Realtor Remodeling Report

• Americans spend $400 billion annually on remodeling their homes.
• Many find the idea of taking on a remodeling project too overwhelming to attempt. 35% of U.S. homeowners would rather move to another home than remodel their current home.
•  55% of owners in suburban areas and 52% of owners in urban areas say they would be willing to remodel their home. This jumps to 70% for owners in rural areas.
• When consumers remodel, it is to upgrade worn-out surfaces, finishes, and materials (34%); because it is time for a change (18%); and to add features and improve livability (15%).
•  36% of the owners did the project themselves, 35% hired a professional for all of the job, and 14% hired the labor but purchased the materials. 12% contributed some do-it-yourself (DIY) labor.
• Realtor ranked projects in order of their appeal: complete kitchen renovation, kitchen upgrade, HVAC replacement, new wood flooring, bathroom renovation, hardwood flooring refinish, new master suite, add new bathroom, basement conversion of living area, attic conversion to living area, insulation upgrade, and a closet renovation.

Buildfast Housing Health Report 2019

• Remodel volume and spend—a subset of maintenance that includes renovations, additions, and alterations—increased 2.02% and 3.53% year over year, respectively.
•  Buildfast offers a report that details remodeling activity by region and numbers. This is a paid service. "BuildFax collects and organizes construction records on millions of properties from cities and counties across the United States. Once in our system, we analyze, mine and compare the data so that it becomes like a "background check" on a property. We have data on new construction major systems repair, additions, renovations, roofs, pools, demolitions, contractors and more.

Lightstream Survey

•  73% of homeowners say they plan to renovate this year, up 26% from a year ago, according to a survey conducted by LightStream, an online lending division of SunTrust Bank. Homeowners plan to spend more on projects, too—an average of about $9,000. That marks the highest amount since the survey began in 2014, and it’s 32% more than last year.
• The most popular remodeling projects include outdoor space (41%), the bathroom (37%), and the kitchen (31%). Survey respondents say that if money wasn’t a factor, they would remodel their kitchen (42%), followed by replacing carpet with other flooring (41 percent), and then remodeling the bathroom (39%), according to the survey.
• The majority of homeowners say they are paying for their home improvement projects by tapping into their savings (60 percent), credit cards (32%), or a home improvement loan (10%).

Results of Initial Research

• It is very unlikely that we will be able to locate any data relevant to renters and remodeling.
• Buildfast offers a paid report that could most likely give the most insight.
• This block of research time did not allow us to analyze Improving America's Housing- Joint Center For Housing Studies Harvard University or the State of Home Spending by Home Advisor.