Homeowners are renovating their homes for the long run, according to the 12th annual U.S. Houzz & Home Study of more than 46,000 U.S. respondents. More than 60% of homeowners say they plan to stay in their homes for 11 years or more following a 2022 renovation. Additionally, the share of homeowners undertaking renovations with a plan to sell their home soon has declined by half since 2018 (6% compared with 12% in 2018).
Nearly 3 in 5 homeowners remodeled or decorated their homes in 2022 (58% and 57%, respectively) and nearly half made repairs (48%). The median spend for home renovations in 2022 was $22,000, whereas the spend for higher-budget updates (with the top 10% of spend) reached $140,000 or more. Renovation activity continues into 2023, with more than half of homeowners planning projects this year (55%), at an anticipated median spend of $15,000 and $85,000 for higher-budget projects.
“Faced with shortages of housing stock and high interest rates, we’re seeing homeowners update their current home to make the space more functional for the long term,” said Liza Hausman, vice president of Industry Marketing at Houzz. “We’re also seeing an uptick in additions, with the vast majority of homeowners hiring professionals to achieve their goals.”
Among the remodeling and renovations, a few trends emerge that might impact flooring professionals:
- More home additions underway, and most require professional help. One in 10 homeowners undertook an addition as part of their remodeling project in 2022 (10%), compared with 8% each year from 2018 through 2021. The rooms most associated with additions include kitchens, bathrooms and living rooms. Additions typically require professional guidance to meet local guidelines and permitting. In fact, more than 9 in 10 renovating homeowners (91%) relied on professional help for their remodeling projects in 2022, up by 2 percentage points year over year (89%).
- Kitchens and bathrooms remain the top projects. A larger share of homeowners upgraded their kitchens and baths in 2022 (28% and 25%, respectively) compared with 2021 (27% and 24%, respectively). Kitchens and primary bathrooms also command the highest median spend at $20,000 and $13,500, respectively.
- Baby Boomers lead in renovation activity. Baby Boomers continued to lead in renovation activity (59%); followed at a distance by Gen Xers and Millennials (27% and 9%, respectively). That said, Gen Xers surpassed Baby Boomers in median spend in 2022 for the first time ($25,000 versus $24,000, respectively). Gen Xers and Millennials were slightly more likely to pursue an addition (10%, each) than Baby Boomers (9%).
- More homeowners hiring construction and design pros. While homeowners hired specialty service providers most frequently, construction professionals, such as general contractors and kitchen or bathroom remodelers, came in a close second in 2022 (46% and 44%, respectively). The share of homeowners who relied on construction pros grew by 6 percentage points (from 38% in 2021) and design-related pros saw the same increase, growing from 20% in 2021 to 26% in 2022.
