So here’s the scenario I’m sure you are in. You and your wife stumbled upon a little extra cash this year - maybe a tax refund, some savings, a bonus at work, or your great aunt’s inheritance. Now, immediately, your wife’s brain went straight to remodeling that 1970s-style bathroom. You know the one with the yellow walls, bronze fixtures, and fuzzy toilet seat cover. Tie-dye sold separately. Now, of course, you agree that the bathroom is in definite need of an upgrade, but your mind jumps to something even better, you think - let’s refinish the basement and add a home gym.
What better way to honor your late, great aunt than to get some great strength training in in remembrance of her? I mean, she probably loved your bathroom just the way it is - honestly, probably reminds her of her younger years. In fact, you argue, she would be distraught that her inheritance was spent to fix such beauty.
So that’s it, it’s settled. Home gym it is. But, then. Your wife pulls up a Zillow report, stating that bathroom remodels are among some of the best remodels for increasing home value, averaging about 70% return on investment. You’re scrambling. You’re dream is up in the air. What on earth should you do??
Well, luckily for you, we knew you’d need an article just like this one.
So sit back and take notes. Here are some key points as you hope to persuade your wife back towards that iron paradise.
Let’s start with the financials.
Positive or Negative ROI?
Okay, let’s get right to it.
Our question is, “Do home gyms increase home value?” Well, as with almost all of life’s great questions, it depends.
So let’s go through probably the three biggest factors your ROI hangs on.
#1) The Buyer
I think this is probably the biggest one.
I’ll use myself as an example. I currently live in a townhome. However, before my wife and I purchased our townhome, we were really hoping for a garage or basement to build a home gym. Our dream was a detached garage, but that was out of budget.
We were dreaming and hoping to score a property with the space for a serious home gym - you know, barbell, squat rack, dumbbells, cardio machines, weight stack machines, and any other goodies we’d acquire over time.
The unfortunate thing is that we didn’t find that property. We love our home now, but that is something I think about often and is extremely high on our list for our next home.
For us, a home gym space would have been a massive selling point, not to mention if the home gym was finished and beautiful. Shoot, I might have skipped the due diligence period and closed that day.
Now, contrast that with one of my buddies.
His love of the gym is non-existent. He goes solely because it's good for him, and even that is not enough some days. His current program was written by another one of my buddies and has him working out for 20 minutes/day for 5 days a week - primarily through compound lifts. Side note - for the amount of time, he is actually getting decent results. His focus is on the minimum amount, and he couldn't care less about gym goals.
So, if he’s looking for a home, the chances that he would consider paying more for a home because it has a home gym are about as good as him staying in the gym past an hour - non-existent.
The buyer profile is really something that makes the ROI so interesting. So, take, for instance, a kitchen or bathroom remodel. In these instances, almost everyone can appreciate a good remodel. They are much more universal, for the most part. (Maybe don’t mention this part to your wife, it may actually hurt your case.)
But what makes a home gym remodel interesting is that some buyers couldn't care less and actually find it a turnoff, while the right buyer will be enthralled. The key here is to get at least two fitness enthusiasts in a bidding war. I’m thinking you ditch the typical open house showing and instead have an open gym session, pull out all the stops - protein shakes, pre-workout, the whole nine yards. That house will be sold before the pre-workout kicks in.
#2) The Home Gym
This one is critical.
I’m sorry, but NOT ONE person is paying extra for a home because it has a treadmill, a yoga mat, and two dumbbells crammed in the corner of a guest bedroom.
This screams makeshift home gym. This is not a plus. This is just a spot to work out and, of course, is better than nothing, but when we talk about home gyms, we are talking about a planned, dedicated space. This is key as you consider your remodel and building out your home gym.
Later, we will look at some key design features to consider when looking to get the most ROI out of your home gym. After all, if you are going to build something, you may as well do it right.
Let’s finish this list, though.
#3) The Location
By location, I mean two things.
First, location as it relates to where the home gym is at on your property. The reality is that no matter where you put it, you will have buyers who don’t want to pay more for it. However, the right buyers will love it. There are really three places that make sense if you expect to get an ROI out of your home gym.
The first is the garage.
Garages are incredible places for home gyms. They are on ground level. They have high ceilings. They are fairly large. They are often underused. All of these factors and others make garages incredible spaces for home gyms.
The second place is a basement.
A basement is also a great place for a home gym for many of the same reasons as a garage. Basements all too often go underused or just serve as a lower-level attic. The only negative of a basement is that it typically doesn’t have high ceilings. This matters for a lot of upper body exercises like pull-ups, overhead press, jerks, etc. There are certainly workarounds, but if possible, using a space with high ceilings is a good call.
Now, one really cool thing about basements and ROI is that often, basements are unfinished. So by finishing it and converting it into a very usable space, your ROI could be quite high. While not exactly the same, a report from the National Association of Realtors and the National Association of the Remodeling Industry looked at the ROI of finishing a basement. Now, they looked at converting it into a living area, not a home gym, but according to their report, it was a top-four interior home remodel project as far as ROI goes.
The final place is a detached garage or shed.
Now, I’m not talking about a shed used to store a small lawnmower and a pair of bush clippers. I’m talking about essentially another garage-sized space, whether that is in the backyard or right next to the house. What makes this a really cool option is that it becomes a separate space. You can “Go to the gym” by walking 50 feet. You are then less concerned about noise, especially with early morning or late night workouts.
Now, each of these is a great option for a serious home gym space that has the potential for a solid ROI.
Let’s talk about spaces that won’t produce much, if any, ROI.
Bedrooms.
Bedrooms are fine for makeshift home gyms. In fact, I personally have one. However, in the event I sell my home, I will be taking 0 pictures of my guest bedroom home gym. That will not be a focus or selling point. To make a serious home gym, you need flooring, heavy-duty gym equipment, etc. These things just don’t jive with a bedroom.
Okay, location part two.
Consider the location of your home.
What is your neighborhood like?
Is it an active area (pool, lots of walkers, etc)
Do any of your neighbors have home gyms?
Is a home gym an expectation, or at least common in the neighborhood you are in?
What part of the country do you live in?
Is health and fitness a priority to potential homeowners in your neck of the woods?
Unfortunately, there’s a huge difference between Park City, UT, and rural Mississippi.
What options do you have nearby?
If you are in the city with multiple gyms within a 2-mile radius, potential homeowners may be reluctant to spend extra on a home gym.
All of these are just considerations, no one will dictate entirely whether or not a home gym is a good idea. Instead, these location questions are simply a gauge.
Okay, so I’m just going to assume the best case here. You live in a Park City neighborhood where every neighbor has a detached garage home gym, and you are the laggard. You’ve decided to build this thing the right way, and when you sell in 10 years, you are going to have an “Open gym” instead of an open house.
But, before we start building a high ROI home gym, we need to figure out what exactly marks this type of home gym. Let’s break it down.
Marks of a High ROI Home Gym
If you are going to invest in a home gym, let’s do our best to ensure that investment pans out. Of course, there are tons of benefits to having a home gym, but you may as well do your best to ensure that one of those benefits is recouping that investment.
Let’s look at a few key things to keep in mind as you are designing a home gym with the end in mind.
#1) Ensure that there’s no doubt that the space is a home gym
This is what I was referencing earlier. The half-bedroom, half-office, half-home gym space (that math works, don’t question it) is not ideal for resale; however, if it creates 1 ½ rooms out of 1, that’s got to be great for the Zillow listing.
Small spaces gyms won't help much for resale.
An article in Apartment Therapy points out, “If you’re going to leverage a home workout space in your listing, make sure you have a dedicated space that clearly shows its purpose, says Nora Crosthwaite, a licensed real estate agent at Stagerie, an online staging marketplace in Des Moines, Iowa.
“To fully qualify as a home gym, I would look for mats on the floors,” says Crosthwaite. “If it’s in the basement, I’d want to see a finished basement room with some natural light.”
A home gym's value is largely determined by the presentation. Present it well = higher ROI. Now, Crosthwaite mentions something really important here - “mats on the floors”. There is arguably nothing that shouts, “We built this home gym for real,” more than properly installed rubber flooring. Rubber flooring opens up a world of possibilities for a home gym. Your space is essentially bullet-proofed now - bullet-proofed from sweat, dropped barbells, and heavy machines.
Rubber flooring is key. It adds a huge element of professionalism and shows the seriousness of your home gym.
#2) Make it beautiful
I mean, uh, sick, not beautiful, of course.
If creating a selling point worthy space is your goal, you’ve got to make it visually appealing.
This starts with what gym equipment you put in there.
Make sure you have the essentials. Of course, each person is going to have slightly different preferences, but a mix of gym equipment - cardio, a squat rack, weight stack machines, floor space, and even a TV. A TV on the wall space can be great for any potential homeowner looking for a way to access their virtual workout. P90X anyone?!
Also, maybe even sneak a peek at Pinterest. Get some ideas on how to create that flow in a home gym. You don’t want it overcrowded.
You don’t want a bunch of gym equipment on the floor, especially when a lot of home gym equipment can hang from wall space (resistance bands, yoga mats, even weight plates and barbells).
#3) A few little things
Floor-to-ceiling mirrors are probably a no-go. I know, I know, how on earth are you going to see your calf pump at the same time as your bicep pump? The sacrifices we make for money.
But in reality, these can look tacky and be a pain to remove if the new homeowner isn’t fully on board. Try and do better for your wall space needs.
We talked about this a little bit earlier, but bedrooms are not ideal for home gyms.
This really only applies to you when you go to sell, but one of the few exceptions is if you have an empty bedroom. When staging a home, a really easy way to make a space feel more homey and give potential homeowners a vision for their potential new home is to create something simple, like a yoga room.
Following some Pinterest inspiration, this can be a relatively inexpensive way to fill a room and bring some life to the space.
On a totally different note, the more “structural” things that are taken care of, the better. Things like ventilation, windows, lighting, and outlets. These are the things you probably don’t consider with a home gym, but they can make or break a space.
Okay, so we’ve covered quite a few things to consider if you are looking to maximize your ROI.
However, I would argue the biggest ROI on a home gym has (almost) nothing to do with finances.
So before we wrap up, I want to take a look at the true ROI of a home gym, financial and all.
True ROI of a Home Gym
The reality is that most home remodels are lucky to break even. Typically, things like the kitchen and bathrooms get close, but most are decisions made that allow you to enjoy your home more.
Except, however, the garage door. According to a Bankrate article, it has a 194% ROI! Who knew a garage door could do so much?
Anyways, my point is that if you are looking for true investments, oftentimes there are better options than pouring money into your home. The reality is people are so different and picky, and you likely will pick something that someone who buys your home will change.
But, what is the true ROI of, say, a pool? Well, you are purchasing an upgrade to your house that allows you to enjoy summer days with your kids, and you have the opportunity to create an awesome hangout space. You hope you get most of your investment back upon selling, but there is a genuine benefit and “return” that is more than financial.
I would argue that a home gym has a massive return on investment, even if we exclude all of the potential financial ROI discussed above.
Let’s look at a few of these returns.
#1) Save time
Man, I hope this one is obvious, but the amount of time you can potentially save with a home gym is unmatched, except maybe by screen time. Ouch, I know, I struggle too.
But here’s the reality.
Let’s say you go to your local commercial gym 5x/week - which is awesome. Let’s say your gym is 15 minutes from your home. It takes 5 minutes to park, check in, and put your bag away. It took 5 minutes to pack that gym bag at home. Then you spend 10 minutes waiting for your machine of choice because, of course, it's being used.
That all equates to 50 minutes a day. That’s almost 5 hours a week. 5 hours!?
No doubt we all feel the business of life. How many other places can you look at your life and save 5 hours per week? I’m guessing not many.
Now, if you are saving 5 hours a week and replacing it with Netflix, that’s your call. At that point, probably not a net benefit. But, imagine what you would do with an extra 5 hours - more family time, more time to devote to that side hustle, or maybe even more time to actually work out or eat healthy. This is a game changer.
Not to mention, we’ve all been there where work ran late and you just can’t squeeze in the gym that day. Well, if it is at home, all of a sudden, that workout became that much easier to knock out. And we all know that consistency is the key to progress in the gym, turns out the personal trainers were right.
#2) Save money
I told you we’d get back to financials.
Investing in a home gym is just that, an investment. It requires some cash up front, but the returns are worth it, and the savings will come (assuming you stop buying gym equipment at some point, harder said than done).
But let’s keep using the same analogy as earlier. Let’s say that the gym you commute to costs $65/month - a reasonable price for a good gym. Let’s say they charge you $100 annually for membership fees. Now, of course, you can go to Planet Fitness for $15/month, and you can go to a CrossFit gym for $250+/month. We will take a more middle-of-the-road approach.
So, $65 x 12 = $780, plus our $100 membership fees. In total, you are looking at about $900 per year.
You can build a solid starter home gym for $900. In 3 years, you can have a sweet setup at almost $3,000. At that point, guess what? Membership fees and dues - well, they are paid to your checking account. Your upfront costs paid, you are free to enjoy the sweet setup you have.
The cool thing about home gym equipment is that, for the most part, it will last a long, long time. No doubt you’ve seen those metal dumbbells that are still in peak shape from the 80s. Worst case scenario, you sell the gym equipment you don’t use or like, and buy different gym equipment. The resale value on most fitness equipment is still high (although not quite 2020 high - that was a wild time).
In no time, you own a home gym that is paid for. A home gym that you can use whenever and however you want. You have zero obstacles in the way of you getting your pump in. No closings for holidays, weather, or repairs. No New Year’s resolution crowds. No teenagers or Instagram influencers filming you in the background of their “viral” videos. Just you and your peaceful home gym paradise.
#3) Set the bar high
This is a cool return on investment that I think almost no one thinks about.
Shout-out to the moms and dads out there on this one.
A home gym exposes your kids to fitness at a young age. They get to learn how to move and lift, and play (safely, of course) in an awesome home gym under the supervision of their parents. What cooler way to introduce the next generation to a place where hard work is discovered and countless lessons can be learned?
There is just something about pushing yourself physically that builds confidence, grit, and pride in your work. Imagine sharing that with your kids.
Or, of course, you can just have them help you spread mulch, that always does the trick, too.
Now, of course, don’t be that dad who lives vicariously through his kids, but you can introduce and teach lifelong health and fitness habits that hopefully stick with your kids for a lifetime.
The flip side of that is that your kids can watch you work. It’s one thing to hear about how mom or dad goes to work, but it’s another thing to show them what it looks like to work physically hard. You get the opportunity to show your kids what you preach.
Okay, good luck. Now it’s your turn to convince your wife that a home gym remodel is a better idea than the bathroom remodel. Make your great aunt proud.
Sources
“Cover of the Remodeling Impact report.” National Association of REALTORS®, 9 April 2025, https://www.nar.realtor/research-and-statistics/research-reports/remodeling-impact.
“Does a Home Gym Add Value to Your Property?” Bells of Steel, 9 October 2024, https://bellsofsteel.us/blogs/content/does-a-home-gym-add-value-to-your-property?srsltid=AfmBOorBCKQ41GWJmg0KvzITEZ2Ii8OSQRSjYTjTVt-dQDcfme1s1p9B.
Hamblin, Carrie. “How Much Value Does a Finished Basement Add?” HGTV, 31 January 2024, https://www.hgtv.com/design/remodel/interior-remodel/finished-basements-add-space-and-home-value.
Helfenbaum, Wendy. “11 Little Ways to Ensure a Home Gym Increases Your Property’s Value.” Apartment Therapy, 19 January 2021, https://www.apartmenttherapy.com/home-gym-increase-property-value-36866431.
“ROI for a Bathroom Remodel.” Zillow, https://www.zillow.com/learn/roi-for-bathroom-remodel/.
Webber, Matt Ryan. “The Top Renovations That Increase Home Value In 2024.” Bankrate, 7 May 2024, https://www.bankrate.com/homeownership/home-renovations-that-return-the-most-at-resale/#best-home-renovations.