The National Association of REALTORS® recently released its 2019 Remodeling Impact Report. Do-it-yourself (DIY) work is on the rise. According to this NAR Remodeling Impact Report, DIY work is on the rise. Currently professionals are doing 53% of all renovation work and 47% is being done by DIY homeowners.
The demographic spread of DIY work shows that 73% of renovations work is being done by Millennials and Gen Yers. On the contrary, 70% of Gen Z, Older Boomers and Silent Generation homeowners hire professionals to do their desired home renovations.
In 2018, the construction loan management company Land Gorilla indicated that approximately 65% of all American homes were more than 25 years old and needed renovation work. The amount of money spent on home renovation projects backs up that data. According to NerdWallet’s latest Home Improvement Report, Americans spent $449.5B on home renovation projects from 2015-2017.
Why do people take on renovation projects? Homeowners want to improve the functionality and/or livability of their homes, enhance aesthetics and add long lasting, durable materials and appliances to their homes.
Most homeowners tackle bathroom renovations first, followed by kitchen upgrades, wood flooring installation and master suite construction. Heating, ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC) replacements are also high on homeowners’ lists.
Looking down the road a bit as housing stock continues to age and affordability issues continue to push prospects out of the “move up” market back into their already “stay in place” homes, home renovation projects are expected to increase. Already, remodeling alone has increased +30% in the last 5 years, according to BuildFax CEO Jonathan Kanarek.
Specifically, home maintenance volume has increased +5.23% y/y and home maintenance spending has increased +8.04% y/y.
