months, but that should drop back down to "normal" in another year or so.
So would your house sell at a premium relative to a buying the land and having a new house built? If so, it's definitely appreciated, but that sounds like a very uncommon scenario!
It's hard to say. I don't know the permitting costs in my city, nor the costs for water/sewer hookups either. My house is nice, but nothing special for the area. Assuming a $125/sqft cost, a house like mine would be around $225K plus the lot ($70K) for a total of $295K. The only thing I've seen that might have helped the house appreciation is the completion of an elementary school in our neighborhood.
Maintenance, at least in my area isn't a large cost over the life of a house. In the last year we've replaced a roof ($8K), furnace/AC ($9K), and the water heater ($800). The water heater we've had to replace twice before, so in total we've had roughly $20K in maintenance costs since we purchased the house. We're getting to a point where we need to repaint both inside and out, and replace some carpet. Probably around another $10K for that. So $30k in maintenance over 18 years is pretty small potatoes.
I don't know that construction costs have gone up much more than the inflation rate; I do know that material costs have gone up in the last 18 months, but that should drop back down to "normal" in another year or so.