Despite heightened product and material costs driven by supply chain disruptions, home renovations are at their highest levels since 2018. Recently, the 2022 U.S. Houzz & Home Study: Renovation Trends survey captured the opinions of nearly 70,000 respondents. Not surprisingly, a limited and aging housing stock has led many homeowners to simply renovate their existing homes. Overall, homeowners are reporting a 20% increase in the median renovation spend. On average, this equates to an additional $18,000 spent on a home renovation. Of course, persistent supply chain issues and rising material costs have factored heavily into these increased expenditures.
The average amount spent by homeowners remodeling was strongly correlated with how long they had lived in the home as follows:
- Recent homeowners: spent an average of $30,000 on renovations
- Short-term homeowners (moved into home within 1 – 5 years ago): spent an average of $19,000 on renovations
- Long-term homeowners (moved into home more than 6 years ago): spent an average of $15,000
What rooms are they renovating?
As expected, the kitchen continues to be the fan favorite when it comes to remodeling the home. Often considered the gathering place in the home, it is no surprise that this room garners the most attention. Of course, this room is oftentimes the most expensive to update as well. On average, kitchen renovations saw an average expenditure of $15,000 in 2021 as compared to $12,000 in 2020. This equated to a 25% increase in overall spending. As for other popular rooms in the home undergoing renovations, they included:
- guest bathroom
- laundry room
- living room
- guest bedroom
In addition, more homeowners are upgrading outdoor features as well. The most common being outdoor lighting and also security systems with cameras.
Summary
Undoubtedly, a driving force behind the home renovation boom is simply the lack of inventory of homes for sale. Many of these homeowners attempted to purchase a different home, however were either outbid on several homes or simply could not find a suitable home that met their needs. Since many of these homeowners are now working remotely from home, additional space is a common reason cited for a home search. In the event that you are considering a home renovation, it is important to keep in mind some of the most commonly sought after home features by buyers today. To gain a better understanding of this, check out our previous article titled Home Features That Can Boost Sale Prices.
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