Home Improvement

Mavrakis said that home sales have been slow, with many houses selling below their asking prices, and more people are asking whether they're better off renovating or moving than in recent years.

One thing's for sure: Cost-free projects, such as those seen in 2005, when a midrange bathroom remodeling returned 102.2% of its cost, are a thing of the past.

Isabella Scott, a realtor with Caldwell Banker in Boca Raton, Fla., urges homeowners who are considering putting their homes on the market to think small. "People don't want to overpay right now," Scott says, "and you're not necessarily, by putting a new kitchen in, going to get your money back on that."

Instead, she recommends replacing appliances, or installing new flooring and repainting. "Good condition is more important" than a big capital investment right now, she says.

Coming up next: Stage your home for a sale.