Where the two neighbourhoods differ, per the building age and permit records the City of Saskatoon keeps, is who is buying. Varsity View's older character homes near the University of Saskatchewan often go to investors or renovators who expect to update the property themselves, so spending heavily before listing can simply hand your money to the next owner instead of recovering it at sale.
Lakeridge's larger, later-built family homes draw a different buyer who is comparing move-in readiness across several listings, so a working furnace, a sound roof and a clean inspection report carry more weight there than in an older, character-driven market.
The improvements that actually pay back are the ones a comparable sale in your specific neighbourhood already supports, which public records cannot tell you. Get your hand-reviewed valuation from Joel Dyck.