how much should you upgrade your roof shingles

​In this blog series, I am trying to explain why I typically recommend a 30-year Architectural shingle and not upgrading to the premium versions (40-year, 50-year, plus, premium, lifetime, or other marketing terms might get used).  Many homeowners are concerned about maintaining the value of their homes, and as a house is likely your largest single investment I agree you should be concerned.  They (rightly) think that often times if you spend more, you get something better in return.  And as you improve your house, quality craftsmanship isn’t just something you live with every day, it will be reflected when it comes time to sell your house in the future.
I would think that when I am looking at a house that I would recognize quality craftsmanship, and appreciation that the former owner took to care for the property, and perhaps that might have value to me.  However talking to realtors, most homeowners don’t follow that logic pattern.  And this includes the roof that is the primary protection for that home.  Prospective homeowners ask a single question, “how old is the roof?”  If it is over eight (8) years old, they start to think about the check they will have to write to replace that roof.  Like many of us, they don’t think about the insurance discounts I wrote about earlier, only the age of the roof. 
Beyond what is “typical” for your neighborhood, there is likely no increased house value you can expect from upgrading from the 30-year Architectural shingles.  I appreciate that as a homeowner, you are trying to be prudent and upgrade the value of your home, but the market treats your roof as purely a routine maintenance item and values your roof strictly by the age and nothing else.  This is unfortunate, but this is also the reality.
In summary, as a roofing contractor, I recommend a tried-and-true product that has been real world tested in our Jackson County, Missouri weather; the premium products may last longer but I haven’t seen it.  In addition, every time you replace a roof you get to press the “reset” button on your homeowners’ insurance and qualifying for a significant discount on your premiums.  And last, the real estate markets simply views a roof as a maintenance item, and this upgrade won’t factor into a potentially higher future sale price.  While I often advocate and recommend upgrades, this simply isn’t a place I can support spending more money.