Houzz is an online design, architecture and renovation community used by over 35 million people worldwide. Homeowners use it for getting advice on their projects from other Houzzers, finding professional contractors, and even for shopping for décor.
In June 2016, Houzz released the results from their latest survey on home renovation costs and timeframes. More than 120,000 people participated, and of those more than 70,000 had done a renovation project in 2015.
Here are some insights on what people are spending – and how – on their home renovations.
Kitchen Renovations Are the Most Popular
Kitchens are one of the most important rooms in the home, so the fact that kitchen renos were the #1 choice wasn’t a big surprise to us. Overall, 31% of all renovators chose to focus on kitchens, whether they were staying in their home or getting ready to sell. Kitchens are also getting a bigger slice of the renovation pie: 15% more of renovators chose a kitchen project in 2015 vs 2014.
The next most popular project was for bathrooms, including guest bathrooms. An average of 26% of renovators chose to renovate a bathroom, with 22% of that being a master bath. Bathrooms also had a 6% increase in share of reno projects.
After kitchens and bathrooms, living rooms were next in popularity, followed by bedrooms, with 23% and 16% respectively. But every room in the house, including the garage, got some attention. For some, updates to key systems like plumbing, heating, electrical, and home automation were also completed.
Homeowners are Spending More on Renos
The average spend on kitchen reno projects has increased overall by 12%. Also, for homeowners with a larger kitchen (200+ square feet), the overall scope of the renovation was more likely to be a total overhaul than a less expensive upgrade.
The average spend on bathroom renovations also grew by 12% in 2015 vs 2014.
Average Renovation Costs in 2015
Owners of larger kitchens spent an average of $50,700 on their full overhaul projects, with smaller kitchen overhauls coming in at a cheaper average cost of $26,400. For partial upgrades the average spend was much lower, which makes sense.
For major overhauls, bathroom renovators spent an average of $25,600 on larger bathrooms (100+ square feet) or $12,000 if they had a small bathroom.
What about the average spend for all types of renos, including basement remodels? That’s close to the kitchen reno cost, at $59,800.
How People are Funding Their Projects
Overall more than 80% of homeowners were paying for their renovations from their personal savings. About 20% were paying via a credit card, with 8% using a line of credit.
Interestingly, this pattern was repeated even when Houzz broke out the numbers into different age groups. Even 85% of millennials were saving first and then renovating.
Top Reasons for Renovating
The 3 top reasons for taking on a kitchen renovation project were:
- Outdated design
- Outdated finishes
- Inadequate appliances
For bathroom renovations, the reasons were similar until you get to the third most popular:
- Outdated design
- Outdated finishes
- Small shower
In fact, “outdated design” was the most popular reason for all home renovation projects, except for closet renos, for which the most popular reason was (of course!) inadequate storage.
When it comes to renovating vs moving, overwhelming 49% of people overall wanted to stay in the same home because they liked the location. That number got higher as people aged.
More Insights
If you find what others are doing as interesting as we do, you’ll want to check out the full survey results on Houzz. They have a lot of facts that are presented really well in illustrations and charts.
Are you planning a kitchen renovation in the near future? Read our guide on How to Survive a Kitchen Renovation.
