Home renovations are already in full swing for some spring cleaners, and recent CivicScience data found that nearly 10% of Americans intend to put their tax return toward home improvements this year. On top of that, the latest Economic Sentiment Index reading shows boosted confidence in making major purchases, such as home renovations.
Given increased interest, CivicScience took a deeper dive into the state of home renovations to see what’s in store moving forward:
1. Over 6-in-10 homeowners plan to do some form of home renovation; DIY home projects lead.
Over the next 12 months, 62% of American homeowners will take on a home renovation or remodeling, up from 48% in 2023. Similar to the last couple of years, DIY has a leg up on professional work. Forty-three percent of those with plans will do their renovations solely themselves (+5pp from 2023), outpacing the 29% who will only hire a professional (-3pp from 2023). The least popular route is doing a mix of hiring a professional and doing DIY work (28%).
Nearly half of lower and middle-income households are only doing DIY home projects this year, compared to a quarter hiring a professional (the remainder will do a mix of both). Whereas higher-income households skew more toward hiring a professional (37%) and are less likely to do DIY (32%).
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2. Bathroom renovations top the list.
Among various types of renovations, bathroom projects will be most popular this year, outpacing outdoor renovations, which were most popular last year. Forty percent of DIYers and 44% of those hiring a contractor plan to renovate their bathroom this year.
Kitchen renovations are also popular among both types of home renovators. Meanwhile, outdoor renovations are significantly more popular among those doing DIY projects (7pp difference) – and have dropped considerably from last year.
3. Americans are spending more on renovations compared to 2019 but are still most likely to spend under $5,000.
Americans are spending more on home renovations compared to before the pandemic. The percentage planning to spend under $5,000 has considerably decreased since 2019, whereas the percentage spending more than $15,000 is up from 2019.
Currently, 39% of those doing renovations plan to spend under $5,000, and an additional 25% will spend under $15,000 in the next six months. The remaining 36% are looking to spend upwards of $15,000. These figures look relatively similar to last year, suggesting Americans continue to prioritize home improvement.
As expected, those doing DIY projects intend to spend less than those hiring a professional. Nearly 6-in-10 DIYers intend to spend under $5,000 on their projects, whereas over 7-in-10 Americans hiring a professional contractor will spend upwards of $5,000.
Additional CivicScience data show that Home Depot customers are slightly more likely than Lowe’s customers to spend more on home renovations in the next six months. Fifty-eight percent of Home Depot customers who are doing home renovations will spend upwards of $5,000 in the next six months, compared to 55% of Lowe’s customers doing the same.
4. How do Americans hire contractors?
When it comes to DIY home projects, Americans oftentimes turn to social media, blogs, or friends and family. However, it’s less concrete how people hire professionals. New CivicScience data found that people are most likely to ask friends and family for recommendations on contractors (32%), followed by using home improvement retail services (e.g., Lowe’s and Home Depot, 20%) and social media apps (e.g., Facebook and Nextdoor, 18%). Interestingly, web searches (15%) are less popular for finding contractors, and few go to home service websites like Angi (formerly Angie’s List) or Thumbtack (4%) (n=1,359 from 03/27/2024 to 04/01/2024).
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Overall, renovations are gaining momentum from last year, particularly DIY home renovations. Perhaps DIYers are looking to save money – nearly 4-in-10 of renovators will spend under $5,000 on improvement projects, a figure that jumps to over 6-in-10 among DIY renovators. Additionally, unlike last year, when outdoor projects were most popular, bathroom renovations are currently the top home projects. To complete their projects, DIYers will obviously do it themselves, while those looking for a contractor will ask friends and family for advice rather than searching online.
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