Nearly Half of Homeowners Plan on Renovating This Year, According to a New Study

Whether you’re turning your guest bedroom into an office or listening to every trial and tribulation of your mother-in-law’s kitchen renovation, these days it feels like everyone is renovating. But according to the statistics, that checks out.

According to the 2022 U.S. Houzz & Home Study on renovation trends that was recently released, home renovation activity and spending are at the highest rates reported since 2018. Here’s a look at the specifics behind the study, ranging from the skyrocketing prices of redoing your home to how everyone is paying for it.

The Houzz survey had some interesting findings about the state of renovations, which increased in 2021. More than half of homeowners (55 percent) renovated last year, an increase from 53 percent in 2020 and 54 percent in both 2019 and 2018. But it’s not just the amount of renovations that are heading upward, but the money that’s being spent on them. Homeowners spent 20 percent more on renovations, with a median spend in 2021 of $18,000. Compared with $15,000 the prior year, that’s a pretty significant increase. Of course, when you consider how hard it is to get the supplies and labor necessary to complete a renovation these days, that increase in price becomes understandable.

While 2021 was a booming year for renovating, 2022 is set to be even bigger. More than half of homeowners (55 precent) who participated in the survey said they plan on renovating in 2022. Also, nearly half (46 percent) said they have plans for decorating. This proved to be the first time since 2018 that homeowners’ planned spending has increased, with the median jumping from $10,000 for the past three years to $15,000. When you’re thinking about your bank account, a 50 percent jump is a  pretty hefty jump. 

In 2021, the kitchen continued to be the most popular interior room to be upgraded,  but it also proved to be the most expensive. It saw an increase in investment of 25 percent, jumping to $15,000 in 2021 from $12,000 in 2020. Of course, that increase was seen all over the house, with dramatic increases in renovations for guest bathrooms, laundry rooms, living rooms and guest bedrooms. Another significant increase came in the amount that people spent on security systems. Renovating homeowners spent 25 percent more on home security systems in 2021 than in 2020. The study found that now, outdoor security systems are three times more popular than they were in 2015. They’re also the second most frequently installed outdoor upgrade behind lighting.

One interesting transition is the way people are paying for these renovations. After all, not everyone has the extra cash lying around to fund a kitchen renovation. So it’s no wonder that the percentage of homeowners relying on cash from savings to fund their renovation projects declined by 7 points in 2021, dropping to 76 percent. For the 3 prior years, it held strong at 83 percent. Credit cards came into strong play this year, with the percentage of homeowners financing renovations with credit increasing by 6 points to 35 percent.

Houzz conducted their 160-question survey of 67,554 users between February 27 and March 27, 2022.