According to a new study from Houzz, most homeowners are moving forward with home improvement projects despite continuing economic stress and uncertainty.
The survey of nearly 4,000 homeowners, conducted in October 2022, found that only 1% of homeowners report having canceled a home improvement project in 2022. In 2022, 37% of respondents completed a project, and 23% are planning to start a home improvement project in the next 12 months.
Among those planning to start renovations in the next 12 months, 67% want to stay in their current home rather than buy a new home that fits their current needs. The top projects respondents plan on tackling include bathrooms at 37% and kitchens at 33%, and 91% intend to hire a professional to do the work. For the less than 1% who did cancel a home improvement project in 2022, inflation, economic uncertainty and resources were the top reasons for not moving forward.
“Renovation activity and planned renovations remain strong among homeowners, despite various industry and economic headwinds,” says Marine Sargsyan, Houzz staff economist. “For many, conditions like limited choices of available homes and rising interest rates are driving them toward renovations and improving their current home since the cost of moving into a house that fits their current needs has become so expensive. Additionally, more than half of the homeowners we surveyed have no intention of selling or moving out of their current residences in the next 20 years or ever.”
