With 2017 predicted to be another great year in remodeling sales, homeowners on Houzz report they plan to spend an average of $27,300 on their next home renovation project, a 4% increase compared to last year, according to the 2017 Houzz & Home Survey released today. Besides spending more, renovating homeowners are looking to hire professionals to help them with their future endeavors, with 87% hiring a pro in 2016 compared with 85% in 2015.
The annual online survey is billed as the largest in the residential remodeling field and collects information from roughly 100,000 U.S. Houzz users from February to April. The study covers all aspects of home renovations, including, homeowner’s motivations, priorities, spending habits, and challenges. Here are seven highlights:
1. Increased Need for Service Specialists – As the demand for hiring professionals grows, the study found renovating homeowners are hiring specialty service providers, such as electricians and painters, without a project manager. In 2016, 48% of Houzz users contracted a service provider compared with 44% in 2015. The demand for full-service companies, such as design-builders or general contractors, remained about the same.
2. Customers are Looking for Good Reviews – In order to find the right hire, nearly four in five people, or 78%, are citing good reviews or recommendations as the most important reason when choosing a professional. Experience with the project scope also ranks high with 62% and communication/organization skills with 52%.
3. Smaller Kitchen Renovations on the Rise – For the popular kitchen and bath remodels, homeowners are renovating the smaller spaces compared with larger ones. Just under half, 44%, of the kitchens that got remodeled in 2016 were less than 200 square feet and carried an average job price of $26,500; that’s up 6% from 2015. Comparatively, kitchens larger than 200 square feet had an average spend of $38,900, down 6% from the previous year.
4. Smaller Master Bathrooms, Too – The study stated smaller master bathroom remodels are showing a similar trend, with homeowners spending $12,800 on average for a remodel less than 100 square feet; that’s a 10% increase compared to 2015. Larger master bathroom remodels cost $20,400 on average and are down 3%.
5. Renovations Expand Beyond K+B – If kitchen and bathroom renovations are removed from the data, laundry room and master bedroom remodels reported 24% and 23% increases last year. All other living quarters, including living rooms, offices, guest bedrooms, and dining rooms, are up, with the exception of closets where spending decreased 6%.
6. First-Time Buyers and Millennials Emerging – Although baby boomers and long-term homeowners continue to spend almost three times more than the younger millennials, the study indicates first-time home buyers and millennials increased spending on home renovations at a faster rate. The year-over-year change for first-time buyers increased from a $27,700 average to a $33,800 average, a 22% increase, while millennials increased 7%.
7. Homeowners Are Using Credit Cards – According to the study, the top payment method is cash/savings with 91%. This finding is consistent with last year’s findings, but the survey also found credit cards are rising in funding popularity, with 23% reported in 2016 compared to 21% in 2015.
