This is How Much People Are Willing to Spend on a Remodel

Many of us dream of upgrading at least some part of our homes, to make them: a) look better b) be more functional and c) feel more like us. Most people aren’t made of money, however, and look for the best ways to get bang for the buck. So, how much are you willing to spend on a remodel, and what would you do for that amount?

Trulia recently conducted a poll of Americans and found that 76% of them plan to renovate or remodel their homes. Of those, bathrooms (48%) and kitchens (48%) are the top priorities, followed by bedrooms (27%). When asked how much money they would willingly drop on their projects, on average, people said $8,879.

It’s interesting to note that this poll includes both homeowners and renters. When I first read that I thought that renters would significantly bring down the average (because, I think we can all agree, there are very few renters out there who are about to spend tons of dollars revamping temporary digs.) So, I sent a quick question to the Trulia team and found out the average for renters was $7,025 and for homeowners: $9,627.

Huh.

Is anyone else surprised by this? I thought that, given the average, homeowners would be in the $15,000 range and renters would say $2,000, tops. And this is coming from someone who loves and loves and loves to redo rentals.

Anyway, if you’re wondering what you can do to, say, a kitchen for under $9,000, we’ve done some posts that show pretty remarkable transformations for that amount of money, and in many cases, a whole lot less.

→ Terrific Kitchen Transformations That Cost Between $2,000 and $4,000

Want to see what a little bit more will get you?

→ What Does a $10-15,000 Kitchen Remodel Look Like?

And then, if you’re not quite prepared to go that far:

→ Under $1000 Kitchen Makeovers (That Look Like A Million Bucks)

Trulia has their own suggestions for updating a kitchen on a budget, including:

• Replacing countertops, because “nothing dates a kitchen more than an old countertop, and nothing updates a kitchen more than a fresh slab of marble or quartz.”
• Painting your cabinets instead installing new ones. They suggest going the professional route and paying someone to spray paint, for a much better finish.
• Replacing cabinet hardware. There are so many affordable options out there, and this is a quick and easy project to pull off.
• Customizing your pantry storage by adding things like pull-out shelving and bins. It’ll dramatically increase the function of your kitchen and even boost resale value.