TAMPA - Many homeowners want to move but feel stuck by their mortgages, owing more on the house than they would gain by selling it.

So some are trying to make their old houses new through remodeling, for their own satisfaction or to boost property value.

Some home improvement projects hold value better than others, according to a new a report from Hanley Wood LLC, in cooperation with Realtor Magazine.

Homeowners used to add value with new cabinets, countertops and other home projects. Now, real estate agents say, their clients are reluctant to dump money into work that won't add to the bottom line at sale time.

People itching for change are upgrading kitchens and bathrooms, adding master suites, expanding family rooms, buying appliances or simply painting or reflooring. Many are doing the simpler work themselves.

"They say if they can't sell their home, they at least want a new kitchen or to make the home nicer," said Jonathan Greaves of Greaves Construction in Tampa.

The smartest improvements are sometimes the least expensive, the Hanley Wood Report states, and exterior work may provide a greater return: Eight of the projects in the report's top 10 for recouped costs are exterior replacement projects costing less than $14,000.

Door and siding replacements and deck additions returned more than 80 percent of project costs when the homes were resold, according to the report. A steel entry door replacement recouped 129 percent of its cost.

The report, Remodeling Cost vs. Value, compares construction costs with resale values for 33 midrange and upscale remodeling projects in 80 markets across the nation.

Other exterior projects in the top 10 include midrange vinyl and upscale foam-backed vinyl siding replacements. They returned about 79 of their construction costs. Window replacements - midrange wood vinyl and upscale vinyl - returned more than 76 percent of costs when resold.